Interleaving Retrieval Practice Promotes Science Learning
Can interleaved retrieval practice enhance learning in classrooms? Across a four-week period, students (N = 155) took a weekly quiz in their science courses testing half of the concepts taught in that week. Questions on each quiz were either blocked by concept or interleaved with different concepts. A month after the final quiz, students were tested on the concepts covered in the four-week period. Replicating the retrieval practice effect, participants performed better on concepts that had been on blocked quizzes (M = 54%, SD = 28%) than on concepts not been quizzed (M = 47%, SD = 20%, d = .30). Interleaved quizzes led to even greater benefits, revealing an interleaving benefit: participants performed better on concepts that had been on interleaved quizzes (M = 63%, SD = 26%), than concepts that had been on blocked quizzes (d = .35). These results demonstrate a cost-effective strategy to promote classroom learning.