Chapter 3 Flashcards
What is the benefit of mixing up practice compared to blocked practice?
According to Make It Stick, mixing up practice (also known as interleaved practice) rather than using blocked practice has several key benefits:
Enhanced Long-Term Retention: Interleaved practice helps you retain information longer and recall it more easily in the future. It challenges the brain to continuously retrieve and reorganize different types of information, strengthening memory and understanding.
Improved Problem-Solving Skills: Mixing up practice forces you to distinguish between different types of problems and choose the correct strategy for each. This improves your ability to apply what you’ve learned to new and varied situations.
Better Understanding of Concepts: It helps you understand the underlying principles of a subject rather than just memorizing steps or facts. This deeper understanding comes from having to switch between different types of material and make connections between them.
Avoiding the Illusion of Mastery: Blocked practice can create a false sense of confidence, as the material feels easier to perform when you repeatedly practice the same skill. Interleaved practice feels harder but leads to more durable and flexible learning.
How does spacing help improve retention?
Spacing out study sessions over time allows for some forgetting, which makes retrieval more challenging and strengthens memory.
Why is interleaving effective for learning?
Interleaving helps learners develop the ability to differentiate between types of problems and apply the right strategy in various contexts.
What is the illusion of fluency, and how does it relate to blocked practice
The illusion of fluency occurs when learners feel they’ve mastered something during blocked practice because it seems easy, but they struggle to retain and apply it later.
How does variation in practice contribute to skill development?
Variation in practice helps learners apply skills in different contexts, making them more adaptable and capable of using their knowledge in new situations.
What is the desirable difficulty principle?
Desirable difficulty is the concept that learning feels harder when it’s more effective, like when using techniques such as spacing, interleaving, and variation that challenge the brain.
