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Mixed practice asks learners to choose the method

A worksheet containing only one kind of problem supplies a clue about which method to use; a mixed set removes it. Research on mathematics practice asks how choosing a method differs from carrying it out, and how both affect later performance.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • How does choosing a method differ from carrying it out?
  • What did the study compare, and how long after practice were students tested?

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Education and learning

Why can closing the book change how you study?

A passage can feel familiar while you are looking at it and become difficult to explain once it is hidden. Rereading and trying to recall it involve different demands, and immediate ease need not tell the whole story about later retention.

3–7 min

Why can closing the book change how you study?

Education and learning3–7 minA passage can feel familiar while you are looking at it and become difficult to explain once it is hidden. Rereading and trying to recall it involve different demands, and immediate ease need not tell the whole story about later retention.

Education and learning

Why can spacing study sessions change later recall?

Two study plans can use the same amount of practice yet place it at different points in time. Research on spacing asks how the gaps between sessions interact with the delay before knowledge is needed.

3–7 min

Why can spacing study sessions change later recall?

Education and learning3–7 minTwo study plans can use the same amount of practice yet place it at different points in time. Research on spacing asks how the gaps between sessions interact with the delay before knowledge is needed.

Education and learning

Getting better at a game is not the same as broad transfer

Spend a month practicing a 'brain-training' puzzle app on your phone, and your score on that puzzle may climb. The interesting scientific question is whether that improvement follows you into real-world memory and decision-making, or stays locked inside the specific game you practiced.

3–7 min

Getting better at a game is not the same as broad transfer

Education and learning3–7 minSpend a month practicing a 'brain-training' puzzle app on your phone, and your score on that puzzle may climb. The interesting scientific question is whether that improvement follows you into real-world memory and decision-making, or stays locked inside the specific game you practiced.

Mixed practice asks learners to choose the method | Speech Topic | speaking.app