Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics

Abstract We investigated whether continuously alternating between topics during practice, or interleaved practice, improves memory and the ability to solve problems in undergraduate physics. Over 8 weeks, students in two lecture sections of a university-level introductory physics course completed th...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Joshua Samani, Steven C. Pan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/da1dfb08ef7d4cd7a757a8dad0716c75
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:da1dfb08ef7d4cd7a757a8dad0716c75
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:da1dfb08ef7d4cd7a757a8dad0716c752021-11-14T12:24:40ZInterleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics10.1038/s41539-021-00110-x2056-7936https://doaj.org/article/da1dfb08ef7d4cd7a757a8dad0716c752021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00110-xhttps://doaj.org/toc/2056-7936Abstract We investigated whether continuously alternating between topics during practice, or interleaved practice, improves memory and the ability to solve problems in undergraduate physics. Over 8 weeks, students in two lecture sections of a university-level introductory physics course completed thrice-weekly homework assignments, each containing problems that were interleaved (i.e., alternating topics) or conventionally arranged (i.e., one topic practiced at a time). On two surprise criterial tests containing novel and more challenging problems, students recalled more relevant information and more frequently produced correct solutions after having engaged in interleaved practice (with observed median improvements of 50% on test 1 and 125% on test 2). Despite benefiting more from interleaved practice, students tended to rate the technique as more difficult and incorrectly believed that they learned less from it. Thus, in a domain that entails considerable amounts of problem-solving, replacing conventionally arranged with interleaved homework can (despite perceptions to the contrary) foster longer lasting and more generalizable learning.Joshua SamaniSteven C. PanNature PortfolioarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571ENnpj Science of Learning, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Joshua Samani Steven C. Pan Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics
description	Abstract We investigated whether continuously alternating between topics during practice, or interleaved practice, improves memory and the ability to solve problems in undergraduate physics. Over 8 weeks, students in two lecture sections of a university-level introductory physics course completed thrice-weekly homework assignments, each containing problems that were interleaved (i.e., alternating topics) or conventionally arranged (i.e., one topic practiced at a time). On two surprise criterial tests containing novel and more challenging problems, students recalled more relevant information and more frequently produced correct solutions after having engaged in interleaved practice (with observed median improvements of 50% on test 1 and 125% on test 2). Despite benefiting more from interleaved practice, students tended to rate the technique as more difficult and incorrectly believed that they learned less from it. Thus, in a domain that entails considerable amounts of problem-solving, replacing conventionally arranged with interleaved homework can (despite perceptions to the contrary) foster longer lasting and more generalizable learning.
format	article
author	Joshua Samani Steven C. Pan
author_facet	Joshua Samani Steven C. Pan
author_sort	Joshua Samani
title	Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics
title_short	Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics
title_full	Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics
title_fullStr	Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics
title_full_unstemmed	Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics
title_sort	interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/da1dfb08ef7d4cd7a757a8dad0716c75
work_keys_str_mv	AT joshuasamani interleavedpracticeenhancesmemoryandproblemsolvingabilityinundergraduatephysics AT stevencpan interleavedpracticeenhancesmemoryandproblemsolvingabilityinundergraduatephysics
_version_	1718429260166725632

Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics

Ejemplares similares