Interleaving different topics or skills improves retention from "summary" of Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown,Henry L. Roediger III,Mark A. McDaniel
When we mix up the topics or skills we are trying to learn and remember, we improve our ability to retain that information. This concept, known as interleaving, involves practicing or studying different subjects or tasks in a random order rather than focusing on one thing at a time. By switching between topics or skills, we force our brains to work harder to make connections, which strengthens our memory and deepens our understanding. Interleaving challenges us to retrieve information from different contexts, making it more likely that we will remember it later on. When we repeatedly engage with the same material in a blocked, or isolated, manner, we may feel like we are mastering it in the moment, but this can create a false sense of confidence. In reality, our memory is strengthened when we have to work a little harder to recall information, which is exactly what interleaving helps us do. By mixing up our learning and practice sessions, we create a more varied and challenging environment for our brains. This variability helps to solidify our memory and increase our ability to recall information when we need it most. When we revisit a topic or skill after interleaving, we are more likely to remember it because we have had to actively retrieve and engage with that information in different contexts. Interleaving is not always intuitive, as many of us are accustomed to studying or practicing one subject at a time. However, research has shown that interleaving can significantly improve our retention of information over time. By embracing this technique and incorporating it into our learning strategies, we can enhance our memory and deepen our understanding of the topics or skills we are trying to master.
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