Interleaved learning with verbal materials

Inductive learning is a ubiquitous way in which humans acquire conceptual knowledge (e.g., general facts or rules) about the world. It involves abstracting and consolidating concepts (e.g., what an elephant is) by studying exemplars (e.g., photographs or descriptions of elephants). One effective method for enhancing inductive learning is interleaved practice. Learners study exemplars from different categories interleaved, as opposed to studying the same exemplars from one category before being presented with exemplars from another category (i.e., “blocking”). Prior research suggests that interleaved practice benefits inductive learning compared to blocking, but inductive learning benefits are likely to depend on the type of learning materials and the age, with a dearth of studies examining verbal materials and children (Brunmair & Richter, 2019).

The main goal of this research project is to investigate the extent to which interleaving enhances inductive learning of verbal materials (e.g., texts), which constitute a large part of students’ learning activities at school but have attracted very little systematic research to date. Specifically, we address this research question in three core areas of school learning in which verbal materials play a prominent role: (1) learning how to read and (2) learning how to write in elementary school and (3) the acquisition of conceptual knowledge in secondary school science classes.

Brunmair, M., & Richter, T. (2019). Similarity matters: A meta-analysis of interleaved learning and its moderators. Psychological Bulletin, 145(11), 1029–1052. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000209

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