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Mix Up Content to Improve Retention

Tags

Mathematics Study Skills & Tools MS/HS/College Strategy

Skills

Verbal Reasoning Verbal Memory Abstract Reasoning Visual Memory

Mix Up Content to Improve Retention

If your student often forgets core information or skills from prior lessons

Instruction And Practice

  1. Objective: Students will vary the type and order of material during their study sessions to help them encode and recall it more effectively and increase the likelihood of long-term transfer.
  2. Within a subject area, teach students to study distinct concepts or problem types within one session, instead of intensely focusing on a single skill at a time. Not only will work be more interesting, but it provides more context and meaning to the different skills and helps students "tie it all together."
  3. Examples: a) When studying a new language, alternate between vocabulary, reading, and speaking, not just one of the three. b) In math, include different types of practice problems on a page, rather than doing all of the same type of problem one night and then a different problem type the next. Also include a combination of problem types, including word problems, numerical expressions and visualizations c) When using flashcards, mix up the pile so you do not study the cards in the same order each time. d) When outlining the chapter, mix up the order of the information rather than presenting it in the same order with the same language as the text

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

When practice is not mixed, the brain starts remembering the patterns. Alternatively, interleaved practice helps students discriminate between the different kinds of problems so they will be more likely to recognize the correct solution method for different problem types. Also with mixed practice, students grow comfortable seeing information presented in multiple and perhaps unexpected ways. When it comes time for the test, students are better equipped to analyze a problem and identify the appropriate procedure, and they are less likely to get stuck if the problem is presented to them in a less familiar format.