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A simple definition of interleaving is strategically alternating studying/teaching different skills, as opposed to “blocking,” which is focusing on one skill at a time.
Scientific American has an accessible article about it titled The Interleaving Effect: Mixing It Up Boosts Learning.
A new study just came out claiming HUGE benefits to using it in math class, and I’ve embedded several tweets about it below.
I’m wondering if anyone out there has specifically tried applying it when teaching English to English Language Learners and, if so, what did it look like and how did it go? I haven’t been able to find anything related to ELLs online.
Please let me know – I’m all ears!
Free access via Doug’s site here https://t.co/9Y5Ov8Wk3H
— Miss (@missdcox) May 18, 2019
This will be very interesting to @ProfCoe.
Comparison of interleaving vs blocked practise in maths. Class-level RCT involving c.50 classes.
Most interesting for our purposes: teachers were able to implement the intervention without training… https://t.co/Gq7JtsCXXM
— Peter Henderson (@PeterHenderson8) May 17, 2019
For those of you liking the interleaving study I tweeted earlier today, note that the lead author, Doug Rohrer, has put together a guide on interleaving you can find here: https://t.co/0NqSNq1uuq
— Daniel Willingham (@DTWillingham) May 17, 2019
Dan, You might be interested in this resource. It is a year’s worth of deliberately interleaved and spaced practice assignments aligned to an Algebra I course I helped design. https://t.co/cTowAcLddA
The course materials and link to our website is in the thread above.
— David Wees (@davidwees) May 17, 2019
Here are some answers I received to this question on Twitter:
I use it to teach explicit knowledge in grammar. For ex: verbs and tenses. I teach small bits, quiz (retrieval practice), allow it to sink in and then come back next week for the next bit of info. Would this be interleaving?
— Aishwarya (@teachingtenets) May 21, 2019
Fancy name for scaffolding my teaching IMO. e.g. unit on pre US Civil War, I “interleave”: 1. teach about differences between N & S, 2. analyze various attempts @ compromise. (E.g. cause / effect) 3. Talk structure for essay / past tense, 4. Interleave to diffs. & compose essay
— Kim Hewson (@KimHewson2) May 20, 2019
Interleaving can apply to inter-concept and intra-concept teaching and learning. My previous example was inter-, but look at grammar applications for intra-.
— Kim Hewson (@KimHewson2) May 20, 2019
How to get interleaving wrong: In our new online course we’ve worked hard to provide not just examples but also non-examples and lethal mutations. Find out more: www.academica-group.com/en/how-teach…
— Carl Hendrick (@carlhendrick.substack.com) February 21, 2025 at 10:50 PM
carlhendrick.substack.com/p/interleavi…
— Carl Hendrick (@carlhendrick.substack.com) February 22, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Interleaving practice can surpass blocked practice in improving learning outcomes. A study from 2022 provides an easy to understand and apply example for the classroom implementation.
https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2025/03/10/easy-application-of-interleaving-in-the-classroom/
— Blake Harvard (@blakeharvard.bsky.social) March 9, 2025 at 10:20 PM
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