2020 Volume 68 Issue 2 Pages 122-133
The experiment in the present study compared individual and combined effects of blocked practice and interleaved practice as learning techniques. University students (N=66) participated in 2 learning sessions separated by a week, and then, 1 week later, took a memory-recall test. The students were divided into 4 groups: Group 1, blocked practice in both sessions; Group 2, first session, blocked practice; second, interleaved practice; Group 3, first session, interleaved practice; second, blocked practice; and Group 4, interleaved practice in both sessions. Significant between-group differences were found in percentage of correct answers on the test, with Group 4 (interleaved practice in both sessions) being the best performers, followed by Groups 2 and 3, then by Group 1 (blocked practice in both sessions) (Group 4>2=3>1). These findings suggest that increasing interleaved practice improved retention. Additionally, the participants were asked to judge their confidence in their test performance, using a multistage rating system. When the relation between confidence judgments and test scores per group was analyzed, the results indicated that the participants were more accurate in their assessment of their performance when they used the learning technique that better enhanced retention.
