Interleaving

Why It Matters?

Interleaving improves your ability to identify similarities between different types of information, problems, concepts, or skills and helps you select the right strategy or solution to a problem you identify. Interleaving enhances problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, helps maintain engagement, and prevents mental fatigue by varying the material.

How do I use Interleaving?

After you have a basic understanding of the content, mix together two or more related concepts or skills (e.g., mixing different types of math problems together, like the Pythagorean theorem, slope, and area of a triangle, for humanities, mixing studying different historical periods or literary themes, for languages, alternating between grammar, vocabulary, and conversation practice) throughout your practice sequence within a single study session.

When do I use Interleaving?

Interleaving can be used with spaced retrieval after you understand the concepts you are trying to learn. Use it judiciously to avoid confusion, especially in the early stages of learning new material.

Action: 

Pick three different but related topics you've been studying. Plan a 30-minute study session where you spend 10 minutes on each topic, rotating between them. Pay attention to how this method affects your engagement and understanding. After your session, reflect on the connections you noticed between the topics and how interleaving has impacted your problem-solving skills.