Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

arrow_back_ios_new
MENTAL MODEL · M4120

Interleaving Effect

Interleaving Effect
Learn & MetacognitionmediumCognitive Psychology
Included
account_tree

Updated 2026-08-08

Loading revision record…

INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

A learning technique studied extensively by Doug Rohrer and Kelli Taylor, among others. Interleaving means practicing different but related problem types in a mixed order rather than completing all problems of one type before moving on. It reliably improves later test performance and transfer, particularly when the task requires selecting the right procedure, because learners must repeatedly decide which approach applies instead of executing a routine they were just shown. The cost is that performance during practice looks worse, which is why the method is often abandoned too early.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Practice mixing: shuffle problem types within one session instead of finishing a single category first. - Discrimination training: force a decision about which method applies before solving. - Progress reading: judge learning by delayed tests rather than by how smooth practice felt at the time, which is misleading.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Blocked practice lets learners run a procedure without deciding when to use it, so the skill stays tied to the surface features of the block. Interleaving removes that cue: each item requires retrieving the right strategy from memory, which strengthens both the discrimination between types and the ability to select among them. The difficulty is the mechanism, not a side effect.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

Check to track your progress (stored locally)
Learning progress0%
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

RELATED MODELS

Related model

Attention Residue

A phenomenon in which attention remains partly on Task A after switching to Task B, potentially impairing information processing and performance on B.

arrow_forwardRelated model

The Forgetting Curve

The Forgetting Curve is a curve used to describe the rate of forgetting in long-term memory. It was first proposed by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus based on his experiments conducted from 1880 to 1885. In these experiments, Ebbinghaus used meaningless letter combinations. By memorizing these combinations and checking the forgetting rate after a series of time intervals, he obtained this curve. Therefore, this curve is also called the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve.

arrow_forwardRelated model

Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

The frequency illusion (also known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon or Red Car Theory) is a cognitive bias in which a person notices a specific concept, word, or product more frequently after recently becoming aware of it. The name "Baader–Meinhof phenomenon" was coined in 1994 by Terry Mullen in a …

arrow_forward