Folio 04Choose the right approach

Interleaving

Mix topics in one session instead of drilling one thing at a time.

Evidence recordWell supported

The useful move

Mix confusable topics so each problem requires you to choose an approach.

Why blocked practice can mislead

Blocked practice — twenty problems of the same type in a row — feels smooth because by problem three you've stopped deciding which method applies and are just reapplying it. Mixed practice forces the real exam skill: looking at a fresh problem and working out what kind of problem it even is.

Use it where topics are confusable

Interleaving shines when topics are confusable: integration techniques, muscle groups, philosophers, chemical reaction types. It helps less for isolated one-off facts.

Expect the session to feel harder

Expect it to feel worse. Mixed sessions produce more errors while you practice and better scores when it counts — that trade is the point.

Move from reading to doing

Run the Gauntlet — questions mixed across all your coursesRequires sign in · Sumi destination /summit/gauntlet

Sources behind this method

Follow the published work behind the evidence assessment and see why each source matters here.

  1. The Shuffling of Mathematics Problems Improves Learning

    Students who practiced mixed problem types performed better on a delayed test than students who practiced in blocked sets.