Many teachers have noticed that students can solve problems perfectly during practice but struggle to apply the same methods later on, especially when problems are presented in a new order or context. Why does this happen? In The Shuffling of Mathematics Problems Improves Learning  (Rohrer & Taylor, 2007), the researchers explore this question by comparing two common approaches to practice: blocked practice , where students work on one type of problem at a time, and interleav

In The Critical Importance of Retrieval for Learning  (Karpicke & Roediger, 2008), the researchers demonstrate that the very act of trying to recall information—known as retrieval practice—is crucial for effective learning. The study challenges the traditional assumption that spending more time rereading material leads to better learning outcomes. In their experiment, participants learned pairs of foreign-language words under different conditions: some repeatedly studied the