Practice conditions

Blocked, random, variable, massed or distributed practice, and mental practice: organising training to retain.

The outline, topic by topic

Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.

Blocked practice: what is it?
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Repeating the same skill several times in a row before moving on.
It gives good results during the session.
A blocked-practice group does better during the session than a random-practice group. A week later?
- The random group retains better
- The blocked group keeps its lead
- They are identical
- Both forgot everything
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The random group retains better
Performance during training and learning are not the same thing.
Random practice: what is it?
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Alternating skills in an unpredictable order.
Worse during the session, it is better for retention.
Why does contextual interference help retention?
- It makes every trial easier to succeed
- It forces the movement plan to be rebuilt at every trial
- It improves performance during the session
- It repeats a single movement until it is automatic
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It forces the movement plan to be rebuilt at every trial
This rebuilding effort strengthens memory.