RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
Can Interleaving Enhance Student Outcomes in Freshman Calculus?
Page: 1000
In contrast to traditional homework sets that typically group problems by topics, an approach known as blocking, interleaving consists in alternating the topics for each problem set. Studies in middle school mathematics and college physics report important benefits of interleaving on students outcomes. The goal of the present study is to investigate whether similar benefits can be observed in the context of college calculus. Students in two sections of a Calculus for Life Sciences course received either blocked or interleaved weekly homework. On two surprise quizzes given in the middle and at the end of the quarter, the interleaved group outperformed the blocked group (d=0.18 and d=0.33 respectively). On a quiz given one month after the end of the course, the interleaved group outperformed the blocked group on the second half of the quarter but not on the first half. Limitations of these results are discussed.