Interleaved Mathematics Practice

Interleaved Mathematics Practice is an instructional approach for seventh-grade mathematics students that reorganizes practice problems so that different types of problems appear in mixed order rather than grouped by problem type. Instead of completing a block of 12 problems all requiring the same strategy (blocked practice), students receive assignments where problems of different kinds are interleaved and no two consecutive problems require the same strategy. This approach requires students to choose the appropriate mathematical strategy for each problem based on the problem itself, rather than knowing the strategy in advance. The intervention was implemented over a nine-week period with 10 assignments of 12 problems each, delivered by regular classroom teachers. Teachers received paper copies of assignments and slide presentations with solved examples and solutions to present before and after students completed each assignment.