The Power of Interleaved Practice at St Mary’s PS

At St Mary’s Primary School, we’re committed to using evidence based strategies to help our students thrive. One such approach we’re excited to share is interleaved practice, a proven method to boost memory, deepen understanding, and improve long-term learning.

While block learning focuses on one topic at a time, it can be effectively supported with interleaved practice, which mixes different types of topics and questions within a single practice session. Research shows that this method strengthens students’ ability to recall information and apply their knowledge in new contexts. It also helps counter the “forgetting curve,” making learning stick over time, for example, learning to tell the time for three weeks and not revisiting the topic again until later in the year.

Interleaved practice involves mixing different types of problems or topics within a unit of work for instance, incorporating a variety of topics into the daily review, which are revisited throughout the year.

As part of our ongoing professional learning through Flourishing Learners West with Knowledge Society, our staff have been exploring how to effectively implement interleaved practice in classrooms. While some children may think or say that it’s "boring" because they’ve “done this before,” we are beginning to teach them how this type of learning works and why it's important. Teachers will be actively engaging students in understanding how this technique supports their learning journey.

This approach is another step forward in our mission to foster confident, capable learners who can think critically and retain what they’ve learned. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this will have on our students’ learning across all year levels.

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