Spaced, interleaved retrieval is one of the core, foundational techniques of any learning system. Spacing: The practice of leaving time intervals between study sessions. Interleaving: The practice of mixing different subjects or problems in a study session. Retrieval: The practice of retrieving a knowledge or skill from memory. i.e. Self-quizzing. Systems that rely on spaced retrieval lead to repetition and time wasting. As encoding skill increases, retrieval requirements go down and you save time. ![[Encoding vs Retrieval.png]] In general, spaced retrieval should happen just as you start to forget the material. A generic retrieval schedule might look like... 1. Review on the same day you learned it. 2. Review 2-3 days later. 3. Review 5-10 days later. 4. Review 10-20 days later. 5. Review 1-2 months later. To use interleaving, review information from multiple angles and perspectives. There are dozens, hundreds, of interleaving techniques. You need to know which ones are useful for different types of problems. SOLO Taxonomy describes the structure of knowledge inside the mind. An expert has a highly networked knowledge structure. SOLO taxonomy is the house we're building. Bloom's (Revised) Taxonomy describes the type of thinking you need to do to create a knowledge schema. It differentiates higher-order versus more lower-order learning. Bloom's taxonomy is how we build our house. ![[blooms-taxonomy-vs-solo-taxonomy.png]] Higher-order learning is integrated. Lower-order learning is isolated. Higher-order learning improves memory, is easier to learn, increases understanding, and is more enjoyable & engaging. However, it is more tiring and uncomfortable. Types of knowledge 1. Declarative: What. (Knowing a programming technique.) 2. Procedural: How. (Knowing how to implement a programming technique.) 3. Conditional: When. (Knowing when a programming technique is appropriate.) Different interleaving techniques work different for different types of knowledge. When picking an interleaving technique, consider: 1. Type of knowledge 2. Level of mastery required (lower-order vs higher-order retrieval) There are a near-endless number of ways to challenge your knowledge. Here's a small list: - Teach an imaginary student - Draw a mind map - Draw an image instead of using words - Answer practice questions - Create your own challenging test questions - Form a study group and quiz each other If you look at the forgetting curve, there's two approaches to slow down the rate of forgetting: 1. Most people are familiar with the first approach: reviewing multiple times. However, that's time consuming and inefficient. 2. The other approach is to improve the quality of encoding so that the rate of forgetting is slower. This is more efficient as it requires less review sessions. Two forgetting curves, illustrating how higher quality encoding results in slower forgetting and therefore less review sessions. This means higher quality encoding results in more time efficient studying: ![[forgetting-curve.excalidraw]] How to avoid over-relying on retrieval: - Improve your encoding skills. - Ensure you have multiple orders of interleaving. - Use lower-order rote memorization as a last resort. - Always try to connect new information to the big picture and think of why it is important. Why do people only give advice on active recall and spaced repetition? It's all people know. Most teachers and students aren't taught this. Meanwhile, things like spaced-repetition and Pomodoro Technique are common and easy to apply.