npj Science of Learning Community: Digest #25

npj Science of Learning Community presents research focussed on the mind, brain, and education space. In November, npj Science of Learning authors showed switching between topics helped undergraduate students master physics and reported findings that provide another step toward advancing motor skill rehabilitation.

Finding the best way for students to learn a new topic is a strategy that is always being tested. Steven Pan, Assistant Professor of Psychology, National University of Singapore and Joshua Samani, Assistant Teaching Professor (LPSOE), UCLA, measured the effectiveness of interleaving, repeatedly switching between different topics, as opposed to blocking, concentrating on one topic at a time, with a large group of undergraduate physics students. To find out which approach benefited students’ academic performance, read Shuffling homework problems helps college students learn introductory physics.

People who have neurological disorders or related impairments from stroke, require extensive physical rehabilitation to regain their motor skills. Taewon Kim, a Postdoctoral Associate from Duke University School of Medicine, and a research team based at Texas A & M University, the United States of America, investigated whether current stimulation would improve an individual’s acquirement and retention of motor skills following repetitive practice sessions. Read more about the findings of the study in New method to learn motor skills.