Paradoxical effects of information presentation formats and contextual interference on transfer of a complex cognitive skill
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De Croock and Van Merriënboer (2007) found no difference between blocked and interleaved practice groups on troubleshooting skills in three dissimilar scenarios.
“found no difference between groups.”
From Spacing and Interleaving Effects Require Distinct Theoretical Bases: a Systematic Review Testing the Cognitive Load and Discriminative-Contrast Hypotheses (2021) · cites this paper as De Croock and Van Merriënboer (2007)
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“These findings were recently replicated by Kang and Pashler (2012) using a similar type of task, and benefits of interleaving have also been reported for a task in which participants learned to classify birds into their correct familial categories (e.”
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“The internal consistency of this measure has been reported by several studies (de Croock & van Merrienboer, 2007; de Croock, van Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998; Paas & van Merrienboer, 1994b).”
Spacing Effects on Learning and Memory ☆
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“The second type of assistance permits the learner to acquire not only procedural knowledge, but also the conceptual knowledge necessary for transfer to a new situation (De Crook & Van Merrienboer, 2007).”
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“However, based on previous research (de Croock & van Merrienboer, 2007), it is plausible that the two instructional methods had a positive effect on the learning gain.”
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“There is considerable evidence (reviewed by Wulf & Shea, 2002 ) that the contextual interference effect is not obtained for complex cognitive skills such as computer-based problem solving in a distillery (De Croock & Van Merrienboer, 2007 ) or tasks in a flight simulator (Goettl, 1995 ).”
BackgroundLearning to avoid biased reasoning: effects of interleaved practice and worked examples
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“We should, therefore, acknowledge that students may bene fi t from blocked practice in certain conditions, depending on the complexity of learning tasks 50 , (dis)similarityof to-be-learned materials 51,52 , and test type 53 .”
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“As a matter of fact, many researchers state that expert students are generally more successful in problem solving than novice students (de Croock & van Merriënboer, 2007; Lee et al., 2019; Armougum et al., 2020).”
BackgroundSpacing effects in learning and memory
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Designing for Justice Across Systems
Boda, P. A., Pirtle, J., Palmer, G. J. M., Fusi, F., Shirguppe, S., & Cailas, M. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780198945246.003.0176
- Authors
- de Croock, M. B. M., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G.
- Venue
- Computers in Human Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-07
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1740-1761
- ISSN
- 0747-5632 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1976032660
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Computers in Human Behavior (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Human Resource Development and Performance Evaluation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Keywords
- presentation format, contextual interference, transfer of learning, troubleshooting skills, cognitive schemas, expository teaching, computer simulation, fault diagnosis, cognitive effort, skill acquisition
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