Research has already shown that human attempts to multitask come with heavy costs. New research suggests other cognitive control activities also come with costs. In a classroom with many sources of potential distraction, how should practitioners help students put brain energy toward learning?
Later, we read about classroom experiments that dispel the myth that interleaved practice can’t work in language learning contexts. It seems well-designed interleaving is a nearly categorical good.
- First Segment – 02:26 – Cognitive Control State Switching
- Second Segment – 22:37 – Interleaving Practice in Second Language Learning
Primary Citations
- Ileri-Tayar, M., Bugg, J. M., & Kool, W. (2026). Switching between cognitive control states? No, thank you. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001940
- Schweppe, J., Lenk-Blochowitz, A., Pucher, M., & Ketzer-Nöltge, A. (2025). Interleaved practice in foreign language grammar learning: A field study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 117(6), 998–1011. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000917
Supplemental Citations
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Featured Beverage
We drink Cranberry Tank 7, a seasonal variant of the American Saison Tank 7 with cranberry flavors from Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City, MO.