Mix topics
Practice topics that are easy to confuse side by side, so you learn the one detail that tells them apart.
Researchers call this interleaving.
Look-alike 1
vs
Look-alike 2
The one detail that tells them apart
How to do it with your own book
- 1Pick two or three topics you mix up, like two look-alike terms or two similar procedures in your book.
- 2From memory, write or say what each one is.
- 3Name the one detail that tells them apart.
- 4Check your book. Keep the pair together until you can tell them apart every time.
Why it helps
- Across 59 studies, mixing helped on average. (Brunmair and Richter, 2019)
- It depends on what you mix. It helped most when items were easy to confuse, and for simple word lists, studying one thing at a time worked better. So mix the look-alikes, not everything. (Brunmair and Richter, 2019)
These studies were done with students in other settings, not cosmetology students. They show why the habit is worth trying, not what your score will be.
In your Lisensa plan
The Tell apart step and the “Tell them apart” week put your look-alike topics next to each other.
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