This file states the problem of building an exercise set in one sentence. It then defines the terms, gives the names research and practice use, and lists the sub-questions and what is linked rather than reviewed.
The problem in one sentence
Decide how the exercises of one sheet, homework or problem set are chosen, ordered and supported, so that working through them builds a method the learner can apply to a new problem.
Terms used in every file of this folder
| exercise set |
the practice items given together as one unit: a sheet, a homework, a problem set, a section of textbook exercises |
| problem type |
a kind of problem that one strategy solves, such as "slope from two points" |
| blocked practice |
every problem of a set, or of a run within it, is of the type taught just before |
| interleaved practice |
problems of different types alternate within a set, so the learner must choose the strategy |
| spaced practice |
problems of one type are spread across several sets, days or weeks apart |
| mixed review |
a block of earlier types appended to each set; textbooks also call it spiral review |
| example-problem pair |
a worked example followed by a problem of the same type; a problem-example pair reverses the order |
| completion problem |
a worked solution with some steps left blank for the learner |
| fading |
a sequence that removes worked steps one at a time; backward fading removes the last step first |
| Parsons problem |
the lines of a correct program, shuffled, for the learner to put in order |
| hint |
help given on request during a problem; a bottom-out hint gives the answer itself |
| gaming the system |
using the help or feedback of a system to finish without learning, such as clicking through to the bottom-out hint |
| answer key |
final answers only; a worked solution shows the steps |
| overlearning |
practice of one type continued after the first correct solutions |
| variability |
how much the surface features of the problems of one type differ |
| effect size |
d (Cohen) or g (Hedges): a difference between two groups in standard deviations (SD); 0.2 small, 0.5 medium, 0.8 large |
| desirable difficulty |
a condition that slows practice and helps retention, after Bjork 1994 (chapter not opened; the term as Gulacar 2022 uses it) |
What the field calls each part
| order of types within a set |
interleaved practice, mixed practice, shuffled practice, contextual interference (motor learning) |
Rohrer 2007; Rohrer 2009 |
| order across sets |
spaced practice, distributed practice, spaced interleaved practice |
Rohrer 2020c; Murray 2025 |
| examples before problems |
worked-example effect, example-problem pairs, alternating examples and problems |
Sweller 1985; Atkinson 2000 |
| the passage to whole problems |
fading, backward fading, completion strategy, guidance fading |
van Merriënboer 1990; Atkinson 2003 |
| reordering given code |
Parsons problems, Parson's programming puzzles, mixed-up code |
Parsons 2006; Du 2020 |
| range of surface features |
variability of practice, variability effect |
Paas 1994 (core); Likourezos 2019 |
| how hard the items are |
success rate, problem difficulty, desirable difficulties |
Jansen 2013b; Bjork 1994 |
| help during a problem |
help seeking, on-demand hints, hint abuse, gaming the system |
Aleven 2003; Baker 2008 |
| answers given with the set |
solutions manual, answer key, worked solutions, solution access |
Rystrom 2005 |
| copied homework |
homework copying, contract cheating, file-sharing sites |
Palazzo 2010; Lancaster 2021 |
| how much practice |
homework time, homework frequency, homework effort, overlearning |
Cooper 2006; Trautwein 2007 |
What practitioners call it
| Mixed Review, Spiral Review (section labels in textbooks) |
interleaved and spaced practice (Rohrer 2015) |
| incremental development with daily cumulative practice (Saxon Math) |
spaced interleaved practice, bundled with a whole curriculum (WWC 2017) |
| intelligent practice, procedural variation (NCETM, England) |
variation theory; one feature varied at a time (NCETM 2020) |
| answers to odd-numbered exercises at the back |
answer key on half the items (OpenStax 2026) |
| solutions manual, student solutions manual |
worked solutions, full access (Rystrom 2005) |
| problem set, pset, exercise sheet, tutorial sheet |
exercise set |
| skill builder (ASSISTments), mastery exercises |
mastery criterion: a streak of correct answers (Roschelle 2016) |
| mixed-up code blocks; Parsons problems in e-books (CSEd 2017d) |
Parsons problems (Ericson 2018) |
| challenge problems, starred exercises |
items graded by difficulty, untested (MathEd 2014f) |
| homework help sites (Chegg) |
contract cheating, file sharing (Lancaster 2021) |
Sub-questions
| Q1 |
Blocked against interleaved practice, or mixed review, at the level of a sheet or a homework, in classrooms |
| Q2 |
The passage from worked example to problem: fading, completion problems, example-problem pairs against problem-example, Parsons problems |
| Q3 |
Difficulty order and variability across a set |
| Q4 |
Hints, answer keys and full solutions: when they are shown, help seeking and its abuse, copying |
| Q5 |
How much practice: problems per type, homework time |
| Q6 |
Practice: textbooks, problem books, corrected past exams, online homework, mastery exercises, programming exercise sites, with adoption |
Search terms tried, three ways
- Academic: interleaved practice, blocked practice, mixed review, spiral review, spaced practice, fading, completion strategy, example-problem pairs, variability effect, help seeking, gaming the system, homework copying, overlearning.
- Acronym and product: ITS (intelligent tutoring system), WeBWorK, ASSISTments, WWC (What Works Clearinghouse), EEF.
- Author: Rohrer, van Gog, Renkl, Atkinson, van Merriënboer, Aleven, Ericson, Cooper, Trautwein.
- Zero or near-zero results meant the words were wrong: "exercise sets" returned no study of sets as such (F26); the work is filed under practice, homework and problem order.
Linked, not reviewed again
| reader-ergonomics learning-science |
interleaving meta-analysis (Brunmair 2019), fading (Renkl 2004), worked examples (Barbieri 2023), 4C/ID (Costa 2022), varied examples (Paas 1994), spacing (Latimier 2021, Cepeda 2008), expertise reversal (Tetzlaff 2025), mastery (Kulik 1990) |
| reader-ergonomics reading-order |
example then problem (van Gog 2011), the cluster trial (Rohrer 2020), category order (Carvalho 2014), part-task training (Wickens 2013) |
| the practice-questions review (sibling folder) |
feedback content and timing, question format, answers folded under a question |
| the instructional-text review (sibling folder) |
the worked-solution book as a genre, end-of-chapter apparatus |
| the flashcards review (sibling folder) |
spaced review of single prompts |
| principle worked examples with subgoals |
the rule this review extends from one example to a whole set |