Abstract
Students struggle to understand many concepts in statistics such as when to use the appropriate inferential statistic to run a statistical analysis. This study was the first of its kind to incorporate interleaved practice, a form of distributed practice, into a Statistics in Psychology course to see if this educational intervention can help students better understand statistical concepts and reduce negative attitudes towards statistics. The study was conducted by having students in Statistics in Psychology at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth be exposed to interleaved homework assignments (n = 18) or traditional blocked homework assignments (n = 13) during the Fall 2023 semester. Results showed marginal effects in which interleaved practice led to better performance on some quizzes. Results also showed a significant interaction in which interleaved learning led to students having more positive attitudes about the value of statistics at the end of the semester as compared to the beginning, while blocked learning led to students having more negative value attitudes at the end of the semester as compared to the beginning. Based on the results I concluded that interleaved practice has high potential of helping students perform better on certain assessments in Statistics in Psychology such as quizzes, as well as promoting more positive attitudes towards the class. Thus, future Statistics in Psychology instructors may decide to implement interleaved homework assignments in their sections to help their students perform better and increase their feeling of value towards the course. Keywords: interleaved learning, blocked learning, learning intervention, psychology, statistics, statistical attitudes.