Differentiate blocked from random practice and explain which is more beneficial for long-term skill retention.

• A. Blocked practice repeats the same task; Random practice mixes tasks. Random practice generally enhances transfer and long-term retention, though it may feel harder initially.
• B. Blocked practice repeats multiple tasks in a random order; Random practice repeats the same task in a fixed order.
• C. Random practice is always superior to blocked practice for all skills.
• D. Block practice is identical in effect to random practice for retention.

Answer: (B)

Blocked practice means repeating the same task in consecutive trials, letting you lock in the mechanics of that one task. Random practice mixes several tasks in no fixed order, so you have to switch tasks and retrieve different solutions on each try. That additional switching creates contextual interference, which can make practice feel harder in the moment but strengthens learning in the long run. Because your brain has to adapt to different demands and reconstruct the right plan for each variation, you build more durable representations of the skill. As a result, random practice typically yields better long-term retention and transfer to new contexts than blocked practice, even though performance during practice might look worse at first. In certain simple or early-learning situations, blocked practice can help with initial familiarity, but for lasting retention and flexible performance, random practice is the stronger approach. The key idea is that while blocked practice focuses on consolidating one task, random practice challenges you to retrieve and apply skills across different tasks, driving deeper learning.