Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Watch me put research-based learning principles to the test as I learn mental arithmetic. I use testing, lots of relevant, deliberate practice with feedback, spaced practice, interleaving, and review to learn to become as good at mental math as I can in 40 hours.
Join my online learning community: benjaminkeep.com/community
0:00 An introduction
0:20 The plan
1:08 How I apply the science of learning
3:29 My first diagnostic test
4:20 Reflections after ten hours
5:06 I'm noticing patterns
6:23 How to use practice tests to learn
8:47 Ten hour mark test
9:17 Next steps
Here’s the link to the course I’m using: thegreatcourses.com/courses/secrets-of-mental-math
The link to the book I mentioned: bookshop.org/a/91541/9780307338402 (I'm a Bookshop.org affiliate, so get a commission if you purchase through this link).
REFERENCES:
For a readable introduction to interleaving in math from the teacher’s perspective, see: pdf.retrievalpractice.org/InterleavingGuide.pdf.
For more background on interleaving (like so many of these principles, it get’s complicated), see: Firth, J., Rivers, I., & Boyle, J. (2021). A systematic review of interleaving as a concept learning strategy. Review of Education, 9(2), 642-684. bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/rev3.3266
For more on spaced practice, see: Latimier, A., Peyre, H., & Ramus, F. (2021). A meta-analytic review of the benefit of spacing out retrieval practice episodes on retention. Educational Psychology Review, 33(3), 959-987. lscp.net/persons/ramus/docs/EPR20.pdf
For evidence supporting the “keep testing learned items” idea, see this classic: Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. science, 319(5865), 966-968. http://psychnet.wustl.edu/memory/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Karpicke-Roediger-2008_Sci.pdf
Watch me put research-based learning principles to the test as I learn mental arithmetic. I use testing, lots of relevant, deliberate practice with feedback, spaced practice, interleaving, and review to learn to become as good at mental math as I can in 40 hours.
Join my online learning community: benjaminkeep.com/community
0:00 An introduction
0:20 The plan
1:08 How I apply the science of learning
3:29 My first diagnostic test
4:20 Reflections after ten hours
5:06 I'm noticing patterns
6:23 How to use practice tests to learn
8:47 Ten hour mark test
9:17 Next steps
Here’s the link to the course I’m using: thegreatcourses.com/courses/secrets-of-mental-math
The link to the book I mentioned: bookshop.org/a/91541/9780307338402 (I'm a Bookshop.org affiliate, so get a commission if you purchase through this link).
REFERENCES:
For a readable introduction to interleaving in math from the teacher’s perspective, see: pdf.retrievalpractice.org/InterleavingGuide.pdf.
For more background on interleaving (like so many of these principles, it get’s complicated), see: Firth, J., Rivers, I., & Boyle, J. (2021). A systematic review of interleaving as a concept learning strategy. Review of Education, 9(2), 642-684. bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/rev3.3266
For more on spaced practice, see: Latimier, A., Peyre, H., & Ramus, F. (2021). A meta-analytic review of the benefit of spacing out retrieval practice episodes on retention. Educational Psychology Review, 33(3), 959-987. lscp.net/persons/ramus/docs/EPR20.pdf
For evidence supporting the “keep testing learned items” idea, see this classic: Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. science, 319(5865), 966-968. http://psychnet.wustl.edu/memory/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Karpicke-Roediger-2008_Sci.pdf
