Duolingo + Range—Learning with interleaving

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Interleaving—6 active skills + random test button

David Epstein’s book Range educated me on the value of interleaving and spacing for better learning. (Chapter: Learning fast and slow)

One of the places I immediately applied it is in my daily Spanish lessons on Duolingo.

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Block learning—completing one skill from start to finish before proceeding to the next.

Previously I used to start with one skill in Duolingo, say present perfect, and then complete it from start to finish. I only moved to the next skill once the previous skill was golden, or on the rare occasion when I gave up on it for being too hard.

The screen looked like the one on the left: all golds above the current skill.

Now I have six skills in progress at the same time. Every day I complete just one test from at least three of them. The next day I start with the other three. If I want to practice more, I use the dumbbell button in the bottom right—it tests me randomly from any of the dozens of skills I have already completed.

This mixing provides me with a bit of range. Each test daily is from a different skill; any skill reappears only after 48 hours; forcing me to remember, forcing more mistakes, and, hopefully, resulting in better learning.

Continue reading Duolingo + Range—Learning with interleaving

Spanish word of the day: batiburrillo

Batiburrillo
Noun.

Meaning: hodgepodge.


Examples:

“Un batiburrillo de gente.”
A real mix/hodgepodge of people.

“Menudo batiburrillo de cosas que hay en esta caja: Cables, lápices, pilas, llaves…”
What a mix/hodgepodge of things we have in this draw, cables, pencils, batteries, keys…


I love this word :)

Discovery, and quotes, courtesy of Ben y Marina.

2018 – Some successes

There were lots of setbacks in 2018 – some of them enough to drive me back into depression just by themselves. So I am not going to pore over them. Instead I am going to take note of some of the successes…

I climbed at least 10 floors every day++

Floors goal streak (continues in Jan 2019)

I averaged about 23 floors/day, with a peak of 154 floor equivalents* on a day when I went for a long hilly run.

I climbed 10 floors even in the days after injuring my ankle. Neighbours noticed as I hobbled up and down (down was worse) our steep drive way to get those 10 floors.

Steps target completed every day for 6 months++

Steps goal streak

I finished my step target every day for the later 6 months of the year. I started on 1st July, half way through the year, and a month and a half after the injury so the foot could manage 5K+ steps without discomfort.

Continue reading 2018 – Some successes

💯 days

100 consecutive days of learning Spanish on Duolingo.

100 consecutive days of climbing at least 10 floors1 a day. Average daily floors climbed over the period: 33.

100 consecutive days of recording weight (Google forms) and food intake (Myfitnesspal).

100 consecutive days feels like a good number to celebrate streaks.

Continue reading 💯 days