kumthekar

If you don't mind me asking, how did you start getting 'movers' to join the platform? What kind of marketing did you do? And what about getting the word out to people?

I am a co-founder of Lymboo Math (http://lymboo.com) We designed Lymboo Math to be a comprehensive, structured, and rigorous math enrichment program. While most programs focus only on short-term mastery of math concepts, Lymboo Math's emphasis is on both short-term proficiency and long-term retention. We do this by incorporating spiral reviews at periodic intervals. Our spiral reviews are 'spaced' both in time and in content, i.e., students are assessed on multiple topics in the same test. The mixed spiral reviews improve students' context switching skills and at the same time enhance retention of learned concepts.

You can learn more about our philosophy here: http://lymboo.com/about and http://lymboo.com/tour

Thanks. Bala

I look at the role 'rote memorization' plays very differently from what spaced and interleaved repetition does. Rote memorization is short-lived because the kind of patterns and associations that the brain builds internally is not that strong. Our brains 'remember' well when a piece of knowledge (for the lack of a better word) is repeatedly encountered in diverse settings. More the associations the better we remember and recall.

It is true that without a good understanding of fundamentals the advanced concepts will be difficult to comprehend. But, rote memorization should not be construed as something that lays a strong foundation of fundamentals. Even if we are able to recall basic concepts 'learned' via rote memorization, their applicability to understanding advanced concepts is very limited.

Interleaved and spaced practice is a very powerful learning and knowledge retention technique. Some of recent findings in cognitive science has given credence to this approach. If anyone is interested here is the link to one of the research papers.

http://uweb.rc.usf.edu/~drohrer/pdfs/Taylor&Rohrer2010AC...

I think memorization doesn't really help understand the fundamentals of any topic. Rote memorization can only get you so far. As concepts get harder and complex, dependence on mere memorization leaves a lot of holes in the understanding of any subject matter.

Specifically in programming, syntax or semantics form just a minor part of overall problem solving exercise. Efficient and effective programming requires repeated use of concepts or paradigms in solutions for diverse problems. Our brain is much more effective in registering and recalling facts or knowledge when that piece of knowledge is exercised in diverse scenarios.

I am a co-founder of Lymboo Math (http://www.lymboo.com), an online math practice program for elementary school children. We built the curriculum that follows the natural learning sequence of math concepts. On top of the comprehensive curriculum we implemented a practice structure that relies on interleaved and spaced practice. Students practice daily on individual topics until they are proficient in that topic. Then they move on to subsequent topics along the prerequisites-based curriculum. Throughout the program the system automatically incorporates spiral reviews of previous topics at regular intervals of time to effectively cement all the acquired knowledge.

What we have found is that children easily forget what they have learned just a weeks earlier, and their performance degrades in the initial mixed spiral reviews. However, as they continue the cycle of (learn--practice--review)*, they show improved performance in subsequent spiral reviews.

Mixed spiral reviews model interleaved (mix of topics) and spaced (in time) practice to enhance our context-switching skills. The neurons in the brain make new connections and store patterns that aid in quick and fluent recall of knowledge.

Interleaved and spaced learning techniques are more than just for memorization.