Why are there different practice session types? What is the difference between them?

We all know a student can achieve more in 10 minutes than 30 minutes if they’re practicing the right way. That’s where our four practice modes come in. By giving options for the structure of students’ practice, we encourage their brains to stay switched on for the entire duration of the practice session.

Teachers can enable four different practice session types for each student: 

• Blocked is what we recommend all students start with. It’s basically a checklist of all the items on their list. The timer counts up until they decide to stop practicing.

• Interleaved randomly flips between selected assignments every 4 minutes. This encourages students to focus on one issue at a time. The Bulletproof Musician site is a great source to learn about the science behind interleaved practice.

• Focused is for doing only one of their assignments. It builds in short practice stints of 3 minutes and adds a 30-second break between each one.

• Pomodoro allows students to see all their assignments but still incorporate break times. Students can choose between 10-90 minute practice sessions and how often they’d like to take 1-minute breaks.

To learn more, check out this article on the Colourful Key blog.