The Problem with Blocked Practice The traditional approach to practice follows a simple logic that seems almost self-evident: if you want to master a skill, focus on it intensely and exclusively until you achieve competence, then move to the next skill. This method, called blocked practice or massed practice, dominates education, sports training, music instruction, and professional development. Math students work through twenty similar problems in a row. Tennis players practice the same serve for an hour straight. Musicians repeat the same passage until it becomes smooth. The assumption underlying this approach is that repetition creates mastery, that drilling a...