| Abstract: | The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend research on academic assignment preference by presenting high school students with control assignments containing eight 2‐digit × 2‐digit + 2‐digit × 2‐digit mathematics reading problems, experimental assignments that contained eight equivalent 2‐digit × 2‐digit + 2‐digit × 2‐digit problems, and three additional interspersed 4‐digit + 4‐digit mathematics reading problems. After spending 10 minutes and 40 seconds working on each assignment, significantly more high school students ranked the experimental assignments as being less difficult. When given a choice between the two assignments for homework, significantly more students chose a new experimental assignment. No differences were found on accuracy levels across assignments. Although the experimental assignments contained more problems, the students preferred the experimental over the control assignments. Discussion focuses on future research designed to investigate the applied implications of the interspersal technique within educational settings. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
