Retrieval Practice

The next retrieval practice session is taking place on Tuesday 5th November 2.30-3.30 pm in St Ronan's College (Francis Street campus). 

Kiera Warke hosted a highly productive Breakout session at Lismore College, part of the CALC Teaching and Learning Pathway initiative. The event saw enthusiastic participation, with a dynamic exchange of ideas once the conversation got flowing.

Participants shared a wealth of great ideas and demonstrated a high level of enthusiasm throughout the session. This positive engagement underscored the collaborative spirit that drives CALC initiatives.

To maintain this momentum, Kiera Warke has set up a Google Classroom for participants. This platform will facilitate ongoing communication and resource sharing, with plans already in place to hold another meeting in the new academic year.

The session marked a significant step in fostering continuous improvement and innovation in teaching and learning practices.

The CALC Teaching and Learning Pathway hosted a highly successful Retrieval Practice meeting, led by Rosie Jordan from St Ronan's. The event saw a great turnout, with 24 attendees contributing to a vibrant and productive session.

The meeting began with a warm welcome and introduction from Rosie Jordan. Following this, Una Walsh from St Ronan’s College provided an insightful presentation on how the Religion Department effectively implements Retrieval Practice (RP). Her demonstration set the stage for a series of engaging group discussions.

Attendees were divided into four groups based on their subjects: two STEM-focused groups and two Humanities-focused groups. These breakout sessions allowed teachers to share their experiences, good practices, and valuable resources related to Retrieval Practice. This collaborative effort was further supported by the creation of a OneDrive folder titled "CALC Retrieval 202425," designed to facilitate the ongoing sharing of resources.

To ensure continuous improvement, the session concluded with a two-question survey, collecting crucial feedback from participants. The responses were immensely valuable and will help shape future sessions, ensuring they meet the needs and expectations of the educators.

The enthusiasm and active participation from teachers across CALC were truly inspiring. This meeting marked a significant step forward in the collective effort to enhance teaching and learning through effective Retrieval Practice

Teachers from various schools across CALC held a meeting on Tuesday, March 21st at Craigavon Senior High School to discuss Retrieval Practice. The meeting was opened by Alistair Hamill (Lurgan College), who provided an introduction to the group's goals and objectives.

During the meeting, Lynn Graham, a teacher from St Ronan's, shared her work as part of the CALC Middle Leaders training with Stranmillis. She discussed her trial intervention with Y9s using Retrieval Practice and outlined how she approached the project, as well as the impacts it had on test outcomes.

The teachers then divided into two groups, the sciences and humanities, to share ideas on how they have been using retrieval practice up to this point. They used Google Slides as a Digital Jotter to collate their ideas. Finally, they all chose one idea to trial over the next few months.

Alistair Hamill, Chair of the CALC T&L Group, expressed his enthusiasm for the meeting and the ideas presented by the teachers. He said, "It's fantastic to see teachers from various schools coming together to share their innovative teaching techniques. The use of Retrieval Practice is an excellent way to improve student learning, and I'm excited to see how the teachers' ideas will be implemented over the next few months."

The group plans to hold its second meeting in June, where they will share their experiences with the new teaching strategies. The CALC T&L Group is dedicated to providing high-quality professional development for teachers to improve student outcomes.

On 23 March, St John the Bpatist College welcomed teachers from Clounagh Junior High School and Killicomaine Junior High School as part of the collaboration with the CALC. Miss Barker led us through a presentation on Walkthrus and it was a great opportunity to share ideas with each other. 

Teachers from various schools across CALC held a meeting on Wednesday, March 22nd at Lismore Comprehensive School to discuss The Magenta Principles. Gary Brennan (Lismore Comprehensive School) welcomed the 14 attendees and explained the purpose and vision of CALC TPL collaborations. Paul Crowe and Caroline Kelly from EA also attended the meeting with Caroline delivering a great ice breaker activity using The Magenta Principles. 

The structure of the meeting allowed each teacher to share what principles they have trialled in their lessons and the impact these have had on the learning and teaching in the classroom. Each member of staff finished by explaining what idea they were taking away to trial before our next meeting. A google classroom was created so that staff can continue to contact each other individually and as a group. This will also be used to share resources. 

Gary concluded the meeting by saying how fantastic it was to have teachers from different schools sharing their experiences, resources and learning from each other.  

The group plans to hold its second meeting in June, where they will share their experiences with the new teaching strategies. The CALC T&L Group is dedicated to providing high-quality professional development for teachers to improve student outcomes. 

"Some great ideas and nice to have time at end to talk through and share best practice from all schools."

"Amazing training!" 

"Great session - great way to see what is happening in other schools and what works well."

"It would be great to meet for a longer period of time, such as 2 hours next time."

"Enjoyed the opportunity to create networks and look forward to trialing a new retrieval practice activity that has been established in another school."

"Enjoyed the opportunity to create networks and look forward to trialing a new retrieval practice activity that has been established in another school

"Great session, delighted with the opportunity to meet others from the CALC community face to face and visit other schools for meetings."