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Students often study by re-reading their textbooks, highlighting information, and/or reviewing their notes. In both of these situations, the focus is on getting information “in,” with the hope that it sticks. We’ve all had the experience of feeling like these methods work – if I cram, and re-read, and study my notes, I feel fairly confident that I know the information. And indeed, cramming pays off – we tend to do well on a test. So what’s the problem?
The problem is that these methods only lead to short-term learning. Have you ever gone back to work you revised for the last assessment only to find that you have forgotten nearly everything? This common situation arises because of an assumption we make about memory: when information comes to mind easily and feels “fluent,” we’ve learned successfully. Much to our surprise, however, memory researchers have demonstrated that the opposite is true: when information comes to mind easily and feels fluent, it’s easy to forget. In other words, just because we learn something quickly and easily does not guarantee we will remember it.
Retrieval practice makes learning effortful and challenging. Because retrieving information requires mental effort, we often think we are doing poorly if we can’t remember something. We may feel like progress is slow, but that’s when our best learning takes place. The more difficult the retrieval practice, the better it is for long-term learning. For instance, recalling an answer to a science question improves learning to a greater extent than looking up the answer in a textbook. And having to actually recall and write down an answer to a flashcard improves learning more than thinking that you know the answer and flipping the card over prematurely. Struggling to learn – through the act of “practicing” what you know and recalling information – is much more effective than re-reading, taking notes, or listening to lectures. Slower, effortful retrieval leads to long-term learning. In contrast, fast, easy strategies only lead to short term learning.
As an additional benefit, retrieval practice helps us to identify gaps in learning. In other words, not only does retrieval improve learning and help us figure out what we do know – more importantly, it helps us figure out what we don’t know. This crucial benefit of retrieval practice is called metacognition, or awareness of what students know and don’t know. For instance, some students study hard for tests and don’t do well, usually because they studied what they already knew – they didn’t study what they didn’t know. By engaging in retrieval practice, students are able to evaluate what they know and what they don’t know, and then make better study decisions
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