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Term 4 2021 Week 2
Term 4 2021 Week 2
What is retrieval practice?
What is retrieval practice?
Retrieval practice boosts learning by pulling information out of students’ heads, rather than trying to cram information in. We want to decrease the extraneous load on our students working memory by embedding knowledge into their long term memory. If we can increase how often the learner has to retrieve information, "every time that information is retrieved, or an answer is generated, it changes that original memory to make it stronger" (Jones, 2020).
Watch this video if you only have 5 minutes
Watch this video if you only have 5 minutes
Watch this video if you have 1 hour
Watch this video if you have 1 hour
Why should we use it?
Why should we use it?
The act of retrieving information from your long term memory strengthens the storage of that memory much more effectively than re-reading or reviewing notes.
It helps them make connections between new and old knowledge;
It increases the likelihood of knowledge being transferred into their long-term memory (which also makes it easier to learn new things);
It provides a foundation for future learning if it prompts feedback;
It is reliable under pressure (which makes it easier to remember information in exam conditions).
If you've ever wondered why a student is able to show that they understand something one day, but then look at you with a blank face when you ask them about it a few days later, it's because the new learning hasn't transferred into their long-term memory yet.
In the Hidden Lives of Learners, Graham Nuthall also talks about the need to encounter a new concept at least three different times for it to start to sink into long-term memory.
How can we use it?
How can we use it?
Retrieval practice should be included as part of a clear and coherent curriculum, not as a stand alone activity. As you will see in the Retrieval Practice Examples section of this website, there are many ways that it can be embedded in the classroom. If too much support is provided, students may be very successful but may not actively reinstate the prior context, and this scenario could harm the effectiveness of retrieval practice. When combined with other cognitive learning approaches such as spacing, interleaving and elaboration, it can be even more powerful!
Tom Sherrington gave these tips in his blog 10 Techniques for Retrieval Practice:
Involve everyone: Good techniques involve all students checking their knowledge, not just a few and not just one at a time as you might do when questioning.
Make checking accurate and easy: it should be possible for all students to find out what they got right and wrong, what they know well and where they have gaps. Every technique involves students testing their knowledge and then checking their work for accuracy and completeness. (This is not the same as giving students extended mark schemes to mark longer assessments which, for me goes beyond a simple retrieval practice activity)
Specify the knowledge: Where appropriate, it’s better if students know the set of knowledge any retrieval will be based on, so they can study, prepare and self-check. It must be possible for students to check their own answers which has implications for the way the knowledge requirements are laid out.
Keep it generative: students need to explore their memory to check what they know and understand; this means removing cue-cards, prompts, scaffolds and cheat-sheets; it means closing the books and thinking for themselves.
Make it time efficient: The idea of each technique is that they can be used repeatedly in an efficient manner without dominating whole lessons.
Make it workload efficient: None of these methods involve the teacher checking the students’ answers, creating unsustainable workload. A teacher might choose to check the occasional test but that’s no use for routine practice.
We have this book!
ROUTINE KNOWLEDGE CHECKING TO REDUCE FORGETTING
ROUTINE KNOWLEDGE CHECKING TO REDUCE FORGETTING
Research and more information
Research and more information
Books (the school has the following books which all provide more information on retreival practice)
Kirschner, P.A., & Hendrick, C. 2020, 'How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice.' Routledge
Jones, K. 2019, “Retrieval Practice: Research and resources for every Classroom.” John Catt Educational Ltd.
Tait, J. 2020, 'Teaching Rebooted: Using the science of learning to transform classrooms' Bloomsbury Inc
Weinstein, Y., Sumeracki, M. and Caviglioli, O. "Understanding how we learn: A visual guide." Routledge
Willingham, D.T. 2021. “Why Don’t Students Like School? A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom. Second Edition.” John Wiley & Sons Inc
Watson, E. & Busch, B. 2021, 'The Science of Learning: 99 Studies That Every Teacher Needs to Know.' Second Edition. Routledge
Research articles
Agarwal, P.K., Nunes, L.D. & Blunt, J.R. Retrieval Practice Consistently Benefits Student Learning: a Systematic Review of Applied Research in Schools and Classrooms. Educ Psychol Rev (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09595-9
Roediger, H.L. and Karpicke, J.D. Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Psychological Science (2006)
Storm, B.C., Bjork, E.L., Bjork, R.A. et al. Is retrieval success a necessary condition for retrieval-induced forgetting?. Psychon Bull Rev 13, 1023–1027 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213919
A powerful way to improve learning and memory by By Jeffrey D. Karpicke, PhD
Websites and blogs
retrievalpractice.org/ A website developed specifically for retrieval practice! Here is a guide from the website HOW TO USE RETRIEVAL PRACTICE TO IMPROVE LEARNING
Retrieval Practice: The Most Powerful Learning Strategy You’re Not Using by Jennifer Gonzalez
Optimising Learning Using Retrieval Practice By Megan Sumeracki & Yana Weinstein
To gain access to the retrieval practice examples, complete Quiz 2 (below)
To gain access to the retrieval practice examples, complete Quiz 2 (below)
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