Retrieval Practice in the Classroom

Facilitator: Diana Benner (@diben)

Session Description

Retrieval practice is a learning strategy that focuses on recalling facts or concepts from your memory to enhance learning. Join me to discover ways to use retrieval practice in your classroom.

retrieval practice

Retrieval practice is a learning strategy that focuses on recalling facts or concepts from your memory in order to enhance learning. By recalling information, we are forced to pull our knowledge out and examine what we know. Many times, in the classroom, retrieval practice is confused as an assessment strategy, which it is not. It is a learning strategy that can include any activity that has students retrieve what they have learned from their memory.

research

According to Pooja Agarwal, Ph.D., founder of RetrievalPractice.org, retrieval practice boosts learning by pulling information out of students’ heads rather than cramming information into students’ heads. Based on years of research, simply retrieving what you’ve already learned further boosts your long-term learning. There is a lot of additional research on retrieval practice that is worthy of exploration.

The majority of effect sizes (57%) revealed medium or large benefits from retrieval practice (see pie chart).

ways to use retrieval practice in the classroom

Brain Dump

Free recall is also known as a "brain dump," "show what you know," and a "stop and jot." No matter what you call it, try this quick retrieval strategy during your instruction. Here's how it works:

Pause your lesson, lecture, or activity.
Ask students to write down everything they can remember. You could ask them to write down two things they remember.
Continue your lesson, lecture, or activity.

think-pair-share

Similar to brain dumps, “think, pair, share” is a low-stakes retrieval activity that’s relatively easy to set up. Here's how it typically works:

Students think about a topic in response to a question or prompt
Students pair up with another student and talk about their reflection
Students share their thoughts in a larger class discussion

It’s important for students to retrieve individually as much as possible.

flashcards

A classic example of retrieval practice is using flashcards. These are tasks where cards are displayed containing a word or a picture. Then, students are asked to retrieve their knowledge of what they are shown, recalling facts they know. Students should go through the flashcards multiple times and say as much of the information as possible out loud before flipping the card.

Make Flashcards More Powerful

low stake quizzes / practice tests

Low stake quizzes and practice tests help students gauge how well they understand recently learned material, and identify areas of strength and areas where they need to grow. Research shows that when students become too reliant on strategies like rereading or highlighting material they tend to develop a false impression of how much they know—quizzes close that gap.

Tips:

Research suggests that it’s better to make them low-stakes–worth little or no grade–which can reduce test anxiety, prompt more honest reflection, and improve student focus and performance.
Timing matters: It’s helpful to give a practice test right after a lesson, and then continue visiting the concept through review.
Engage students by incorporate technology tools to make your quizzes or polls.

Making Practice Tests More Effective

concept maps

Concept maps are visual tools that help students organize and articulate what they know about a given concept or topic. Students will start with a large circle with the topic and then begin adding circles with keywords that relate to the topic. Using concept maps will show what the students don’t know while committing what they do know to long term memory.

Research shows this strategy is far superior to rote memorization because it encourages students to make rich, meaningful connections within a topic.

trivia question

At the beginning of class, ask your students a trivia question. About one-third of the way into the first class, after discussing the content, ask the trivia question again. Allow students to answer in about 10 seconds. Move on, and at the very end of class, pose the trivia question, students respond.

Using Trivia Questions for Retrieval Practice

jigsaw method

You can use the Jigsaw Method to help students retrieve information, process it again, and then practice teaching it to their peers. After splitting students up into small groups of four to six, each should be assigned to specialize in one “chunk” of content related to a topic or lesson, as seen in Cult of Pedagogy’s video tutorial.

Jigsaw Your Math Classroom

tips

Retrieval practice is not the same thing as assessment. Remember that retrieval practice is a learning activity.
Space your practice. Retrieval practice is even more effective if it’s done in short bursts over time, rather than in a single long session. Give students time to forget the information before they try to access it.
Include feedback. If students retrieve the wrong information, the practice won’t be much good unless they find out the right information, so be sure to give them feedback as they go.
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.

Additional resources

Download Our Free Resources – Retrieval PracticeIn our free resources, written by cognitive scientists, we condense research on teaching strategies, why they enhance learning, and how to implement them in the classroom.