Retrieval Practice

Retrieval practice is a strategy to rehearse already learned information by trying to recall it from memory, or to actively locate the piece of information in one's mind. It is based on what is known as “The Testing Effect” – the findings that future long-term memory performance is enhanced for materials practiced by testing when compared to rehearsal. Unfortunately, tests have an unfavorable reputation: they are associated with assessment, performance measurement, and many students and former students tend not to like them because of the consequences that they often bear. In retrieval practice we use tests as an effective way to PRACTICE. 

Retrieval practice is a strategy to rehearse already learned information by trying to recall it from memory, or to actively locate the piece of information in one's mind. When applied effectively it allows learners to identify gaps in their knowledge and actively resolve them. Therefore, it’s a crucial stage of a meaningful learning process that allows learners to use the knowledge they have acquired in any relevant future situation.   It is based on what is known as “The Testing Effect” – an established series of findings from cognitive psychology that shows enhancement of long-term memory performance after practicing by using retrieval as compared to rote rehearsal.  One barrier to using retrieval practice is the unfavorable reputation of Tests: they are associated with assessment, performance measurement, and most students would avoid them if they could, because of the consequences that they often bear. In retrieval practice, we use positive aspects of tests as an effective way to practice, which in turn may improve performance in high-stakes tests and even reduce anxiety. More importantly, retrieval practice has every potential to improve performance not just in high-stakes tests, but when the information is needed in the much longer term.

Retrieval Practice – the evidence 

Retrieval practice has made it to the top of a list of the most effective evidence-based learning strategies1, and it was demonstrated to be effective for learners across ages and learning materials.  

Retrieval practice is often compared to strategies like re-reading or re-studying.  It would probably not surprise you that re-reading is a very common way of practice among students, and it is often recommended by teachers as well. Re-reading the book or the notes seems perfectly reasonable: we are re-exposing ourselves to previously learned material in order to stabilize its representation in our minds. We can actually feel the benefit as we are practicing this method of rehearsal. Interestingly, however, this method was found to be ineffective. More accurately, re-reading may be effective for the short-term (defined loosely between minutes and a few days), but on longer time scales it is almost entirely ineffective.  The major difference between re-reading and retrieval practice is that when re-reading, the information is presented to the learners in its whole from an external source, while with retrieval the learners are searching the information in their own mind, following just a cue.

How to make Retrieval Practice effective?

• The first guideline is to make retrieval practice EFFORTFUL –our mind should work hard, reconstructing partially deconstructed pathways. If it is too easy, it means that nothing was reconstructed, and nothing was added. The straightforward way to make retrieval practice effective is to space the study repetitions over time.

• Another important point is to make retrieval practice MEANINGFUL, that is to build our retrieval pathways of associations that we are familiar with the relations between them, as was explained on the previous page. This idea is related to the technique known as elaborative interrogation. This idea combines two key principles of long-term memory organization: meaningful connections to other pieces of knowledge and reconstruction by retrieval. another practical way to combine them is by reconstructing concept maps from memory3.

•  FEEDBACK that follows a retrieval attempt will improve learning.  One benefit is correcting misconceptions and misunderstanding, another is reinforcing correct responses. As for the latter, delayed feedback may prove more beneficial than an immediate one.  It is also recommended that following the feedback the learners are able to retrieve the correct answer independently at least once. A related idea is to use the retrieved (and verified) information as a basis for a NEW LEARNING, in other words, retrieve and add something new. 

• Retrieval practice should be effortful but not impossible; it is a tricky balance to provide sufficient SUPPORT to the learners. Retrieval practice was shown to work even with younger children, but it may require more structure and support, you can read more about it here. Students at different ages and stages of the learning  (novices or advanced) would benefit from different retrieval activities (e.g. fill in the blanks, multiple-choice questions, or open questions). Older students may find motivation and support by understanding why retrieval works, what are the benefits, and what is the pedagogical rationale of different learning activities – read more about the contribution of information and modeling here. 

• One last thing to keep in mind is that retrieval practice is indeed PRACTICE, it should follow an initial learning stage (see the visual road map at the bottom of this page)

To put all the above together for a simple recommendation – it is possibly most beneficial to use retrieval practice to probe previously learned relevant information such that it is practiced and also active in students' minds as the basis for new learning.

Examples from different classrooms

Retrieval practice is highly effective and it is spreading as a teaching approach, however, it is important to note two major challenges: one issue is the unfavorable reputation of tests, which usually influence older students’ (and sometimes teachers’) willingness to use tests for learning. The other barrier is the fact that retrieval practice is harder to engage in, it is not always successful, and it challenges learners to face their knowledge gaps and mistakes. It is therefore important to frame retrieval practice as a learning activity, with positive approach and consequences. The way we address the activity (e.g. quiz vs. review), how we frame it (e.g. surprise quiz vs. morning review routine),  the stakes (high vs. low or none), and how much room we leave for making mistakes and correcting them are essential factors. In this blog you can see an example of a simple class activity that also develops students’ meta-cognitive skills.

It is noteworthy that explanations of retrieval importance may be valuable in some settings but they are certainly not enough, because when students are left to choose by themselves, they often choose the easier way – i.e re-reading (it is human nature to choose easy and immediately-rewarding pathways). It is therefore highly recommended to build retrieval practice activities into the learning ROUTINE in the classroom, rather than suggesting that students will use it at home by themselves. It is sometimes challenging to make time for a questionnaire or review during lessons, but it is probably worthwhile: you may find this example from secondary history teacher, and this detailed application from a higher-education psychology professor very informative, compelling and applicable. 

Another good reason to apply retrieval practice in the classroom rather than at home is the ability to make it available for ALL LEARNERS. There are learners who are less inclined to test themselves than others. It can be attributed to their previous learning experience or their self-confidence. When we suggest to learners that they will practice by retrieval independently, we are most likely encouraging only the already inclined students. When retrieval practice is applied in class, as a learning activity and by means that allow everyone to answer individually and discretely, we are actually promoting the learning of all students. The familiar routine of a teacher asking a question, only a few students are volunteering to answer and only one actually speaking is beneficial only for the active student(s), but not for all the rest (even if they were listening). There are many simple methods by which “on the fly” teachers’ questions can support the learning of all the students in the classroom:  cold- calling, using student response cards, or personal mini-whiteboards are all simple low-tech examples that can make a huge difference in your classroom. There are also various technological solutions that enable the added value of storing the information for formative purposes, like kahoot!, socrative or notably plickers – that allows individual and discrete, digitally registered answers without the use of students’ personal devices!

Luckily in recent years,  more and more teachers learn about retrieval practice, and come up with new and creative ways to use it in their classrooms. The best part is that they share their method, so many other students and teachers can benefit. Here are two last examples of short and focused blogs by two teachers that describe and demonstrate specific ways to encourage retrieval among their students: one is a simple yet sophisticated way to make the most out of multiple-choice questions, and the second is an idea to make sure students engage in retrieval practice of recent as well as older material.

To summarize, retrieval is highly effective as a method of practice, it has a strong continually-growing body of evidence, and most importantly - it can be applied in any classroom to enhance the learning of all students, to close gaps, and supply students with effective learning-tools for the rest of their journey.

Resources & additional information:

• The “Learning Scientists”  is a website founded by cognitive psychologists Dr. Yana Weinstein and Dr. Megan Sumeracki.  It introduces students, parents and teachers to six effective strategies and the research behind them. They have blogs, by both scientists and teachers, podcasts and videos, and even a series of downloadable posters (one for each strategy) the simply and visually demonstrate retrieval practice and other strategies– for the use in classrooms and notebooks.

Specifically about retrieval practice, you can find a collection of teachers’ implementations and a summary of the many benefits of this method. 

• Retrieval Practice is a website by cognitive psychologist Pooja Agarwal that specifically introduces retrieval practice to teachers, with helpful resources and recommendations for teachers.

• The book “Make it Stick: The Science of successful Learning” by Brown, Roediger and McDaniel Is a very readable and eye-opening book about research-based effective learning strategies. It uses personal stories and vivid examples to discuss the benefits of retrieval practice among other effective methods.

References

1       Dunlosky, J. (2013). Strengthening the student toolbox: Study strategies to boost learning. American Educator, 37(3), 12-21  [PDF]

2       Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. science, 319(5865), 966-968.‏ [PDF]

3       Blunt, J. R., & Karpicke, J. D. (2014). Learning with retrieval-based concept mapping. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(3), 849.‏ [PDF]

Referenced Blogs:

How to Create Retrieval Practice Activities for Elementary Students by Megan Sumeracki (formerly Smith) via 'The Learning Scientists' http://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2017/4/6-1

Color Coding Recall Attempts to Assess Learning by Blake Harvard via 'The Effortful Educator' https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2017/09/14/color-coding-recall-attempts-to-assess-learning/

Nothing new, it’s a review – on why I killed my starters by Ben Newmark https://bennewmark.wordpress.com/2017/11/13/nothing-new-its-a-review-on-why-i-killed-my-starters/

Retrieval Practice: The What, Why, and How for Classroom Instruction by Pooja Agarwal via NOBA Blog http://nobaproject.com/blog/2017-11-08-retrieval-practice-the-what-why-and-how-for-classroom-instruction

Technique 22: Cold Call via Teach Like a Champion  http://teachlikeachampionch4.blogspot.com/p/technique-22-cold-call.html

Students Response Cards via The teacher Toolkit http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/student-response-cards

THE Number 1 Bit of Classroom Kit: Mini-whiteboards by Tom Sherrington via teacherhead https://teacherhead.com/2012/08/28/the-number-1-bit-of-classroom-kit-mini-whiteboards/

Learn, Teach, Model RETRIEVAL PRACTICE by Tricia Taylor via 'The Learning Scientists'  http://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2018/2/28-1

RESEARCH BITES – ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION via Durrington Research School blog   https://durrington.researchschool.org.uk/2018/01/16/research-bites-elaborative-interrogation/

Retrieval Practice Challenge Grids for the classroom by Kate  Jones  https://lovetoteach87.com/2018/01/12/retrieval-practice-challenge-grids-for-the-classroom/

Maximizing the Effectiveness of Multiple-Choice Qs by Blake Harvard via 'The Effortful Educator' https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2018/05/15/maximizing-the-effectiveness-of-multiple-choice-qs/