4 Ways to Teach Retrieval Practice Using Retrieval Practice

Paying close attention to students' real needs is key to being an affective teacher. One disconnect I've noticed recently is that teachers often assume students know how to learn. They offer some key readings, interesting activities, and engaging conversations on a curricular objective and then organize their favorite form of assessment and assume students have internalized the objectives for the unit.

But is that really what's going on?

Now more than ever, students are accustomed to finding information they need with a few taps of their smartphone screen. They often take the same approach at information at school, repeating habits that demonstrate they are adept at locating information and copying it from one place to another.

But is this really helping them build knowledge and acquire skills?

The research says no. In "Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning," Peter Brown describes the scientific research that demonstrates the importance of retrieval practice in learning. Attempting to recall information strengthens the connections in the brain and make it more likely to be stored in long term memory. In essence, the more often you go back to the storage box and see what's inside, the more likely you are to know what's inside.

So what next?

Recently, I explicitly taught students about retrieval practice through a reading. To actively demonstrate the concept articulated in the reading, students put the paper inside manialla folders and answered questions only after closing their folders. No copying allowed! When it came time to review the retrieval practice concepts for the assessment, we collaboratively made a Kahoot, a board game, and a memory card game.

My hope is that by building a common language around strategies such as spacing, interleaving, and feedback driven metacognition, students will become more savvy about their own learning and develop an intrinsic motivation that will guide them throughout their lives.