Retrieval Practice
Video from https://www.retrievalpractice.org/
Retrieval practice is a strategy to help improve learning. In it's simplest form, it is the task of bringing information that is in your memory to mind. It is a particularly useful strategy for students to use when studying, but is also one that we as teachers can utilise to improve the learning of our students.
Every time we try to recall a piece of information (retrieve it from our long term memory) we actually strengthen the neural pathway, and hence make that information easier to retrieve in the future. We actually learn from testing ourselves. In fact, this strategy has so much evidence to back it up (see here) that you could argue it is one of the most important parts of learning material well.
One analogy I like for the benefits of retrieval practice is the idea that our brain is similar to a forest. When we learn something, it is like putting that object somewhere in the forest. The struggle is finding our way back to the exact location in the forest, to find the item at a later date. However, the more times we walk the path to the item, the clearer the path becomes, and the easier it is to find it next time. This analogy can be taken beyond just retrieval practice. Each time we connect this item to another location we already know (prior knowledge), and create a pathway between them, it becomes easier to find. Also, as time goes by the path becomes overgrown and harder to find, which is why we need to revisit the location at spaced intervals (spaced practice).
I have already come across the idea of retrieval practice as a powerful learning tool in some of the other blog posts I have done (for example, Cognitive Load Theory, Principles of Instruction, Strengthening The Student Toolbox, ). However, recently I listened to an excellent podcast (https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/retrieval-practice/) which looked at this fantastic strategy in even more depth. This is what I have summarised in the image above (PDF download here). In particular, although sometimes referred to as the "testing effect", it is important to note that we can achieve the potential of retrieval practice without doing formal tests. In fact, any activity where you have to recall information (without looking it up) is an act of retrieval practice. This includes low-stakes quizzes (using Quizziz for example), flash cards and brain dumps (as explained here). The important part is that students are actively trying to recall information from their memory. There is even some research to suggest that it doesn't even matter if they retrieve incorrect information (Kornell, Hays and Bjork, 2009), though obviously this does have less of a positive impact.
One of the key elements to retrieval practice is that enough time should be left so that students have started to forget the material, and hence have to work to retrieve it. If they have not reached this stage, that is they have started to forget, then they will not actually be retrieving the information from long term memory, but rather they will still have it in their working memory. In this case, there is little benefit from retrieval practice as they are not retrieving from long term memory. However, it does not take long for students to start forgetting, especially in the first instance. The next lesson should be adequate for the first time you use retrieval practice, but then gradually build up the space before retrieving a particular item each time.
I have been making a bigger effort to use retrieval practice in my classes, particularly in the starter activities. Traditionally I would use a starter that was in some way linked to the content of the current lesson, but this year I have started to use questions from previous topics (this actually builds in spacing and interleaving as well as retrieval, all of which are described in depth by the Learning Scientists). For my exam classes, these have been a past exam question. Recently I also read this excellent post and looking ahead to next year, I want to spend more time talking with students about metacognition (very high on the Hattie effect scale), and to focus more on them assessing how well they have learnt something, and what they can do to further improve their learning. I have summarised the blog post on retrieval starters in the image below (PDF link here).
References
Kornell, Nate, Hays, Matthew Jensen and Bjork, Robert A. 2009, "Unsuccessful Retrieval Attempts Enhance Subsequent Learning", Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, vol 35, no 4, pp 989-998