Retrieval Practice in Practice

NEA's September issue contained an article titled, "The Science of Learning," which shared some practical instructional tips classroom teachers could learn from psychology teachers based on what we know about how students' brains work. The article as a whole offers several interesting ideas and it's a quick read (full article linked here), but one idea in particular stood out to me--retrieval practice.

For the last few years, I have been thinking about retrieval practice and its potential benefits in learning.  Basically, the act of struggling in short, frequent bursts (practicing) to recall (retrieving) information that you've previously learned actually helps that information become more solidified in your brain.  UDL being the lens through which I view just about everything, when I first started learning about retrieval practice I created the image below to help myself visualize what is happening in learners' brains when they're putting in and pulling out information they are trying to learn. 

                                                   

My image is likely an oversimplification of the process, but at the very least, it helps remember that when we're asking students to express and act on what they've learned, that info lives in the back of their brain and they have to "reach in" and "pull" it out. Like a neglected forest path, thick with overgrowth, the unused pathways in our brains become overgrown and it takes longer to travel through to get to the information. Retrieval practice is the intentional act of "traveling" that path in our brains to wear down the overgrowth and helps us access the information quicker and with greater durability. Think of it as actively working toward "Use it" to avoid the "lose it" scenario.

There are a few key points about retrieval practice  I feel we should consider before implementing with our students.

• FORMATIVE: Retrieval Practice is PRACTICE for learning and not an Assessment of learning. Retrieval practice activities should be low stakes and ungraded. Attaching a grade, quiz, or assessment to retrieval activities removes the practice element and adds a possibly punitive element to what should be a low-risk practice. Frequent practice helps students feel more comfortable and confident with their own ability to learn, which is what helps students feel successful and see themselves as capable.
• STRUGGLE: Struggle is an intentional and essential component of retrieval practice--working hard to recall information has been shown to increase the likelihood that you will remember it in the future. With struggle, though, it's important to consider how long to allot for retrieval practice activities so that students aren't struggling for 20+ minutes with what feels like no end in sight. Alternatively, allotting way too little time could cause students to shut down and send the message that the activity is about speed and not recalling information.
• NO REFERENCE MATERIAL: While we want our students to be resourceful learners who access references and resources when needed,  the purpose of retrieval practice is to strengthen the pathways to information in our own brain so we don't have to rely on those references all the time. Since there is no assessment tied to this, retrieval practice activities should be designed so students don't feel the pressure to pull out materials and copy answers.

 Retrieval Practice in the Classroom

1. Retrieval Grid-( idea from NEA article) Similar to a bingo cards, there are a variety of questions for students to answer, with lower point items being materials they've just learned and highest point value being material from longer ago (reinforcing the practicing of pulling out old info to build stronger neural pathways to that info). With practice, over time students should notice they can pull more info and faster.  I made sample one for ELA that could be created for any content area. The point values and timeline for when you pull information from can vary as well.  

Implementation Tips: Give students a short amount of time to complete as many questions on the grid as they can before revealing answers. Students count up the number of correct answers and add points. You could use the grid with similar content ("testing" same info) later in the week and have students count points on a second attempt. These points are purely for the students' own self-reflection about how much of the content they've mastered. I could also see a group work element to this after some independent time with the grid. 

Sample grid HERE

2. Flashcards (as group activity): While flashcards are not revolutionary, especially for people who have learned how to learn/study, the intentional practice of recalling information through flashcards is a useful tool. Designing lessons so that all students get the support and push they need is challenging and especially in rooms with a single teacher, it can be difficult to find small group time with students who need more support. Retrieval Practice tells us that all learners can benefit from actively recalling previously learned content and flashcard stations could be a way to meet both teacher and student goals. (Note-Quizlet and other online flashcard-esque tools are great as well, but there is also benefit to slowing down this process and ensuring that students are truly retrieving information before moving onto the next card). 

Implementation Tips: Create a couple different decks of flashcards with a range of content learned at different periods of time--there could even be a couple terms/concepts from the previous year's content. For students who have shown competency in the current content goals, maybe they have a deck with more cards of older information to increase the challenge. If your intention is to build in face time with students who need an extension, maybe there is a deck for students who haven't yet mastered the material with a greater number of recently learned information to build confidence and success. In either case, students will need explicit directions around "quizzing" each other using cards. 

For example: display only one side of the flashcard to the person being quizzed. Try not to rush or settle for partial answers--let the person being quizzed talk out the full answer and see how close they get. Leave all cards in the deck--even the ones the ones you get correct easily--repeated exposure to the information helps cement the learning. Shuffle the deck so the cards aren't asked in the same order every time.

Both of the examples above require a bit of planning on the teachers part and might also take a little more time than other possible retrieval practice opportunities.  A more "on the stop"  retrieval practice example could be a Do Now or Exit Ticket activity. Give students a topic (recent or near distant) and ask them to write down everything they remember about the topic. This could lead to pair n' share comparisons, small group talk or even a whole class chalkboard splash.  While working with  some 6th graders on Greek & Latin roots, I incorporated quick retrieval practices by asking students to list as many of the roots we had studied and their definitions as they could recall.  They checked their accuracy and total count against the answers I displayed, and we did that a couple times throughout the week--each time taking under 5 minutes total.  Activities like these could be done relatively quickly and give students chances to pull that info to front of mind. 

In their book make it stick,  the authors make the point that teachers may be the ones initially directing and introducing the retrieval practice, but that at some point that can and should shift to students doing this for themselves. When we offer these structured opportunities for our students with our content, we also provide them with explicit study skills that help them become more intentional learners. 

Resources for reading more retrieval practice:  

• Retrieval Practice website: https://www.retrievalpractice.org/why-it-works
• make it stick: The Science of Successful Learning (Brown, Roediger III, McDaniel)
• "The Science of Learning" https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/science-learning