Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 246. Why Your Test Review Isn’t Working (And What to Do Instead)

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246. Why Your Test Review Isn’t Working (And What to Do Instead) · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

0:00
Heidi: This is episode 246 of Teacher Approved.
0:06
You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
0:09
educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
0:12
Heidi.
0:13
Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
0:16
Window, where we give research based and teacher approved
0:19
strategies that make teaching less stressful and more
0:22
effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from
0:25
each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
0:28
Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
0:31
the show.
0:36
Emily: Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
0:39
episode, we are redefining what test prep actually is, because
0:43
it doesn't have to mean packets and stress, and we're sharing a
0:47
teacher approved tip for adding a little bonus prep time to your
0:50
week.
0:50
Heidi: But let's start with try it tomorrow, where we share a
0:53
quick win that you can try in your classroom right away.
0:55
Emily, what's our suggestion for this week?
0:58
Emily: This week, try using intentional think time. So when
1:02
you ask a question, instead of immediately calling on someone,
1:05
ask students to just think about it for 10, even 30 seconds
1:10
before you take any responses. Now this will take some
1:13
training, because some students are going to shoot their hands
1:16
in the air immediately, since that's what they're used to
1:19
doing.
1:19
Heidi: Right. So when that happens, you just gently remind
1:23
them, you know, have this in your brain ahead of time,
1:25
because this will happen, I just want you to think right now. I
1:27
will let you know when I'm ready to hear your ideas.
1:30
Emily: And what's great about this is it improves the quality
1:33
of responses. When kids aren't racing to be first, they
1:36
actually have time to form a complete thought. And you'll
1:39
probably find that way more students are prepared to
1:41
participate, because it's not just the fast processors who get
1:44
to answer anymore. I think some kids, once they see everybody
1:48
else's hand is shot up, they stop even trying to figure out
1:51
the answer in their mind.
1:52
Heidi: Absolutely. This is such a simple shift that can make a
1:56
really big difference. If you try it, come tell us how it goes
2:00
in the Teacher Approved Facebook group. And if you like this tip
2:02
or anything else we share here on the podcast, would you please
2:05
take a second and give us a five star rating? Ratings and reviews
2:08
help new listeners find us, and we really appreciate every one
2:11
of them.
2:12
Emily: Okay, we know it's still February, but yes, it really is
2:15
time to talk about test prep.
2:18
Heidi: Ah, the two little words that make most teachers
2:21
shoulders tense up a little bit.
2:23
Emily: Yeah, just a little bit, maybe, a lot a bit.
2:27
Heidi: A lot a bit.
2:29
Emily: Test prep makes our minds immediately jump to packets,
2:33
worksheets, Jeopardy games, drilling skills, over and over,
2:37
and maybe stopping real instruction so we have time to
2:40
get kids ready.
2:42
Heidi: And when you assume that that's what test prep has to
2:44
look like, it's no wonder it feels overwhelming. But we are
2:48
here to tell you that test prep does not have to be an intense
2:51
slog. You can help students get ready for assessments in a way
2:55
that everyone enjoys and still prepares the kids for what's
2:58
ahead.
2:59
Emily: That's what we're digging into today, we want to challenge
3:02
some assumptions about what test prep is and offer a different
3:05
way to think about it. And that's why we're starting with
3:07
this now.
3:09
Heidi: Yeah, February is probably not the moment you
3:12
usually start thinking about state testing. You are probably
3:16
nowhere close to being done with teaching your curriculum.
3:18
Emily: Yeah, because it is still really early. Most people
3:22
probably haven't even had Spring Break yet. But even though you
3:25
haven't taught all your units yet, some of what you taught
3:28
back in September and October is already just a vague memory for
3:31
your students, because that's just how brains work.
3:34
Heidi: And what happens if we wait until April to start
3:37
reviewing is we end up in that frantic cram-everything-in mode,
3:41
which is stressful for everyone, and it's honestly not that
3:44
effective. All of the worksheets and repetition that we call test
3:48
prep are not really test prep. They're tools we use to help
3:52
with test prep.
3:53
Emily: And they're not even very effective tools, which means we
3:56
need a different definition of what preparation actually is.
4:00
It's not about showing students the material again. It's about
4:03
helping them remember what they've already learned.
4:07
Heidi: That's really a different goal, and it requires some
4:09
unique strategies.
4:11
Emily: Yeah. So let's start by taking a look at something we
4:14
call the recognition trap. This is sneaky, and it's why a lot of
4:18
traditional test review doesn't actually stick in your kids'
4:20
brain.
4:22
Heidi: Think about what review often looks like in an
4:24
elementary classroom. We pull out the anchor charts, we
4:27
rewatch a video, we play a Kahoot where kids can look at
4:30
their notes, and it feels productive. The kids are saying,
4:33
Oh yeah, I remember this. They're engaged. They're
4:36
participating. It seems like it's working.
4:39
Emily: But that oh yeah feeling isn't really remembering. It's
4:42
recognition. And we might use remember and recognition as
4:47
synonyms, but they are not the same thing. When students
4:50
recognize something, they're thinking, this looks familiar.
4:54
Heidi: But tests are not asking students to recognize
4:57
information, they need to remember it. That means pulling
5:00
information out of their brains with nothing in front of them.
5:04
Emily: When we plan our review activities, it seems logical
5:07
that offering extra support, like letting students reference
5:10
their notes or a textbook should make review extra effective, but
5:14
that little safety net completely undermines the
5:16
effectiveness of the review that we spent so much time and energy
5:20
putting together.
5:21
Heidi: So what actually works? The short answer is practice
5:26
remembering. Give students low stakes opportunities to pull
5:31
information from their memory without any support. This is
5:34
called retrieval practice, and it is the most effective
5:38
strategy that we have for helping learning stick.
5:41
Emily: And I have to tell you something funny. I was listening
5:44
slash watching the Good Hang podcast with Amy Poehler the
5:47
other day, and she was talking about something, I don't even
5:50
remember what it was, like they were trying to remember someone
5:53
who was, who played something in a show, something like that. And
5:56
she went to reach for her phone, and she goes, Oh, wait, no,
5:57
you're supposed to try to remember what it is before you
6:02
ask, or before you search, before you look it up. You're
6:05
supposed to try to remember. It's better for your brain if
6:07
you do that. I was like, Yes, that's true. Good job, Amy!
6:13
Not to say that I am good at doing that before I go and
6:15
Google things, I should try harder. But I loved that she
6:18
said that. I was like, Oh my gosh, that's amazing. And of
6:21
course, like here on the podcast, we are not going to go
6:23
super deep into the science today, but the basic idea that
6:27
Amy is talking about is this. Every time you work to recall
6:31
something from memory, you strengthen that memory. The
6:34
effort of trying to remember is what makes information stick.
6:37
Heidi: And what maybe Amy realized is is that you don't
6:41
even have to get the right answer for this to benefit you,
6:44
even if you're wrong, just trying to come up with the
6:47
answer, is enough to boost understanding. The struggle to
6:50
remember is what builds the pathway.
6:53
Emily: Which totally feels opposite, like it doesn't feel
6:57
good to try to remember something and then get it wrong.
7:00
Heidi: Yeah, when it feels hard, we think something's wrong, but
7:03
the hard is actually the goal.
7:05
Emily: So if you're new to retrieval practice, don't let
7:08
the official name scare you. It really can be as simple as
7:12
flashcards.
7:13
Heidi: And another simple strategy that I love is a brain
7:16
dump. You just pause your lesson or activity, ask students to
7:20
write down everything they can remember about what you've been
7:22
teaching to that point, and then you just continue with the
7:25
lesson.
7:25
Emily: And you don't have to grade these. You don't even have
7:28
to collect the papers. Students can keep them to look back on
7:31
later. It's kind of cool to see how much they know after a few
7:34
weeks. Or they can just go straight in the recycling bin.
7:37
Heidi: Brain dumps are so versatile, they work for any
7:41
grade and any topic, whether your students are drawing
7:44
pictures in kindergarten or writing full paragraphs in fifth
7:46
grade, the concept is the same. And bonus, there is no prep
7:51
involved with this.
7:52
Emily: Oh, such a win. Another retrieval practice comes from a
7:55
book called Powerful Teaching by Pooja Agarwal and Patrice Bain.
8:01
This book is chock full of helpful learning routines, and
8:04
they share one that I really love called Two Things. You give
8:07
students a simple prompt, like write down two things you
8:10
learned so far today, or two things you remember from
8:13
yesterday, or two things you'd like to know more about.
8:17
Heidi: And like with a brain dump, you can drop this in the
8:19
middle of a lesson and then just move on, or you could use it as
8:22
an exit ticket or as a warm up the day after the lesson.
8:26
Emily: With strategies like brain dumps or two things, the
8:28
key is helping students see this as a learning tool and not a
8:32
form of assessment. Cheer them on if it feels challenging, let
8:36
them know that struggle means their brain is working hard,
8:39
which means they're learning.
8:41
Heidi: Meaningful review really does not have to be complicated.
8:44
Keep it short, keep it consistent, and keep it as low
8:47
stakes as possible. Do not grade these.
8:51
Emily: No, please do not grade these unless you are absolutely
8:54
required to, and then just make it pass fail so the focus stays
8:57
on the learning and not the points.
8:59
Heidi: This really couldn't be easier. The hardest part is just
9:03
remembering to actually do it. When you are in the flow of
9:06
teaching, it's really easy to forget to pause for some
9:09
retrieval practice.
9:11
Emily: And that's why we created a resource called Power
9:13
Questions. It's designed to make this kind of practice painless
9:17
and easy to maintain. The idea behind this is simple. After you
9:20
teach a lesson, you jot down a question from the lesson on a
9:23
slip of paper and drop it in a basket. Over time, you build up
9:26
a collection of questions that cover a bunch of different
9:29
topics.
9:30
Heidi: And then when you have a few minutes, maybe you do this
9:32
as part of a warm up, maybe you save it for before lunch, or as
9:36
a transition, you pull a question from the basket and you
9:39
have your students answer it. Because the questions come from
9:42
lessons that you have taught days or weeks ago, your students
9:45
have to work to actually remember, and that's our
9:47
retrieval practice. And that's where the learning happens.
9:51
Emily: Now Power Questions is currently only available inside
9:54
the Teacher Approved Club, because that is this month's
9:57
bonus tool for our club members. We have included blank question
10:01
slips that you can print and cut out so they're ready when you
10:04
need them. There's a label for your question basket to make it
10:07
a visual part of your routine. Plus it has a cute, super cute,
10:12
superhero theme.
10:13
Heidi: It really did turn out so cute. When we're designing
10:16
stuff, like, we don't have a design background, so there's
10:18
always a little bit of like, I'm not sure how this is going to
10:21
go. But it came together so cute.
10:22
Emily: Yes.
10:23
Heidi: The question slips provide a great structure for
10:26
your review, but we know that structure always needs a little
10:30
bit of spark to balance it out. So we included some fun bonus
10:33
prompts that we called power ups. These are all desk friendly
10:37
activities that can be done in a minute or less, think things
10:40
like tongue twisters or slow motion movement challenges like,
10:44
pretend to be a melting snowman.
10:46
Emily: I love that.
10:47
Heidi: They're quick, but just a little sprinkle of fun can go a
10:50
long way toward keeping your kids engaged. And the more
10:53
engaged the kids are, the more they can learn.
10:56
Emily: We had so much fun thinking up these prompts, and
10:58
we also include a seven page Teacher's Guide that walks you
11:01
through how to fit this in your day without it becoming one more
11:04
thing to manage, plus every possible thing you might wonder
11:07
about setting this up. We really thought about it for you, common
11:10
problems you might run into, troubleshooting, all of that.
11:13
It's all in the teacher's guide.
11:15
Heidi: And if paper isn't your thing, we included digital
11:18
slides too. It works the same. You just record a question after
11:21
a lesson and then come back to it later. But with the slides,
11:24
you can display the question for students to see.
11:27
Emily: Yeah, which is super handy. And then club members
11:30
also get access to a bonus training this month that goes
11:32
deeper into the learning science behind all of this. We explain
11:35
how the different pieces work together to help create durable
11:38
learning and share some practical tips to help keep it
11:41
manageable.
11:43
Heidi: Okay, now you've got some good tools for incorporating
11:46
retrieval practice into your regular schedule. So let's talk
11:50
about another layer to this process, which is helping
11:53
students recognize what they actually know.
11:56
Emily: It might not sound like much, but this is actually a
11:58
really important part of test prep, because students often
12:00
think they understand more than they actually do. Researchers
12:04
call this the illusion of knowing, and it happens to all
12:07
of us, not just kids.
12:09
Heidi: Oh, for sure, I do this all the time, even on just a
12:12
small scale. Like, how many times have I scanned the
12:15
directions on the back of the frozen food box, confident that
12:18
I knew what to do, because I have cooked frozen food before?
12:21
But then I have to retrieve the box because I already have
12:25
forgotten the temperature it needs to be cooked at. You know,
12:27
honestly, it might happen every time I cook.
12:29
Emily: I know, I'm always scampering back to that trash
12:31
can, wait, what did that say? Because it seems so easy you
12:36
don't pay close attention, and that's why you can't remember if
12:38
it's 375, or 425, for your chicken nuggets. I know you're
12:42
eating a lot of chicken nuggets, Heidi.
12:44
Heidi: Well, for chicken nuggets, it's gotta be what, 400
12:46
at least, I would think.
12:47
Emily: I mean, probably. But do either of us actually know? We
12:51
just think we know. And that's exactly what happens to
12:54
students. When something feels familiar, when we recognize
12:57
that, our brain interprets that as understanding. We think,
13:00
yeah, I've got this. But recognition is not mastery, and
13:04
that false confidence can really trip students up.
13:07
Heidi: That's how everyone sits through a review, nodding along.
13:11
You think everyone's got this, and then they get to the test
13:13
and realize they were not as solid as they thought.
13:17
Emily: And so that's why feedback is so important.
13:19
Feedback interrupts that false confidence. It gives students
13:22
real information about where they actually are.
13:25
Heidi: And just like retrieval practice, feedback is so easy to
13:29
add to what you're already doing. With brain dumps, for
13:32
example, after your students write down everything they can
13:34
think of, have them swap papers with a neighbor and try to add
13:38
something new to what their partner wrote. That quick
13:40
comparison helps both students see what they remembered and
13:43
what they missed.
13:44
Emily: With the two things strategy, you can have students
13:47
share one of their two things with a partner or with the
13:49
class. Hearing what other people wrote helps them confirm they're
13:52
on track or realize they need to revisit something.
13:56
Heidi: In the teacher guide to our Power Questions resource, we
13:59
walk you through how to lead a quick discussion about students
14:02
thinking. Questions like, who tried it a different way, or
14:05
what was tricky about that question, get students
14:08
reflecting on their learning.
14:10
Emily: Even if you don't pair reflection with retrieval
14:12
practice, it can still impact learning all on its own. In one
14:15
study, college students who simply rated their understanding
14:18
after a lecture and reflected on how they could improve, ended up
14:22
scoring nearly a full letter grade higher than their
14:24
classmates who didn't do the reflection.
14:26
Heidi: That is huge. Just the act of pausing and thinking
14:31
about your own learning makes a measurable difference. So here
14:35
are some reflection questions you can use with your students.
14:37
You might ask which part felt easy, which part made you pause?
14:42
Emily: Or what would you tell a friend who missed this lesson?
14:45
Rate Your confidence from one to five. Now let's check and see
14:48
how you did. Or what's one thing you're solid on and one thing
14:52
you need to review?
14:54
Heidi: These questions help students become aware of their
14:56
own learning. They start to notice what they actually know,
15:00
versus what just feels familiar, and that self awareness is
15:03
powerful. When students can name what they're shaky on, they can
15:07
do something about it.
15:09
Emily: Okay, so let's pull this all together. Test prep doesn't
15:11
have to mean packets, pressure or pausing instruction. Oh, look
15:15
at the alliteration. Real preparation is helping students
15:19
remember and reflect.
15:20
Heidi: Start now, even though it is only February, with short,
15:24
frequent, low stakes practice. All your kids need are
15:27
opportunities to pull information from memory without
15:30
support and increased awareness of what they actually know.
15:34
Emily: And if you want to go deeper, inside the Teacher
15:36
Approved Club this month, we're diving into the learning science
15:39
behind all of this, how recall, spacing and reflection work
15:43
together, and exactly how to use them without overwhelming your
15:46
day.
15:47
Heidi: Club members get the Power Questions resource, which
15:49
includes everything you need to start this kind of intentional
15:52
practice right away, plus the bonus training that walks you
15:55
through all of the whys and the hows. If you have been thinking
15:59
about joining our club, this is a really great month to do it.
16:02
We will drop a link in the show notes.
16:04
Emily: Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
16:06
we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters
16:09
and simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is
16:13
to add a bonus mini prep to your schedule. I bet everyone's
16:17
excited to hear about this one.
16:18
Heidi: Yes, and we have talked about this idea before, but it's
16:22
been a little while, so it bears repeating, because I think this
16:25
can be so helpful. So in a related discussion, back in
16:29
episode 242, we suggested planning some independent
16:32
activities for students at the end of the month as a little
16:35
bonus planning time. That way you can effectively plan the
16:38
month ahead, and, you know, maybe catch up on some grading.
16:42
Emily: Hopefully your end of month bonus prep can be an hour
16:44
or two, or maybe even a whole afternoon. But today we want to
16:48
look at how to add a smaller pocket of prep to your weekly
16:51
schedule.
16:52
Heidi: So when I was teaching second grade, the 30 minutes
16:55
before lunch on Fridays was officially phonics review time.
17:00
Emily: And what did they do for phonics review, Heidi?
17:04
Heidi: Well, my students watched a Between the Lines video while
17:07
I planned the week ahead.
17:10
Emily: I love it, Between the Lines is awesome.
17:12
Heidi: It holds up. But that way, when my Friday afternoon
17:17
prep time rolled around, I already knew exactly what to
17:20
work on because my list was ready, it made me so much more
17:23
productive.
17:24
Emily: So the tip is to look at your schedule and find one block
17:27
of time in your week where you're normally teaching in
17:29
front of students, and find a way to turn that time into
17:32
independent learning time instead.
17:35
Heidi: Now, you do not need to announce this to your principal,
17:38
and I know we have some principals who listen to this
17:40
podcast. So if that's you, maybe stop listening now, so you have
17:43
some plausible deniability. But like I said, on my official
17:48
schedule, before lunch on Friday, was phonics review, and
17:52
if anyone had walked in, they would have seen my students
17:54
fully engaged in reviewing phonics with an educational
17:57
video. It's not like we were watching Charlie Brown.
18:00
Emily: Yeah, right. It's not like you're just putting any
18:02
sort of filler up, you chose with intention.
18:05
Heidi: Yes, it was academic, educational content, but it
18:08
freed me up to claim those 30 minutes, and that completely
18:12
reshaped my teaching life, I'm not exaggerating. For the first
18:16
time, I broke free from that day to day planning hamster wheel,
18:20
and I started preparing more strategically. And yes, I could
18:25
have done this planning after school, but by Friday afternoon,
18:28
or really any afternoon, by any afternoon, I was just toast, and
18:31
I wanted to get home. I didn't have the brainpower for
18:34
strategic planning. I had brain power to run copies. So I needed
18:38
to split those work tasks into a time when I had the energy and
18:41
focus for managing it. Doing it in the morning meant that I
18:45
could deal with all of the details. It gave me a better
18:48
shot at being the kind of teacher I wanted to be, instead
18:51
of the overwhelmed one I was a lot of the time.
18:54
Emily: And this bonus prep does not need to be long. Even 20
18:57
extra minutes a week can have a huge impact on your productivity
19:01
and your happiness as a teacher, if you're intentional about how
19:04
you use those minutes. It might be a video. It might be a review
19:07
game that they can do without you. It might be silent reading
19:10
or a listening center, whatever works for your class.
19:14
Heidi: All right, to wrap up the show, we are showing what we're
19:16
giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your
19:19
extra credit?
19:20
Emily: I'm giving extra credit to the new old Muppet Show. It's
19:25
so fun to have it back again, and I love that they did an
19:28
almost exact recreation of one of the old openings for the new
19:32
one. It was just, oh, it's so nostalgic, but also like feels
19:36
fresh at the same time. I don't know if it's just a limited run
19:40
of episodes, or if it's gonna stick around, but definitely
19:43
check it out. It's a super fun watch for the whole fam. I think
19:46
those of us in our generation have the love and nostalgia of
19:49
growing up with the Muppets, but kids these days love it just as
19:52
much. So we all enjoyed it.
19:54
Heidi: Oh, that's so fun. I've been seeing so much stuff online
19:57
about it. I'll have to check it out.
19:59
Emily: Yeah, it was on Disney Plus, but I think it was also
20:01
just like on ABC.
20:03
Heidi: Oh, okay, good.
20:04
Emily: What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
20:06
Heidi: Well, my extra credit goes to the potted bowl garden
20:09
subscription I got for Christmas. It has been such a
20:13
joy. I am not a plant person, because the long term care of a
20:18
plant is more than I can face. You have to prune it and repot
20:22
it and manage the light. And I'm barely keeping myself alive. But
20:27
this little bulb garden is so fun because it is a short term
20:30
commitment. Everything arrives potted. Just take off like the
20:33
little straw packaging on top. You water it when it's dry,
20:36
watch it grow, and then it's done.
20:39
Emily: I love it.
20:41
Heidi: And I did buy a little clip on grow light. I guess I'm
20:46
a gardener now, because my house doesn't get much sunlight, but
20:50
that is all the work I put into it. But it's just so fun to wake
20:53
up in the morning and see the new blooms that have bloomed.
20:58
Blossomed?
20:59
Emily: Popped up.
21:00
Heidi: There we go. It makes me so happy. I can finally be a
21:02
plant lady without having to be a plant lady. The bulbs are from
21:06
Holland bulb farm, and I will put a link to them in the show
21:08
notes, as well as a link to the grow light.
21:11
Emily: Well, I am so jealous of your bulbs. So now I really,
21:14
really want these. I should have asked for them for Christmas
21:17
too.
21:18
Heidi: Start your list.
21:20
Emily: I guess so.
21:22
Heidi: That is it for today's episode. Remember, test prep
21:25
doesn't have to mean packets and stress. Small, consistent
21:28
practice starting now will serve your students so much better
21:32
than cramming later.
21:33
Emily: Try a brain dump or two things question this week and
21:36
see how it goes. And if you want the full system for making this
21:39
easy, check out Power Questions inside the Teacher Approved
21:42
Club. We will have a link to that in the show notes. Thanks
21:45
for listening, and we'll see you next week.
21:49
Heidi: We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm
21:52
Heidi.
21:53
Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
21:56
or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
21:59
episode.
22:00
Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
22:02
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
22:05
Bye for now.
22:06
Emily: Bye.