Latest / New Teacher Talk / Ep 226: Retrieval Practice: Why Seeing is Not Remembering

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Ep 226: Retrieval Practice: Why Seeing is Not Remembering · New Teacher Talk

Welcome to New Teacher Talk.
I'm Dr.
Anna Quinzio-Zafran.
And I'm Dr.
Beth Wilkins.
We are back with the second episode in our Science of
Learning series with Dr.
Ken King,
where we translate the research on learning into moves you
can make on Monday morning.
Today's topic is retrieval practice,
the surprisingly simple act of having students pull
information from memory rather than just review it.
Ken explains why bringing information to mind is one of the
most powerful ways to make it stick,
and how to use it without adding to your grading pile.
Stay with us.
Let's talk about retrieval and how that works better than
reviewing things when learning takes place.
To start with,
I'd like you to consider this statement as a place to begin
the podcast.
Studying means putting information into the brain
repeatedly.
That belief drives many common study habits: rereading
notes, highlighting textbooks, watching lecture videos,
and, and reviewing slides over and over.
These strategies can feel productive because students
become familiar with the material,
but familiarity is not the same thing as remembering.
This is one of the most important misconceptions new
teachers need to recognize.
Students may look at information again and again and feel
as though they know it,
but when they are asked to explain without notes,
apply it to a new problem, or recall it a week later,
the learning may not be there.
In this episode, we're going to look at retrieval practice,
a learning strategy that shifts attention from putting
information into memory,
pulling information back out of memory.
That shift changes how we think about studying, homework,
review, questioning, and assessment.
By the end of this presentation,
you may come to better appreciate that the most important
question in learning may not be how many times have
students seen this information,
it may be how many times have they successfully retrieved
it from memory?
My name is Ken King,
and I'm a professor of education at Aurora University in
Aurora, Illinois.
Today, I'm going to discuss retrieval practice.
I'll explain the learning science that supports this
instructional strategy and share several practical ways
teachers can incorporate this into classroom instruction.
To begin with,
let's answer the question: What is retrieval practice?
Well,
retrieval practice is a learning strategy in which students
actively recall information from memory rather than simply
reviewing it.
The act of bringing information to mind strengthens memory
and makes future recall easier.
Simply put,
retrieval practice means trying to remember what you have
learned without looking at the answer first.
This is different from rereading notes,
highlighting a textbook, or watching a lecture again.
Those activities may expose students to information,
but retrieval practice asks students to reconstruct
information from memory.
That reconstruction matters.
Learning is not strengthened primarily by putting
information into memory again and again.
Learning is strengthened when students repeatedly bring
information back out of memory.
I'd like to introduce some essential learning science
ideas.
There are several ideas that are going to help explain why
retrieval practice is so powerful.
First of all,
retrieval practice is connected to the testing effect.
Many teachers think that quizzes simply measure learning.
Cognitive science shows that retrieval itself causes
learning to take place.
Students who spend time recalling information often
remember more later than students who spend the same amount
of time restudying information.
The benefit comes from the act of retrieval,
not simply from the quiz grade.
In this way, a quiz can be instruction,
not just assessment.
Authors such as Roediger & Karpicke and Roediger & Butler
both have done research on this to confirm this idea.
Secondly, retrieval works best when it's effortful.
Easy review often feels productive,
but effortful recall produces stronger long-term learning.
Students have to search memory, organize what they know,
and reconstruct the answer.
That effort can feel uncomfortable but is often a sign that
learning is happening.
For teachers,
this means the productive struggle during retrieval should
not be automatically interpreted as failure.
If the task is within reach,
the challenge itself may be exactly what strengthens
learning.
Third point,
forgetting can actually support learning when it's followed
by successful retrieval.
If a student recalls information immediately after a
lesson, the task may be too easy.
But if they retrieve it a few days later,
after some forgetting has occurred,
the act of remembering becomes more powerful.
Retrieval helps slow future forgetting and makes learning
more durable.
This is why returning to important ideas over time can be
more effective than reviewing them only right after
instruction.
And finally,
retrieval should match how students will use the
information later.
This idea is connected to transfer appropriate processing.
If students will need to explain, apply, compare, solve,
or discuss ideas,
then retrieval practice should include those kinds of
tasks.
Students should not only practice recognizing correct
answers,
they should practice bringing ideas to mind in ways that
reflect real academic use.
Retrieval strengthens memory,
but it also supports understanding and transfer when
students retrieve knowledge in meaningful ways.
Uh, there's another point to make, that, uh,
sometimes teachers don't always use retrieval practice
effectively.
So the question is, if it's so powerful,
why is it not used more consistently?
One reason is that teachers and students often confuse
performance with learning.
During review,
students may seem successful because the information is
right in front of them.
They can follow the teacher's explanation,
recognize highlighted ideas,
or answer questions immediately after reading it.
But what students can do five minutes after instruction may
not show what they will remember a week later.
Brown, Roediger,
and McDaniel describe this as an illusion of mastery.
Students feel fluent with the material,
but that fluency may not last.
A second reason that retrieval feels harder than review is
that students often prefer rereading because it feels
smooth and familiar.
Retrieval feels more demanding because students must work
without support.
They may pause, struggle.
They may realize they don't know as much as they thought.
Teachers can misread that struggle as a sign that retrieval
is not working, when in fact,
the challenge is often part of why retrieval works.
A third reason is that many teachers inherit traditional
views of assessment.
Tests and quizzes are often treated as tools for grading
rather than as tools for learning.
As a result,
teachers may save quizzes for the end of a unit instead of
using short,
low-stakes retrieval opportunities throughout instruction.
Retrieval practice asks teachers to think and rethink about
assessment.
A question, a quiz, an exit assessment,
or discussion prompt can help students learn,
not merely show what they have learned.
A fourth reason is the pressure to cover large amounts of
curriculum.
Retrieval can feel inefficient because it uses time to
revisit older material.
But if students forget what has already been taught,
future instruction becomes harder.
Time spent retrieving prior learning can make later
teaching more effective.
In this sense,
retrieval may feel like it slows instruction today while
helping prepare learning that will last through tomorrow.
So in terms of instructional implications,
what does this look like in the classroom?
I'd like to offer some examples that show how teachers can
use retrieval across grade levels and content areas.
First example, frequent low-stakes quizzes.
One simple strategy is to begin class with three to five
questions and ask students to recall previous learning.
These quizzes should be ungraded or minimally graded so
students focus on remembering rather than earning points.
For example,
a fourth grade science teacher might begin class with three
questions about ecosystems.
What's a producer?
What is a consumer?
And why is sunlight important in a food web?
Students answer from memory before the lesson begins.
Then the teacher briefly reviews the responses and clears
up misunderstandings.
In a high school history class,
a teacher might ask these questions.
What were two causes of the Great Depression?
What was the purpose of the New Deal?
And which groups benefited most from New Deal programs?
The goal is not to create more grades.
The goal is to create more opportunities for students to
pull important information from memory.
Another approach is that every retrieval opportunity
becomes a learning opportunity.
I'd like to introduce the example of a brain dump.
A brain dump asks students to put away all materials and
write everything they can remember about a topic for two or
three minutes.
For example,
a seventh grade math teacher might ask students to write
everything they remember about solving proportions before
beginning a review lesson.
Students might write about equivalent ratios,
cross multiplication, missing values,
or checking whether two ratios are equal.
The teacher can quickly see what students remember and
where confusion remains.
In a senior high school biology class,
students might write everything they remember about
photosynthesis before beginning a lesson on cellular
respiration.
That short retrieval activity reactivates prior knowledge
that will support new learning.
Brain dumps are useful because they make student thinking
visible.
They also help students notice gaps in their own
understanding.
Instead of assuming that they know the material because it
looks familiar,
students discover what they can actually retrieve.
Another example, again involving brain dumps,
they can strengthen memory while giving teachers useful
information about student learning.
So this is an example of a delayed recall activity.
Delayed recall means that we return to important content
after time has passed.
Instead of reviewing only yesterday's lesson,
teachers intentionally ask students to retrieve ideas from
last week, last month, or earlier in the semester.
For example,
an elementary teacher who introduces multiplication
strategies in September might include one multiplication
retrieval question each week throughout the semester.
A middle school English teacher might ask students in
November to explain plot structure concepts introduced in
September.
Or a high school chemistry teacher might begin a unit on
chemical reactions by asking students to recall atomic
structure concepts from several weeks earlier.
In each case,
students must work harder because the material is no longer
fresh.
That effort is valuable.
When students successfully retrieve information after some
forgetting,
the memory becomes stronger and more resistant to future
forgetting.
Another teacher takeaway,
if students have forgotten a little,
retrieval may become more powerful, not less.
I'll offer the example of using oral retrieval discussions.
Retrieval does not always have to be written.
Students can also retrieve through speaking.
A second grade teacher might ask students to turn to a
partner and explain the water cycle without looking at
classroom posters.
In grade six,
a social studies teacher might ask students to explain why
ancient civilizations often develop near rivers before
opening their notes.
In high school, a government teacher might suggest,
"Turn to a partner and explain the difference between the
legislative and executive branches.
You have one minute." Speaking from memory requires
students retrieve information, organize it,
and explain it clearly.
It also helps teachers hear misconceptions that might
remain hidden during silent review.
So a key takeaway,
understanding becomes visible when students explain ideas
without support.
As we wrap things up,
retrieval practice does not require new curricula,
expensive technology, or lengthy assessment systems.
A two-minute brain dump, a three-question warm-up,
a partner explanation,
or a delayed recall prompt can all create meaningful
learning opportunities.
That is one reason that retrieval practice is such a
powerful strategy for beginning teachers.
It's grounded in strong research, easy to implement,
and adaptable across grade levels and content areas.
It can become part of everyday instruction rather than an
occasional special activity.
Framed this way, the review becomes retrieval.
Assessment becomes part of instruction.
Rather than asking,
"How can I get students to see this information?" we might
ask,
"How can I get students to remember it again?" That simple
shift can transform how we design lessons, homework,
review activities, and assessment.
I provided a reading list to accompany this podcast.
You'll find that Agarwal & Bain's book, Powerful Teaching,
is a great read and offers important insights for how
learning takes place and how you can use the information to
make a difference.
For the same reason,
I would also recommend the book Make It Stick: The Science
of Successful Teaching by Brown, Roediger,
McDaniel as another excellent resource.
Thank you for joining me today.
Be sure to follow New Teacher Talk on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
You can also find and follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky @
NewTeacherTalk.
Teachers do not become experts overnight.
Early in your career is an ideal time to experiment
research-supported instructional practices and thoughtfully
incorporate them into your teaching.
Retrieval practice offers one practical strategy you can
begin using immediately to help students build learning
that lasts.
Thanks for listening to New Teacher Talk.
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