The Science of Stile's Revision Resources: Retrieval practice
Retrieval practice is the first of five evidence-based learning strategies we’re exploring in the Science of Stile's Revision Resources blog series!
By Kat Gentry, Special Projects Lead at Stile Education
What is retrieval practice?
Retrieval practice involves trying to recall something without having it immediately in front of you. It’s also known as active recall, reinforcement and retrieval.
How does retrieval practice work?
Retrieval practice involves effortfully withdrawing something learned from your long-term memory and bringing it into your working memory. Scientists think that this effort reinforces the neural pathways used in that memory, making them stronger, more flexible and easier to access in the future.
Examples of retrieval practice:
- Low-stakes quizzes
- Flashcards (printable in Stile or digital on the Stile X phone app)
- Asking students to draw or write about a concept from memory
- Re-writing notes without checking, then correcting against stileapp.com
Tests are such a common method of retrieval practice that the positive learning outcomes from retrieval are often called the “testing effect”.
Non-examples:
- Passively re-reading or listening
- Copying out notes
- An open-book test
How Stile's revision resources embeds retrieval practice:
- Quizzes in the Stile X app support frequent, low-stakes quizzing.
- After completing an in-class science lesson, students can master the concepts from class by completing the relevant questions in the revision worksheet or Revision notes section of their Stile X booklet.
- Before an assessment, students can complete the practice test under test conditions.
- In the Extra Notes section of their Stile X booklet, students can write everything they can recall about a topic, then correct themselves against the lesson on stileapp.com.
- Students can use the printable flashcards in Stile or the digital version on the Stile X phone app.
Dive into the research
- The very first scientific paper about retrieval practice - from 1909!
- Retrieval practice is better than re-reading
- The testing effect works in the classroom, not just the lab
- There are many benefits of retrieval practice
Want to learn more about Stile X?
Read the next blog in The Science of Stile's Revision Resources series: Metacognition here.