10 Ways to Get Retrieval Practice Wrong

Retrieval practice is an incredibly powerful way to learn anything but it's easy to get wrong. I'm seeing a lot of schools mandating retrieval practice in every lesson but often it is not having an impact. Here are 10 things to consider to avoid it being a waste of time:

1. Not providing enough challenge, especially initially

Giving quizzes, where the first retrieval is very soon after learning, can create the "illusion of competence" where students recall easily on that first attempt, but later performance suffers. The initial retrieval needs to be sufficiently challenging to be effective. Easy retrieval often involves retrieving information based on superficial cues or associations, rather than engaging in deeper, more elaborative processing. This type of shallow processing can lead to memories that are fragile and easily forgotten. When retrieval is effortless, the brain doesn't need to work as hard to retrieve the information. Evidence suggests that this lack of effortful retrieval can result in weaker encoding of the memory trace, making it less durable over time.

2. Familiarity is not the same as understanding

Similarly, retrieval practice can lead to fluency, but fluency doesn't always equate to understanding. Teachers should be wary of the "fluency illusion" and use retrieval practice in conjunction with other methods to assess genuine comprehension. This is similar to how we might recognise a song we've heard many times without necessarily understanding the lyrics or the musical structure. Recognising that a problem us a quadratic equation is not the same as being able to solve it.

Two keys things to bear in mind:

• Shallow Processing: Fluency can be achieved through rote memorization or shallow processing, where students focus on remembering isolated facts or procedures without connecting them to underlying principles or applying them in new contexts.
• Context-- Dependent Memory: our ability to retrieve information is often influenced by the context in which we learned it. If retrieval practice always occurs in the same context (e.g., using the same type of questions, in the same classroom setting), students may develop a false sense of mastery because the retrieval cues are always present. However, when they encounter the material in a different context (e.g., on an exam, in a real-world application), they may struggle to recall or apply the information.

3. Using retrieval practice primarily as an assessment tool

While retrieval practice can provide valuable information about student learning, its primary purpose should be to enhance learning, not just to measure it. When retrieval practice is used solely for assessment purposes, it can create anxiety and pressure, which can be detrimental to learning, especially if it's high-stakes. Retrieving information from memory actually strengthens it, making it more likely to be recalled in the future. This highlights the active nature of retrieval practice and its potential to solidify learning.

4. Not spacing retrieval practice

Like initial learning, retrieval practice is most effective when it's spaced out over time. Frequent, short quizzes or retrieval activities over time are more beneficial than a single, lengthy review session right before an exam.

Bjork distinguishes between two types of memory strength: retrieval strength (how easily information can be accessed at a given moment) and storage strength (how well information is consolidated into long-term memory). Spaced retrieval practice strengthens both types of strength. When we retrieve information after a period of forgetting, it's more effortful, and this effortful retrieval leads to greater storage strength, making the memory more durable. In other words, in order to remember stuff long-term, we need to forget it in the short-term.

5. Not using errors as a learning event

Errors are valuable learning opportunities, and retrieval practice can help uncover them. Rather than simply marking answers as right or wrong, teachers should encourage students to analyze their mistakes and understand why they made them. The point of retrieval practice is not so much to find out find out what students have learned but to actually be a process of learning in and of itself.

6. Not connecting retrieval practice to curriculum

Retrieval practice should be meaningfully integrated into the curriculum and aligned with learning objectives. Randomly asking students to recall facts without any context or purpose is unlikely to be effective. (Stop getting random kahoots off the internet).

Two main reasons why this is a problem:

• Lack of relevance and meaning: When retrieval practice activities are not clearly linked to the curriculum or learning goals, students may perceive them as irrelevant or busywork. This lack of perceived relevance can decrease motivation and engagement, making it less likely that students will invest effort in the retrieval process, which is essential for its effectiveness.
• Ineffective encoding and retrieval cues: Our memories are not like video recorders; we don't store information in isolation. Instead, we encode information in relation to its context and meaning. When retrieval practice activities lack context or purpose, the retrieval cues are weak, making it more difficult for students to access and make sense of the information. They key point here is that learning is about making multiple connections between items of knowledge not atomised recall of isolated information.

7. If you haven't taught it, what are they retrieving?

While there is some evidence that pre-testing students on content they have not yet encountered can be beneficial, it's easy to get wrong. if students are randomly guessing to 'get the right answer' then this is unlikely to lead to long-term learning. Also retrieval practice can strengthen existing knowledge, even if inaccurate: When students retrieve information, it strengthens that information's representation in memory. This applies to both accurate and inaccurate knowledge. If students retrieve a misconception during practice, it can solidify that misconception, making it more resistant to change.

8. Using only recognition-based retrieval

While recognition tasks (like multiple-choice questions) can be helpful, relying solely on them can limit the effectiveness of retrieval practice. Free recall (asking students to retrieve information without any cues) and short-answer questions generally require more cognitive effort, leading to greater learning. There is a continuum of difficulty between recognition and recall: Accessibility of information exists on a spectrum and some information is highly accessible and readily comes to mind (like the capital of one's home state), while other information, though known, requires more effort to retrieve. Recognition tasks, by providing cues, make the retrieval process easier. While this can be helpful for reinforcing learning or assessing recognition of specific facts, it doesn't require the same depth of processing as recall.

9. Failing to explicitly teach retrieval strategies

Teachers may assume students inherently know how to effectively use retrieval practice. However, retrieval is a skill that can be improved with instruction and practice. Teachers should explicitly teach students different retrieval strategies. Retrieval practice isn't limited to simple quizzes or flashcards. It encompasses a variety of strategies that require different levels of cognitive processing and can be adapted to different learning goals. Teachers should explicitly introduce students to these various strategies, including: - Elaboration: elaboration goes beyond simple recall and encourages students to explain concepts in their own words, provide examples, make connections to prior knowledge, and explore relationships between ideas. - Creating concept maps: Concept maps are visual representations of how different concepts are related to one another. Creating concept maps requires students to actively organize and connect information, leading to a deeper understanding.

10. Creating high-pressure retrieval situations

Retrieval practice is most effective when it's low-stakes and stress-free. High-stakes tests, while sometimes necessary, can trigger anxiety that interferes with retrieval and reduces the learning benefits. When students consistently associate retrieval practice with high-stakes assessments and the fear of failure, it can create a negative feedback loop. Students may start to avoid challenging tasks or learning opportunities that could lead to errors, hindering their overall academic growth. Frequent, low-stakes retrieval practice is key. Make retrieval practice a regular and integrated part of instruction, but with low or no stakes attached. By frequently engaging in retrieval practice, students become more comfortable with the process of retrieving information, and it becomes less daunting.

There is much more to be said about this and at Academica?University of Applied Sciences we are working hard on training teachers to apply the science of learning in context. We are also embarking on several research projects to this end.

We've also created an online course which aimed at helping teachers apply the science of learning. Find out more here.