Bitesize Research: Impact Of Spaced Practice And Retrieval Practice On Learning

 By Jaya Carrier

I hope everyone’s had a great week! This week, I was interested in an article from Edutopia about spaced practice and retrieval practice - two areas that use current understandings of cognitive psychology to support teachers in making learning ‘stick’ more. Objectives: To explain the impact of spaced practice and retrieval practice on student learning and retention. Summary:

• Spaced practice can be thought of as when the learning occurs, and retrieval practice can be thought of as how
• Spaced practice is when students encounter material from the same topic multiple times. It draws on the Ebbinghaus ‘curve of forgetting’.
• Strategies to introduce this into the classroom include planning a quick review of a topic from a few months ago or using homework that draws on material from previous topics.
• Retrieval practice contends that by quizzing the students, teachers do not only perform important AfL but that the act of quizzing actually supports the students to build longer-term knowledge. This is sometimes referred to as the testing effect.
• Retrieving content from one’s memory has been shown to be much more impactful than rereading notes
• Strategies to introduce this into the classroom could be quizzes (using a variety of platforms including Google forms, or quizziz) or having students write down everything they can remember on a mini whiteboard from the last lesson.
• Both strategies can feel very challenging for students, but they offer important opportunities to strengthen learning.

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:

• How am I currently using spaced practice and retrieval practice?
• How aware are my students about good study habits that are rooted in cognitive science?
• What other opportunities are there for me to introduce these practices into my teaching?

If you would like to discuss this further with me - please let me know! I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations.