Research into Practice: Edition 1 Linking academic expertise with professional wisdom Focus: How do I build in high quality retrieval to equip my students with powerful knowledge?
Introduction What is retrieval practice? Retrieval practice is a strategy in which recalling information enhances and boosts learning. Deliberately remembering information forces us to pull our knowledge forward and assess what we know. For instance, recalling an answer to a geography question improves learning to a greater degree than looking up the answer in a textbook. Having to actually recall and write down or ‘blurt’ an answer to a flashcard improves learning more than merely thinking that you know the answer and turning the card over. It is the “struggle” or challenge involved in recall that improves our memory and learning – by trying to remember information, we exercise or strengthen our memory, and we can also identify gaps in our learning.
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