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a ready-to-run workshopRetrieval Practice
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Retrieval Practice (Workshop)

Everything you need to lead this with your staff or PLC: a minute-by-minute run-of-show, what to say, what to hand out, and how to make it stick. Pick the length that fits your slot.

Key takeaway

Recalling information from memory strengthens learning far more than re-reading it, and it works best when it is low-stakes and spaced over time.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
Any teacher-leader
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutSticky notes or scrap paperA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Rigorous ContentInTASC 8: Instructional StrategiesRosenshine: review and practice
Share / assign

Why it works

The testing effect is one of the most replicated findings in learning science: learners who spend part of their time retrieving material outperform those who re-study it, and the gap widens on delayed tests. Retrieval is a desirable difficulty, the effort of recall is what strengthens the memory. Its power multiplies when it is spaced out rather than massed.

The research: Roediger and Karpicke on the testing effect; Bjork on desirable difficulties.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: design one routine

    The heart of the session is teachers leaving with a routine they will actually run.

    Model the strategy on the teachersOpen by making them retrieve (a brain dump of the last PD). Teachers believe it once they feel how much they forgot and how the recall wakes it up.

    Facilitator notes

    Watch the time hereThe share-out runs long if it goes whole-group. Keep it in pairs, then take two or three volunteers.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Retrieval Practice: pick a routine, plan it, run it

    <b>Four routines that take 2-5 minutes and no prep:</b> brain dump, cumulative Do-Now, mini-whiteboard flash, recall exit ticket.

    1. The lesson I will use it in:
    2. The routine I will try:
    3. My questions (include one from an earlier week):
    4. When it happens, every time:
    5. I will check in weeks: is recall of older material climbing?

    Make it stick

    One-off PD fades. Close by setting the follow-up before people leave:

    Common questions

    Does retrieval practice have to be graded?
    No. It works best ungraded and low-stakes. Grading raises anxiety and undercuts the benefit, so keep the grade book out of it.
    How is this different from a regular quiz?
    It is the same act of recall, but the purpose is practice, not measurement. That means it is frequent, brief, and not for marks.
    Will it work in my subject?
    Yes. Any content students need to remember benefits, from vocabulary and facts to procedures and concepts.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Spaced Practice
    Workshop
    Checking for Understanding
    PD-day agenda
    The Science of Learning &middot; 3 sessions