Guide to Learning
Retrieval Practice
Video 1: Retrieval Practice
Retrieval practice is a strategy in which calling information to mind subsequently enhances and boosts learning. Deliberately recalling information forces us to pull our knowledge “out” and examine what we know. For instance, I might have thought that I knew who the fourth U.S. President was, but I can’t be sure unless I try to come up with the answer myself (it was James Madison). Often, we think we’ve learned some piece of information, but we struggle when we try to recall the answer. It’s precisely this “struggle” or challenge that improves our memory and learning. By trying to recall information, we exercise or strengthen our memory, and we can also identify gaps in our learning.
Retrieval practice makes learning effortful and challenging. Because retrieving information requires mental effort, we often think we are doing poorly if we can’t remember something. We may feel like progress is slow, but that’s when our best learning takes place. The more difficult the retrieval practice, the better it is for long-term learning. For instance, recalling an answer to a science question improves learning to a greater extent than looking up the answer in a textbook. And having to actually recall and write down an answer to a flashcard improves learning more than thinking that you know the answer and flipping the card over prematurely. Struggling to learn, through the act of “practicing” what you know and recalling information, is much more effective than re-reading, taking notes, or listening to lectures. Slower, effortful retrieval leads to long-term learning. In contrast, fast, easy strategies typically lead to shallow and short-term learning.
By using retrieval practice as a learning strategy, we exercise and strengthen our memory. Research demonstrates that this improvement in memory and long-term learning is flexible, which improves complex thinking, our ability to organize knowledge, and our ability to transfer knowledge to new topics. In other words, retrieval practice doesn’t just lead to memorization, it also increases understanding. As an additional benefit, retrieval practice helps us to identify gaps in our learning. In other words, not only does retrieval improve learning and help us figure out what we do know, more importantly, it helps us figure out what we don’t know. This crucial benefit of retrieval practice is called metacognition.
Learn More about Retrieval (optional but recommended)
Learning Scientists Blog – Retrieval
How to Study Effectively with Flashcards (Video)
Spaced Practice
Video 2: Spaced Repetition
Research indicates that the key to successful learning via retrieval is not so much the total time spent learning, but the way in which that time is distributed. “Spaced practice” is a technique that can drastically improve learning without changing the amount of time spent learning.
Spaced practice involves taking a given amount of time devoted to learning, and arranging that time into multiple sessions that are spread over time. In this way, the learning sessions are said to be “spaced” apart in time. This can be compared to the more popular approach—known by many as “cramming”—in which students do all or most of their studying in one long session shortly before the exam.
When students encounter information repeatedly in one session, it quickly becomes familiar, a phenomenon known as the “illusion of knowing.” However, when information is quickly acquired, it’s often quickly forgotten. Immediate repetition helps students remember something for a short time (i.e., just a few seconds or minutes later) but only because that information is in short-term memory. It can be much more difficult to remember the information after a week, or even a day. Thus, cramming increases the amount of information in short-term memory, but it does not improve long-term memory.
Based on considerable research, we also know that cramming feels easier than spacing, but information learned through cramming is temporary and shallow. In contrast, when learning opportunities are spaced apart, students engage in increased effort to retrieve the information, which improves the durability of learning. The idea that effort is beneficial to learning is known as “desirable difficulty.” Similar to why retrieval practice works, when students have to retrieve things from memory and think deeply about what they are learning, they are more likely to remember the information over the long-term. When using spaced practice, retrieving the information across sessions will not always be easy, and students will have to try harder to remember it. This can lead students to feel like they are not learning very well from spaced practice, but that’s precisely why spacing works: the challenge from spacing dramatically improves long-term learning.
Students who engage in spaced practice learn the concepts better and also show enhanced understanding—not just memorization—of how the concepts apply to new situations. Being able to apply knowledge to a new situation is known as transfer of learning, and is an important goal of education.
