Many of us already use retrieval practice in the classroom by calling on individual students to answer questions throughout a lesson (also known as cold calling). But cold calling doesn't guarantee that all students are engaged in retrieval practice. The students who aren't called on are “off the hook” and no longer responsible for thinking about a response. In fact, research led by Sarah Tauber has demonstrated that when students engage in retrieval practice covertly (in their head, as opposed to an overt written or verbal response), their learning doesn't increase.31 In other words, we may
...more
