Since retrieval practice is the most important activity in learning, AFTER the point when new information has been ‘taught’/presented, I intend to use the next 3 blogs to offer you retrieval practice of some of the things I have previously blogged about. Why not? We all forget things we don’t go back to.
A quiz is one of the best forms of retrieval practice. Have a go at answering these 15 questions. Go on, please do have a go! Preferably, write something down for each question, before, if necessary – and if you have the time and energy – going back to the blogs mentioned alongside each question – it’s the thinking, having a go, struggling to remember that aids long-term retention.
- What is a good definition of learning? (‘Why learning is the thing’ blog)
- What is Ofsted’s short definition of learning? (‘Why learning is the thing’ blog)
- What is a good simple definition of teaching? (‘What is teaching?’ blog)
- What are the key elements of Explicit Instruction? (‘What is teaching?’ blog)
- Why does knowledge matter? There are at least 4 reasons given in my blog ‘Why knowledge matters’.
- What bold statement does E.D. Hirsch make about ‘breadth of knowledge…’? (‘Why knowledge matters’ blog)
- Finish of this quotation from Daniel Willingham about memory: ‘Memory is the…’ (‘How we remember things, and why we often don’t’ blog)
- What 2 key reasons does Doug Lemov cite for why students may not learn what they have been ‘taught’? (‘How we remember things, and why we often don’t’ blog)
- What are some of the hazards with learning? (‘How we remember things, and why we often don’t’ blog)
- What 3-4 things can learners do, to increase the likelihood that they will remember? (‘How we remember things, and why we often don’t’ blog)
- What 3-4 things can teachers do, to increase the likelihood that their students will remember? (‘How we remember things, and why we often don’t’ blog)
- What does Daniel Willingham describe as the 3 key principles of memory that relate to retention? (‘Thinking: essential for learning, but not sufficient’ blog)
- Why is thinking essential for learning but not sufficient? (‘Thinking: essential for learning, but not sufficient’ blog)
- What does the term ‘pre-testing’ refer to? (‘Pre-testing: the pros and the cons’ blog)
- Why, on balance, do the cons of pre-testing probably outweigh the pros? (‘Pre-testing: the pros and the cons’ blog
Thanks for having a go – thinking is essential for learning! Answers – based on my blogs – next week!
