Retrieval Practice: Helping Learning Stick
Learning is strengthened when students are asked to bring previously learned information back to mind. Retrieval practice gives students frequent opportunities to recall what they have learned—helping knowledge become more durable and easier to access over time.
Learning is Not the Same as Remembering
Students can appear to understand something during a lesson and still struggle to remember it the next day. They may answer questions correctly, follow an explanation, or complete a task successfully while the information is still fresh and available.
But successful performance during a lesson does not necessarily mean that the learning will still be accessible tomorrow—or next week. Being able to work with information while it is directly in front of us is different from being able to retrieve that information later.
Learning becomes more durable when students are given opportunities to bring previously learned information back to mind. Each successful retrieval helps strengthen access to that knowledge, making it more likely that students will be able to retrieve and use it again in the future.
What is Retrieval Practice?
Retrieval practice is the deliberate act of recalling previously learned information from memory rather than simply looking at or rereading the information. Instead of giving students immediate access to the answer, we ask them first to search their memory for what they have learned.
Consider the difference. A teacher might say, “Look at your notes. What are the three states of matter?” Students can locate and recognize the information. But if the teacher says, “Close your notes. What are the three states of matter?” students must retrieve the information from memory.
Retrieval does not have to be complicated. Students might recall a vocabulary definition, explain yesterday's concept to a partner, write three facts they remember, solve a previously learned type of problem, or sketch and label a diagram from memory.
The important feature is simple: students attempt to bring the learning back to mind before looking at the answer.
Why Retrieval Strengthens Learning
Memory is strengthened not only when information is first learned, but also when students practice accessing that information later. Each time students successfully retrieve previously learned knowledge, they strengthen their ability to find and use that knowledge again.
Retrieval also helps students connect new learning with what they already know. When previously learned information is brought back to mind, it becomes available for students to use as they interpret new ideas, solve problems, and make connections.
Importantly, retrieval requires mental effort. Simply rereading notes or looking again at an answer can create a sense of familiarity, but familiarity is not the same as being able to recall and use the information independently. The effort involved in bringing information back to mind is part of what makes retrieval practice powerful.
Over time, repeated retrieval—especially when it is spaced across days and weeks—helps knowledge become more durable and more readily accessible when students need it.
Retrieval Practice is Not the Same as Testing
The word retrieval can sometimes sound like another name for testing, but retrieval practice does not have to involve grades, lengthy quizzes, or formal assessments. In fact, many effective retrieval opportunities are brief, low-stakes, and woven naturally into everyday instruction.
A teacher might begin a lesson by asking, “Without looking at your notes, what are three things you remember from yesterday?” Students might answer on mini whiteboards, write a quick response, explain an idea to a partner, complete a short problem, or respond orally as a class.
The purpose is not to catch students forgetting. It is to give them practice remembering. When students struggle to retrieve something, the teacher can provide feedback, briefly reteach if necessary, and give them another opportunity to retrieve the information later.
Retrieval practice should therefore feel more like an opportunity to strengthen learning than a judgment of what students do not know.
Space Retrieval Across Time
Retrieval is especially valuable when students are asked to recall learning after some time has passed. If students retrieve information immediately after hearing it, the information may still be active in working memory. Waiting and returning to the learning later requires students to access it from memory again.
This means review does not have to happen only at the end of a chapter or just before a test. Teachers can intentionally bring important learning back across time—later in the lesson, the next day, several days later, and again in future weeks.
For example, Monday's vocabulary can reappear in Wednesday's warm-up. Last week's mathematics concept can become one question in today's review. A science concept learned earlier in the term can be retrieved briefly before students encounter a new concept that builds on it.
The goal is not simply to cover important content and move on. It is to return to important learning often enough that students continue to retrieve and use it over time.
What This Means for Teachers
Retrieval practice does not require adding another program or activity to the school day. It can be built into ordinary instruction through brief, purposeful opportunities for students to recall and use previously learned information.
1. Begin lessons by retrieving previous learning.
Before introducing new material, ask students to recall something important from yesterday, last week, or an earlier unit that connects to today's learning.
2. Ask students to retrieve before they look back.
Have students attempt an answer from memory before opening their notes, textbook, or other materials.
3. Keep retrieval low-stakes.
Not every response needs to be graded. The purpose is to strengthen learning, not to penalize students for forgetting.
4. Give every student an opportunity to retrieve.
Avoid relying only on volunteers. Use mini whiteboards, brief written responses, partner explanations, response cards, or whole-class responses so that many students are actively recalling information.
5. Retrieve important knowledge—not everything.
Focus on vocabulary, concepts, facts, procedures, and ideas students will need again. Retrieval time should be purposeful.
6. Space retrieval across time.
Return to important learning tomorrow, several days later, and again in future weeks rather than reviewing it only immediately after instruction.
7. Mix older learning with newer learning.
A brief review can include something from yesterday, something from last week, and something learned earlier in the term.
8. Provide feedback after students attempt retrieval.
Let students first search their memories; then confirm correct responses, clarify misunderstandings, and provide the correct information when needed.
9. Use unsuccessful retrieval as information.
If many students cannot recall something important, don't simply conclude that they weren't listening. Consider whether the content needs additional explanation, practice, or future retrieval opportunities.
10. Make retrieval a routine.
When brief retrieval becomes a predictable part of instruction, students learn that remembering is not something reserved for test day—it is part of learning.
TRY THIS TOMORROW
Try this simple 3–2–1 Retrieval Routine at the beginning or end of tomorrow's lesson. It should take only a few minutes.
3 — Retrieve three things.
Ask students to recall three important things they learned in a previous lesson. No notes or textbooks yet—give them time to retrieve from memory first.
2 — Explain two ideas.
Ask students to choose two of the things they remembered and explain them to a partner, write a brief explanation, or use them to answer a question.
1 — Check one thing.
Have students identify one thing they could not remember clearly or are still unsure about. Then provide feedback, clarify misunderstandings, or briefly revisit the learning as needed.
Helping Learning Stick
Teaching new information is only the beginning of learning. For knowledge to remain useful, students need opportunities to return to it, retrieve it, and use it again over time.
Retrieval practice gives teachers a simple way to strengthen that process. A few purposeful minutes spent recalling yesterday's learning, last week's vocabulary, or an important concept from an earlier unit can help students build knowledge that is more durable and easier to access.
The goal is not simply for students to know something when we teach it. The goal is for them to still know it when they need it.
Research Behind This Resource
This resource draws on research in cognitive science and the science of learning, particularly research on retrieval practice, long-term retention, spacing, feedback, and test-enhanced learning. For readers interested in exploring the research and its classroom applications further:
Roediger, H. L., III, & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
Agarwal, P. K., Roediger, H. L., III, McDaniel, M. A., & McDermott, K. B. (2020). How to Use Retrieval Practice to Improve Learning. Washington University in St. Louis.
Read the Retrieval Practice Guide →
Pashler et al. — IES Practice Guide
Center for Reading and Dyslexia
Translating research into classroom practice.