Great teaching techniques: Building secure recall and understanding

Teachers need to design learning so that students have a chance to check what they have learned, reinforcing their memory and understanding through retrieval practice. What does it mean? Unless students generate information from memory without support, they and their teachers can’t be sure they’ve learned or understood it properly. It’s all too easy to complete tasks that move information around without needing to generate any recall. This creates an illusion of learning that isn’t necessarily real, so it’s vital that students are able to self-check, exploring their schemata by recalling information independently in various forms. Arthur Shimamura (2018) suggests a simple regime: think it, say it, teach it. Each of these forces students to draw on their long-term memory. Teachers should plan activities that include these generative processes, and use them often. There are lots of methods, including low-stakes tests, self-quizzing, mental rehearsal, explaining to someone