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Remembering more: A Year 11 case study implementing low-stakes retrieval practice

Written by: Rachael Speed
7 min read
RACHAEL SPEED, LEAD PRACTITIONER, ASH MANOR SCHOOL, UK As teachers, we are acutely aware of the need to ensure that students have the ability to remember information taught in the long term. Furthermore, the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (2023) highlights the need for teaching to be designed to achieve long-term retention. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) posits that implementation of cognitive science principles can have a positive impact on this goal (Perry et al., 2021). One principle that is now widely implemented in classrooms is retrieval practice – recalling information from memory with little prompting (Perry et al., 2021). However, evidence for the application of cognitive science principles in the classroom is limited, and a consideration of how principles are used in lessons is critical to ensuring success (Perry et al., 2021). In addition, the existing literature about retrieval practice lacks evidence from UK classroom-based studies, especially using cor

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