Priya Lakhani

So the first important one is retrieval.

This is simply the act of recalling from our brains.

The students in a study were given a passage, right?

And it's the students who only read it once but then tried to recall it from their memory who could remember it far better than students who just read it over and over and over again.

The second is spacing.

And this is essentially students who then space their learning over time.

So rather than cramming things all in one go, students that can do that active process of retrieval over time, because then you're essentially going through that productive struggle over and over again.

The third, we don't like this one, but it's just generation, right?

So students in a study were given word pairs like rapid, fast and cold and hot.

But then another set of students were just given the first word and then a Q, like the F. They had to come up with fast.

Students who have to generate the answers themselves, even if they get them wrong initially, create a stronger memory trace.

They remember more in the end.

And then the fourth is reflection.

When we reflect on our work and we are given structured feedback in three very specific ways.

How am I learning right now?

What is my learning goal?

And then what are the gaps to get to that goal?

What do I need to do?

Those students improve their outcomes.

Now, you'll find that these four techniques have something in common.