Boost Number Fluency with Retrieval Practice

by Janey Ross August 22, 2024

Have you ever wondered how to support children to recall key facts from their learning?

Boost your learners MATHS LEARNING with RETRIEVAL PRACTICE: We can strengthen our ability to recall long-term memories by retrieving them. The more you search for a memory, the easier it becomes to find it. This simple concept – the retrieval effect’ – should become the bedrock of our teaching for long term learning. Why? Because it supports learners memory retention. One of the fundamental principles of teaching is to support students’ memory retention. A strategy in which calling information to mind subsequently enhances and boosts learning is called "RETRIEVAL PRACTICE".

We tend to think that most learning occurs during the initial encoding stage–when learners get information “in” however, one of the most robust findings from 100+ years of cognitive science research is that a significant amount of learning occurs when students pull information “out” by using a strategy called retrieval practice. In fact, the act of retrieval, or calling information to mind, our memory for that information is strengthened and forgetting is less likely to occur. Retrieval practice is a powerful strategy for improving maths learning without more technology, money, or class time.

In this blog, we discuss how to use retrieval practice to improve maths learning. Established by years of research, retrieval practice is a simple learning technique that is easy to implement, with lasting results!

Retrieval practice is more effective when SPACED. Research in INTERLEAVING shows that pupil's retention of mathematics knowledge is enhanced by simply rearranging the order they practice problems.

Here's a classroom based study that used the 3x and 4x multiplication tables. Students practised one of these using flashcards for retrieval, and the other using traditional chanting out loud (a form of restudy, with no retrieval needed).

One of the fundamental principles of teaching is to support students’ memory retention. Retrieval Practice does just that!

I'll share RETRIEVAL PRACTICE that doesn't involve a quiz. Purposeful, playful mathematical experiences can provide valuable opportunities for retrieval practice.

These are retrieval exercises, without a quiz in sight! Here are different ways that you can maximise Retrieval Practice to help maths facts stick...

BEYOND THE QUIZ:

Research has consistently shown the benefits of retrieval on pupils’ learning. More recently, Agarwal et al (2021) has demonstrated how retrieval practice benefits pupils of all ages in classroom settings. Importantly, it's the “process of practicing retrieval (the active attempt) that shapes learning, not tests.” What this means is that we can move beyond the simple factual quiz to be more flexible with the form our retrieval practice takes. No timer in sight! AND... This "moves beyond the idea that retrieval is the end process of learning and reveals the valuable function mathematical games can play in creating opportunities for retrieval practice."

Learners are recalling their knowledge of the properties of numbers and retrieving mathematical vocabulary. Importantly, games can also provide an opportunity for learners to apply their knowledge, making connections with other, related knowledge.

Try it with your learners... Retrieval for our younger pupils should look different compared to our older learners. For instance, younger pupils may need more specific guidance, cues and scaffolding to allow them to experience the success vital to effective retrieval. So long as we keep the core components of effective retrieval practice in mind, the practice can take a variety of forms and benefit ALL our pupils’ learning.

Purposeful, playful practice

We are always emphasising the importance of exploring mathematics through different contexts as a way to dedicate time for young children to learn and integrate mathematics throughout the day. At a time when research suggests that children’s attainment and confidence in maths has dipped, purposeful mathematical games can provide an opportunity to develop their learning through retrieval. Simply reframing how retrieval is presented to our younger pupils can be central to creating the low stakes environment where retrieval can be most effective.

I try to present retrieval as a game of “hide and seek”, with the knowledge being really well hidden in learners brains. The aim of the retrieval is to seek out the sneaky knowledge that was really good at hiding. By framing retrieval in this way, we can gain the benefits of the retrieval process without prompting the anxiety that frequent “testing” might inspire.

Similarly, games like “What number am I?” can create a low stakes environment. Working in pairs removes the summative assessment feeling that may contribute to test anxiety, while also allowing grown ups to assess their learners understanding of the properties of numbers.

We must be clear about what specific information should be recalled and how it will be used by the pupils. We must consider how the retreival practice is designed to provide pupils with the supports younger children need to be successful in retrieval. Most of all, the purpose must be clear for it to strengthen pupils’ learning.

Have a go at these...

Maths Blethers

Examples can include related or unrelated terms , reinforce terms from previous units/ learning, not limited to 2 terms per round. What is important is that it doesn't take too much time.

The Answer is . . . What is the Questions

Show it 3 Different Ways

Thinking Board

Left to Right

The left-right column method, forces learners to not only spend time effortfully retrieving the information (or even just trying – which as we discuss in class, still benefits memory), but also have a clear record of how easily and accurately they could arrive at correct answers from long-term memory, without consulting external sources.

This supports metacognition by building students’ explicit awareness of their level of learning, which can then be used to guide their further learning behaviors.

Kate Jones explains in her book Retrieval Practice: Research & Resources for Every Classroom that “once information has been retrieved it allows the memory to be stronger.” Teaching should be designed to help learners to remember in the long-term the content they have been taught.

Identifying gaps in learner's knowledge is another reason retrieval practice is paramount. Often, a child seems to understand the lesson, but when you return to the subject matter, you realise the child either never understood or no longer understands. Retrieval practice allows you to identify which children have fully mastered a concept, because they will be able to recall the information from their working memory.

Samuel Strickland supports this in his book Education Exposed: Leading a school in a time of uncertainty. He calls retrieval practice an “incredibly efficient way of making knowledge stick.”

Cognitive science informs us that memory has a ‘strength’, referring both to how easily something can be recalled and how deeply information is embedded. When content is studied and recalled, both types of memory strength increase, meaning that information is more easily accessible and that this accessibility is more durable.

In a similar way to how a muscle is trained through practice, memory and retention can also be trained through rigorous practice.

Are you ready to give it a go?