I’ve been experimenting with retrieval practice in my classroom over the last couple of years. I’ve embedded it into the start of my classes, and it’s taken various forms throughout its existence in my curriculum. It’s something that guarantees 100% student engagement and ups the rigor a little bit. Students are asked to “retrieve” something from their memory and apply that information, which can strengthen connections in keeping that in their memory.
Recently, I’ve been using Google Forms to create a low-stakes “quiz” in different classes. Students get a grade from the Form, but it doesn’t go into the gradebook. In seventh grade this week, I listed the different steps of the DECIDE Model. I wrote a statement and asked students to connect the statement to a specific step of the DECIDE Model. I was looking for misconceptions and opportunities to reteach, and it was interesting to note differences between classes, too. It also helped me with my question design; initially, I wasn’t as clear as I could have been, which caused some confusion among my students. In sixth grade, I used a different low-stakes “quiz” around functional health content. I ran into a hiccup when some students didn’t have a clear understanding of some of the words I used (it asked them to identify examples of everyday feelings and overwhelming feelings), but I was able to correct that before the next class.
Eventually, I’ll share some more information in my newsletter about utilizing retrieval practice in your health education classroom. (I’m going to get back into short blog posts, a few over the course of a month, and keep the longer, more detailed narratives for my email newsletter. Interested in signing up for it? Click here).
Categories: Classroom
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