Brain-Based Learning

The Essential Retrieval Practice Handbook

Retrieval practice is one of the most effective ways to strengthen learning. Here’s a collection of our best resources to use in your classroom today.

January 29, 2026

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Brain-Based Learning
3 Ways to Help Students Overcome the Forgetting Curve
Our brains are wired to forget things unless we take active steps to remember. Here’s how you can help students hold on to what they learn.
Cathleen Beachboard
Brain-Based Learning
How to Engage Students’ Memory Processes to Improve Learning
Strategies like connecting new information to students’ prior knowledge guide them to store what they’re learning in long-term memory.
Gina DiTullio
The Research Is In
Why Students Forget—and What You Can Do About It
Our brains are wired to forget, but there are research-backed strategies you can use to make your teaching stick.
Youki Terada
Brain-Based Learning
An Authoritative Study of Two High-Impact Learning Strategies
To boost long-term retention, research shows that retrieval practice—using quizzes and flash cards, for example—and spacing learning sessions over time can make a dramatic difference.
Brain-Based Learning
2 Evidence-Based Learning Strategies
Spaced and retrieval practice help students retain content and give them a sense of what they know—and what they don’t.
Blake Harvard

Research
15 Quick (and Mighty) Retrieval Practices
From concept maps to flash cards to Pictionary, these activities help students reflect on—and remember—what they’ve learned.
Daniel Leonard
Brain-Based Learning
Making Retrieval Practice a Classroom Routine
By regularly working in activities that get students to recall content they’ve learned in the past and apply it, teachers can ensure deeper understanding.
Teaching Strategies
7 Ways to Get Retrieval Practice Right
Effective retrieval practice strategies help students identify what they know about a given concept and retain that information for the long-term.
Andrew Boryga
Assessment
Making (Low-Stakes) Practice Tests More Effective
Practice tests not only help surface gaps in knowledge—they also strengthen memory.
Brain-Based Learning
Scaffolding Deeper Learning With Recall Activities
When students are asked to remember and explain relevant knowledge just before applying it, they arrive at a more concrete understanding of the content.
Assessment
How to Build Better, More Effective Tests and Quizzes
Your tests might be falling short due to a few fixable missteps. Here’s how educators are fine-tuning their approach for better, more accurate results.
Paige Tutt

Teaching Strategies
60-Second Strategy: Rapid Review
Getting content to stick can actually be fun if you use a quick and energetic activity to review the material.
Game-Based Learning
Review Session Games That Work
Game-based review sessions can increase student engagement—and are backed by learning science.
Matt Kuykendall
Collaborative Learning
Team Quizzes: A Low-Risk, High-Yield Strategy
Quizzes in small groups can be a low-risk, high-yield learning strategy that also fosters collaboration skills in high school students.
Jay Schauer
Research
Big and Small Strategies to Harness the Power of Peer-to-Peer Teaching
The brains of kids who are teaching peers go into overdrive—boosting retention and understanding. Here’s how to leverage this effect in your classroom.
Andrew Boryga
Technology Integration
Supercharge Your Quizizz Use
Even if you’ve used Quizizz for years, power users have pro tips for taking your assessments, lessons, and differentiation to the next level.
Paige Tutt
The Research Is In
Using Student-Generated Questions to Promote Deeper Thinking
Asking students to create their own questions has a powerful impact on learning. Plus, 5 tips to encourage high-quality questions.
Youki Terada

Brain-Based Learning
Teaching Students to Use Evidence-Based Studying Strategies
Applying studying methods that strengthen the brain’s ability to retrieve information can help students learn more effectively.
Ian Kelleher
Teaching Strategies
5 Ways to Teach Students the Skill of Active Studying
Explicit instruction on studying is invaluable for students, who often choose ineffective methods of reviewing material.
Mike Delmont
Research
To Study Better, Don’t Start From Zero
Strategic, research-backed improvements can help students transform their favorite study habits into tools for deeper learning and retention.
Andrew Boryga
Research
Finding the Retrieval ‘Sweet Spot’ for Students
To help students understand and recall challenging material, spend more time in collaborative practices like drawing and highlighting together, new research says.
Daniel Leonard

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.css-1sk4066:hover{background:#d1ecfa;}3 Ways to Help Students Overcome the Forgetting Curve

3 Ways to Help Students Overcome the Forgetting Curve