EEF blog: Retrieval practice: a game of 'hide and seek'

Mr Reed is observing his class playing a game of ‘What shape am I?’

Danyal says, “My shape is 2D.”

Chloe can retrieve her knowledge of the meaning of 2D and eliminate a cube.

“My shape is a polygon.”

Chloe, recalling the meaning of a polygon, knows the shape must have straight sides.

“My shape has four vertices”.

Chloe guesses, having eliminated a triangle, circle, pentagon. “Is it a rectangle?”

“No,” says Danyal, “My shape has four equal sides”.

Chloe can now guess that Danyal’s shape was a square.

This game is a retrieval exercise, without a quiz in sight. Both children are recalling their knowledge of the properties of shapes and retrieving the mathematical vocabulary needed to discuss these properties.

Importantly, the game also provides an opportunity for pupils to apply their knowledge, making connections with other, related knowledge. 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.

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, their research also reveals that 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.

Retrieval for our younger pupils should look different compared to our older students. For instance, younger pupils may need more specific guidance, cues and scaffolding to allow them to experience the success vital to effective retrieval. By asking “what do you remember about the sides of a hexagon?” instead of the broader “what do you remember about hexagons?”, we can support pupils to be successful in retrieval practice.

So long as we keep the core components of effective retrieval practice in mind, the practice can take a variety of forms and still benefit our pupils’ learning.

Purposeful, playful practice

The EEF’s‘Improving Mathematics in the Early Years and Key Stage 1’ guidance report emphasises 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.

What’s in a game?

Clare Sealy discusses how she presented retrieval as a game of “hide and seek”, with the knowledge being really well hidden in her pupils’ brains. In her presentation, the aim of the retrieval was 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 Mr Reed’s “What shape 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 Mr Reed to assess his pupils’ understanding of the properties of shapes.

Retrieval focused games like this require deliberate planning. 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 game is designed to provide pupils with the supports younger children need to be successful in retrieval. Most of all, the purpose of this game must be clear for it to strengthen pupils’ learning.