This project is no longer recruiting.

What is Rich Retrieval?

Rich Retrieval is a professional development programmeA programme is a package of support, including professional development, that helps early years educators to improve particular areas of practice and children’s outcomes. for Key Stage 2 teachers that aims to support the use of more complex and interconnected retrieval practice. The programme seeks to move beyond current widespread approaches to retrieval, which often focus on limited, separate, and unconnected information (for example, retrieval quizzes based on discrete facts).

Who is leading this project?

The project is led by a team from Bath Spa University, who created Rich Retrieval as part of their work to develop new, high-potential programmes in education. The team has expertise on the application of cognitive science to primary science teaching and are all previous primary science teachers. 

What will this project look like in your setting?

Two teachers will participate in the programme and will be supported to reflect on the use of retrieval practice and provided access to a bank of supportive resources for use with your pupils. This will be done through a mixture of two professional development days over the autumn term and two twilight webinars over the autumn and spring terms. 

In the classroom, Rich Retrieval promotes the use of six topic-specific strategies referred to as the ​‘5C’s and Q’: Compare, Contrast, Categorise, Connect, Create, and Question. It is integrated into weekly science lessons for 5 – 10 minutes. Teachers will be provided with a bank of activities which have been tailored to the science curriculum and relate to each of the Rich Retrieval strategies. 

Who can take part?

• State maintained primary schools only located in the South West region only. 
• The two participating teachers should be in Key Stage 2 and include a science lead or deputy lead
• Staff are able to travel to both training days in either Bath or North Somerset
• Science teaching should be delivered weekly rather than in termly blocks

Cognitive science is an area of promise to improve outcomes for pupils, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, there is a need to better understand how principles from cognitive science can be applied in the classroom. While evidence for retrieval practice is positive, most studies have been led by researchers (rather than teachers) and focused on rote factual recall. Rich Retrieval aims to develops teachers to go beyond rote factual recall to support pupils to have a more comprehensive and relational understanding of science concepts, increasing their self-efficacy and attainment.

Rich Retrieval was previously funded through EEF’s Early-Stage Programme Development work, which supports the development of programmes in areas where there are gaps in the evidence. After showing evidence of promise in this earlier stage, this pilot addresses the readiness of the programme for a larger scale trial.

This pilot project will be independently evaluated by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), who will assess the feasibility, perceived impact and potential scalability of Rich Retrieval. These findings will be published in an evaluation report.