Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning | SXSW EDU 2022

Ron Reed opens SXSW Edu, highlighting a program featuring 1000+ speakers and 400+ sessions. Keynote speaker Dr. Puja Agarwal emphasizes retrieval practice—actively recalling information—as crucial for long-term learning. This simple technique, easily implemented through various methods (brain dumps, quick quizzes, etc.), boosts retention and reduces test anxiety, benefiting students of all ages and learning levels. Research consistently shows its effectiveness, regardless of content or format. We know from a lot of research that retrieval practice is flexible for all content areas. So whether you teach math or science or language arts, you are a teacher with flexibility and creativity. Here are some simple retrieval practice techniques teachers can use: Brain Dump: Have students write down everything they remember about a topic using simple paper and pencil. Index Cards: Use index cards for quick retrieval activities. Students can grab one as they enter or teachers can hand them out during class for spontaneous practice. Based on the video context, here's what retrieval practice is not : It does not require to grade student: It is not the same as more testing: While summative assessments involve retrieval, retrieval practice is specifically a learning strategy, not primarily an assessment strategy . It does not require more prep time: The goal is not to add extra preparation burden on teachers. It does not require more class time: It can be implemented quickly and efficiently within existing class structures. It does not require fancy tools: Simple materials like paper and pencil or index cards are effective for retrieval practice. Pooja starts at (5:00) Based on the video context, here's what the Serial Position Effect is: It's a basic memory principle. It describes the tendency for humans to remember the beginning of things and the end of things more easily than the information presented in the middle. , An example given is remembering the opening and closing scenes of a movie ("The Princess Bride") but struggling to recall all the details from the middle parts. Retrieval practice is one of the most effective, non-graded sytem to evaluate what we have encoded into our system How do we make sure students are retrieving it correctly? Braindump 2 things you remember