Retrieval practice through “quizzing” is a common fixture in secondary classrooms these days. But the approach - in which previous learning is systematically revisited to ensure knowledge is retained - is less explicitly talked about in primary settings.

After repeatedly attending CPD events at which the praises of quizzing were being sung, Year 5 teacher Ceri Eccles decided to translate it to her class and see what impact it had on their performance in maths. She tells Tes how it went.

What problems did you find pupils were facing in primary maths?

One of the biggest issues I found was with how well children could retain prior knowledge. The speed, movement and sheer volume of content we have to navigate over the year means we often move children on when they haven’t mastered fluency and the basics. Before you know it, the year is over and children move into a new year group not secure and suddenly find themselves overloaded with new knowledge. In maths specifically, this issue can be really stark, as there are many areas where your answers to problems are either right or wrong. There is no wriggle room. This allows for children to feel more successful when they get the answer right, but also more disheartened when they find they haven’t yet quite mastered a concept.

Why did you decide to start using retrieval practice to address this?

At CPD events, I heard a lot of talk about retrieval practice, often taking the form of low-stakes quiz-style questioning at the start of each lesson. The idea of retrieval practice is that you regularly and explicitly revisit prior learning to help pupils commit the information more securely to memory. Regular quizzing at the start of lessons was being used for this purpose to great effect at secondary but I had never come across this approach myself in my work as a primary teacher. I started to wonder how it could be adapted for my classroom.

I was invited by Sam Strickland to visit The Duston School and I saw how they had embedded the quizzing approach across every subject and class. The first thing the children did when they entered the classroom was revisit learning, and this routine settled the children and set the tone for the lesson ahead. I was immediately intrigued about how I could use this approach and the impact it might have.

How did you put this approach into practice?

I decided to start slowly and focus on one subject to begin with. Maths made the most sense, as mathematical processes build on each other, and I found it easy to incorporate into our daily routine at the start of the lesson. I focused on creating four questions at a time, looking at knowledge taught last year, last term, last week and yesterday.

To begin with, I decided it would be too much to focus on all the learning that came before, so I used Year 4 maths as my historical content to revisit. But I actually now use earlier work, revisiting telling the time, for example, as it’s something that all children struggle with and the bulk of learning about time takes place in Years 2 and 3.

Rather than generating slides and resources, I do the retrieval live with the children under the visualiser. I now make it into a game to hook them in about what I might be asking them. Believe it or not, they find it exciting and fun.

What challenges have you faced in the implementation?

Looking at the vast number of subjects a primary school teacher has to deliver - and the prior knowledge that comes with each of them - was quite daunting at first. But I realised that if I was overloaded, the children definitely were, too.

In my enthusiasm to crack on with retrieval practice, it was important for me to remember that the focus on prior learning should not overshadow the delivery of that knowledge. I had to make sure that I was creating lessons that efficiently used the limited storage capacity of the children’s working memories.

And what has the impact been so far?

I have compared maths assessments from two previous Year 5 cohorts I taught and the results speak for themselves: in November 2018, 35 per cent of the class were working at the expected standard for that stage in the year. The following year, I adopted retrieval practice through quizzing from September and, in the November maths assessment, I had 65 per cent working at the expected standard. That is a significant increase and, although each cohort is different, these two were actually very close, ability wise.

This trend has continued and, despite having so much time learning from home, that consistent daily routine of quizzing meant that when we did the spring 2021 assessments, rather than showing vast gaps in learning, my children are on track to achieve what they should by the end of the academic year.

What advice would you give to other primary teachers who might want to replicate this approach?

Not every subject will work the same way, so try various approaches. Take it one subject at a time and make sure all the children are actively involved in the process, reflecting on the content you put in retrieval, and marking and exploring what they get wrong.

When my children tell me they have something wrong, I say: “That’s OK, that’s why we are revisiting this. Now, tell me where you went wrong.” Understanding and being able to communicate that ultimately helps the process of remembering more than getting it right, as the brain has had to work harder.

All the classes I have used it with actively enjoy the process and love informing me which content they are struggling with. I have found that allowing the children to understand the purpose of retrieval practice is paramount to active engagement with learning.

Ceri Eccles is a primary school teacher

This article originally appeared in the 21 May 2021 issue under the headline “How I...Used retrieval practice in primary”