Research School Network: Impact Previews: retrieval practice and sleep

Not seen the newest edition of Impact yet?

Here are two tasters and links to whet your appetite courtesy of the Chartered College of Teaching.

Optimising learning using retrieval practice by Megan Sumeracki and Yana Weinstein

Retrieval practice, or reconstructing knowledge by bringing it to mind from your memory, has been shown by numerous researchers to improve student learning (see Roediger et al., 2011). Saying that retrieval practice promotes learning in the classroom is all well and good, what does this actually mean for teachers who want to implement retrieval practice in their classrooms? Read more here.

Adolescent sleep and educational performance by Rachel Sharman, Gaby Illingworth and Russell Foster

On a societal level we often see sleep as an afterthought, taking time away from our other pursuits. To an adult, this may be going out with friends, or staying late in the office. For an adolescent, this may be staying up late to socialise with peers through electronic media. However, this comes at a cost. We know that sleep is fundamental for learning, memory consolidation and information processing, alongside restoration and repair of the body. Read more here.