Three Activities to Practice Retrieval for Nurse Educators
After I pick my kids up from school, I get a full rundown of the day and the roller coaster of events that is elementary school. These types of discussions, with a friend or your partner, that re-hash the events of the day are actually an excellent way to practice retrieval.
What is Retrieval Practice?
Retrieval practice is an essential skill for a learner to master. It involves reconstructing information you learned in the past and bringing it in a new form to the present moment. For nursing students, this is a vital skill to bridge the academic-practice gap and allow students to bring what they learn in theory to clinical.
Research suggests that when a memory is retrieved, our minds alter it. Every time it is retrieved, it becomes more flexible and durable, allowing it to be used as a reference for future situations. In addition, if a memory or retrieved information is tied to an emotion, it becomes even more lasting.
In one study, researchers put students into two groups. One group read and re-read text about the pathophysiology of the respiratory system. The other group read the identical text but then typed what they could remember into a virtual notebook (a type of retrieval practice). One week later, students who practiced retrieval performed better on the short exam. In addition, they could also answer questions about respiratory diseases, such as polio, even though it was not covered in the text. Retrieval practice allowed them to apply the information they had learned about the respiratory system muscles to a new situation.
Ideas for Retrieval Practice
Here are four ideas that you can use in your classroom where students practice retrieval:
📉 Low Stakes/No Stakes Quizzes
While we can offer a variety of assessment types in our courses, there is simply no way around the fact that to be a nurse, you will need to take a high-stakes exam. But just like you would not register for a marathon and only train on a bike, we cannot expect students to perform on an exam and never “train” for the event. Research suggests that when the pressure to perform well on a test increases, the learning benefits from retrieval can decrease.
Instead, consider offering frequent low-stakes or no-stakes quizzes. Just as runners cross-train, exposing students to various forms of test-taking can increase their ability to perform. And research has shown that frequent quizzing in the classroom can reduce test anxiety. A win all around!
⚡Add a few low-stakes questions to the end of theory or clinical sessions. Bonus points if you can offer alternative format questions.
🏗️ Scaffolding with Concept Maps
Have you ever struggled to start a task from a blank page? Even the most basic outline can help the brain categorize and organize information. Using a concept map outline and providing a framework for note-taking can also help students practice retrieval.
Consider a short lecture section or asking students to read a textbook section before class. Then, offer a partially completed concept map or a diagram to connect and scaffold the information. It can look something like this:
This template is available for download.
You can create a free Canva account and modify it to fit your needs.
First, ask students to retrieve information from memory and fill out as much of the map as possible independently. Then, they can work with a partner or reference the text to fill in the gaps. Providing the outline or scaffold is more effective than practicing retrieval from a blank sheet of paper.
For more information about using this technique in note-taking, here is an article on active note-taking that gives examples of creating fill-in-the-blank-style slides to improve student note-taking.
⚡Add a quick concept map worksheet after you cover a disease process. Be sure to allow some time between the learning and retrieval.
🎴 Modified Flashcards
Flashcards can be a great way to learn and recall basic definitions. The repetition covers the foundation of Bloom’s taxonomy - remembering and understanding. With a simple modification to flashcards, you can help students use this tool to access higher application and analysis levels.
Create two stacks of flashcards. The first stack is for concepts and is what you would consider writing out for remembering and understanding. For example, it could be COPD interventions or beta-agonists for respiratory content. Then, the student creates a second stack of flashcards for retrieval practice and includes instructions for application exercises. These could include:
Pick two concept cards and describe how they are related or different.
Choose one concept card and think of a real-life example
This simple modification can help students access higher levels of thinking and get extra retrieval practice.
⚡Teach students how to create a set of basic flashcards as well as modified flashcards.
Importance of Retrieval Practice
Retrieval practice can feel difficult or repetitive, and students may feel that these activities are not productive because they do not see immediate results. However, just like exercise, the results are expected over the long run rather than immediately. And as nurse educators, we are most interested in the long-game and ensuring that our students are ready for the NCLEX exam and more importantly, clinical practice.
An unfolding case study is a great way to practice retrieval!
Check out the active learning case studies as a card deck.