External Learning Resources

External Learning Resources

 

Practice for retrieval plays a vital role in consolidating and extending learning beyond the classroom. Regular practice encourages our students to work independently and it establishes effective study and work habits. Practice for retrieval enhances student learning, improves achievement and develops students’ study skills. All students will have the opportunity to practice work independently that has been learnt within a current or previous lesson.

Classwork and Practice for Retrieval

 

There is a strong link between active participation in class and practice for retrieval at home. Practice for retrieval encourages long term memory development and helps to improve pupils outcomes in exams.

Practice for Retrieval Frequency

 

Practice for retrieval tasks will be set in every subject. In Key Stage 3 each practice for retrieval activity should take approximately 15-30 minutes. In Key Stage 4 each subject will set approximately 1 hour of practice for retrieval each week. A variety of tasks will be set for this purpose which include (but are not limited to):

  • Spellings
  • Learning of the definitions of keywords for assessments
  • Learning of the key facts from a topic
  • Practice exam questions
  • Opportunity to read a text/book/article in a subject area and complete a comprehension task on this

Study Space

 

Practice for retrieval tasks will be set in every subject. In Key Stage 3 each practice for retrieval activity should take approximately 15-30 minutes. In Key Stage 4 each subject will set approximately 1 hour of practice for retrieval each week. A variety of tasks will be set for this purpose which include (but are not limited to):

  • Spellings
  • Learning of the definitions of keywords for assessments
  • Learning of the key facts from a topic
  • Practice exam questions
  • Opportunity to read a text/book/article in a subject area and complete a comprehension task on this

Practice for Retrieval Sanction Process

 

If a student fails to complete their practice for retrieval work for a particular subject, they will receive a behaviour log, 5 of these logs in a week will result in an after-school detention. Please note that this sanction can be repeated by each subject and if a later deadline for the same piece of homework is missed. As such, we encourage parents to remind students to continually work on their practice for retrieval tasks to avoid a build-up in workload.

  • What sort of tasks will be set?

    1. Spellings
    2. Learning of the definitions of key words for assessments
    3. Learning of the key facts from a topic
    4. Practice exam questions
    5. Opportunity to read a text/book/article in a subject area and complete a comprehension task on this

  • As a parent, should I help with Practice for Retrieval tasks?

    We hope that parents will take an interest in their child’s work and check that it is being done. Form Tutors also check students’ progress regularly. We encourage your child to develop a routine in which parents’ are able to offer support. We recognise that balancing this with evening meals and bedtime routines can be demanding. We will always try to help where we can.