Do staff and pupils believe that structured retrieval practice in KS4 Science prepares the pupils for their end of year and GCSE examinations?

Thesis

Retrieval Practice is a widely used pedagogy in schools across the United Kingdom. It is promoted by OFSTED and the Department for Education and often mandated by Senior Leaders within schools. Research shows that Retrieval or the “Testing Effect” enables pupils to develop their long-term memory, which subsequently leads to greater outcomes in formal tests and examinations in the future than when compared to re-reading. Although there is much research which suggests this to be the case, much is produced in laboratory conditions and not within the classroom. There is also much less research into the perceptions of both pupils and teaching staff as to whether they find this form of pedagogy supportive of their examination outcomes. This research therefore investigates the perceptions of both pupils and teaching staff within an academic department to the introduction of a retrieval intervention at the start of most lessons in Year 10 and Year 11. It examines the use of cues and feedback as well as analysing if pupils perceive that they overly rely on re-reading during their revision.

Authors: Reeve, A

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-4r6bobepd
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: self-regulated study; testing effect; feedback; interviews; LT2024; cues; LT; Rosenshine; survey; retrieval; mixed methods
• Subjects: Surveys; Mixed methods research; Testing; Interviews; Information storage and retrieval systems; Education