Student-led Recaps and Retrieval Practice: A Simple Classroom Activity Emphasizing Effective Learning Strategies

It is imperative that college and university faculty members continue to collaborate to develop and assess innovative teaching methods that effectively encourage learning for all undergraduates, particularly in STEM. Here we describe a simple student-led classroom technique, recap and retrieval practice (R&RP), that we, as two instructors at different institutions, collaboratively implemented in three upper-level STEM courses. R&RP sessions are short, student-led reviews of previous course material that feature student voices prominently at the start of every class period. R&RP sessions require a small team of students to prepare and deliver a review of prior course content via active retrieval practice formats, which are well known to be particularly effective learning tools. These R&RP assignments were also designed to emphasize additional evidence-based learning practices (concrete examples, dual coding, elaboration, interleaving, and spaced practice). Our analysis of undergraduate student experiences both in leading and participating in R&RPs indicates that overall R&RP sessions were well-received, active learning strategies that our students indicated fostered their learning. As instructors, we found R&RPs an effective and efficient strategy to encourage class participation, assess class participation, and emphasize student voices in our classrooms. Moreover, we found that collaboratively deploying a learning activity allowed us to observe the impact of a specific pedagogical activity in varied instructional settings and enhanced our professional development as educators.