Use white boards for flexible retrieval practice
/By Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D.
If you’ve gotten your hands on my book, Smart Teaching Stronger Learning, you probably noticed two things: It’s practical and it’s short. Applicable for K–12 and higher ed, it has 10 chapters that are only 10 pages each.
(Because let’s be honest, we don’t always have time to read books.)
Each chapter features a cognitive scientist who’s also a teacher. These teacher-scientists practice what they preach, and they use their own research to guide their instruction. In my newsletter, I’ll be featuring a cognitive scientist from the book and their practical research-based activities you can use in your classroom to strengthen learning.
Learn about teacher-scientist Dr. Janell Blunt and her tips on how to use white boards for flexible retrieval practice. We also held a book launch Zoom Party, featuring Dr. Blunt. Did you miss it? Click here to subscribe for my newsletter for announcements and upcoming events.
P.S. If you bought the book on Amazon, please take a moment to post a rating or review. Even better: help educators with a quote or photo of your favorite strategy in your review!
P.P.S. Sending a very big thank you to Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook for sharing our book in his newsletter! His blog is geared toward K–12, but as a college professor, I have learned a ton from his resources. Subscribe for his newsletter here.
White boards: Flexible, fun, and effective
As Dr. Janell Blunt describes in her book chapter in Smart Teaching Stronger Learning, she has an old suitcase full of small white boards and dry erase markers that she brings to her introductory psychology class every day. Students know to grab a white board before heading to their desks.
Why white boards? Because they provide flexibility for the types of question prompts you can ask. Plus, white boards give students the opportunity to retrieve what they’ve learned in different formats: images, words, tables, phrases, etc.
Rather than starting class by reviewing a previous lesson, simply ask students to retrieve information by writing answers on their white boards. These questions can be ones you’ve made in advance or ones you think of on the spot if you notice students struggling to understand a concept or stay focused. You can also have students share their responses with peers and help each other out — much like team building exercises, but without a competitive environment.
Some example question prompts:
Brain dump and retrieve as much as you can in 2 minutes
Retrieve and write down two things or three key concepts from class
Write down a new example of a topic you’re learning about and share examples with peers
Write down something about today’s lesson that was challenging
Draw an image that describes concepts from yesterday’s lesson
Additional tips:
Don’t use paper. Students enjoy the novelty of white boards, and having an eraser on hand normalizes mistakes and eases student anxiety. Mistakes are okay — just erase it and retrieve again.
Start early: For best results, introduce white boards on the first day of class
Emphasize the importance of not using notes while retrieving. Remind students that difficult learning is learning that lasts.
Insert a slide with a photo of a golden retriever in your lecture as a cue to have students retrieve every 10 minutes to break up lessons
For a low-cost alternative to purchasing white boards, create your own by putting blank pages of paper into sheet protectors with cardstock, and create erasers with scrap pieces of fleece fabric.
Dr. Blunt’s students really enjoy white boards. They like them so much that her white boards have become “contagious.” Students in other classes have created their own white boards as a study tool and they ask their instructors to use them during class. With Dr. Blunt’s simple strategy (backed by her own research and teaching experience), you can foster a classroom with engaged students who are eager to retrieve, learn, and support each other.
Learn about Dr. Janell Blunt
Dr. Janell Blunt (she/her) is an Associate Professor at Anderson University, near Indianapolis, Indiana. She specializes in research on concept mapping and retrieval practice, including guided retrieval practice for elementary school students. She earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University.
Dr. Blunt’s research focuses on answering questions such as: How do students learn? What study strategies promote lasting, meaningful learning? How can evidence-based strategies, like retrieval practice, be incorporated into classroom activities?
Her work is published in several top academic journals, including the prestigious journal Science, as well as The New York Times and the ScienceDaily News.
Dr. Blunt teaches courses on cognitive psychology, research methods, and statistics, and leads learning workshops for students and faculty. She also created a course on LinkedIn, Strategies to Learn and Upskill More Effectively, where she shares evidence-based strategies for learning at school, work, or play. Dr. Blunt is passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice, and helping learners of all ages achieve their goals.
