Effective Learning Chapter 2: Retrieval

Learn the most powerful study technique

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Next Chapter 3 will be available in December!

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Read the previous chapters:

Chapter 1: Learning How To Learn

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Chapter 2: Retrieval

In this chapter, you will learn:

• What is retrieval

• Why do people learn languages faster in their native countries?

• The science behind retrieval practice

• Applicating retrieval

• Examples of retrieval practice

• Principles for effective retrieval

• Overcoming challenges

In the last chapter, you learned what effective learning is, its illusions, and how our brain learns new information. To recap, we understand learning as linking information from your short-term to your long-term memory. The illusion of learning happens when we think we learned something when we didn’t. Lastly, based on Deheaene (2021), for the brain to learn something new 4 ingredient are necessary: i) attention, ii) active engagement, iii) feedback, and iv) consolidation. 

The best strategy to accomplish effective learning is retrieval, which will be the topic of this chapter. Here, you will learn its definitions, applications, and examples to apply them in your learning projects.

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What is Retrieval?

Shortly, it is a study strategy that focuses on actively recalling information rather than passively reviewing it. Science has found that retrieval strengthens memory (consolidation) and that the more effortful the retrieval, the stronger the benefit (Brown et al., 2014). Think about this as testing and forcing your brain to retrieve the information you already learned. The more effort you put into that, the better and faster you will learn. This effort helps link information from your short-term to long-term memory, thus learning effectively. 

So, at its core, retrieval is about testing yourself on what you know. The key difference with rereading and highlighting techniques is that retrieval is an active type of learning. The firsts are passive because you only re-expose yourself to information. You are not making an effort to study. Plus, you are never bringing back that information. That’s why those techniques fool you into the illusion of learning.  

In contrast, retrieval makes you aware of what you know and don’t know, improving your metacognition. By actively engaging with information, you solidify the neural connections and pathways to make that easier to recall later. Additionally, by testing yourself, you gain more certainty about your knowledge. This helps reduce anxiety about exams, a serious problem many students face. 

Here’s a common example to show you the power of retrieval. 

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Why do people learn languages faster in their native countries?