Writing retrieval practice questions for your class
Write ten low-stakes retrieval questions for a unit that ask students to recall, not recognize, and bring them back on a spaced schedule.
In short
Students who reread notes feel prepared, because the page looks familiar. But recognizing something is not the same as being able to produce it. Retrieval practice asks students to pull an answer out of memory, and doing that is itself a way of learning. This guide shows how to write the questions.
In short
- Retrieval questions ask students to produce an answer from memory, which is recall, not recognition.
- Keep them low stakes, short, and no grades needed, and bring them back later in the unit and the year.
- Mix fact questions with ones that need explaining, so you learn what students understand and not just what they remember.
Who this is for
You teach a class and want a regular, low-effort way to help students remember. The example is a science unit on photosynthesis, but the same structure works in any subject.
The plan at a glance
- List the five to ten ideas students must still know next month.
- Write one short question per idea, phrased so students must produce the answer.
- Run them at the start of class on blank paper, and no grades needed.
- Go over the answers right away, so errors are fixed while fresh.
- Bring the questions back with spacing: a few days later, then a few weeks, then at review time.
Step by step: writing the questions
1. Choose what is worth remembering
Not every detail. Pick the core facts, vocabulary and ideas that later lessons depend on.
2. Ask for recall, not recognition
"Where in the cell does photosynthesis happen?" is better than a multiple-choice list, since students have to generate the answer. Use multiple choice only when the point is to discriminate between close ideas.
3. Keep each question small
One idea per question, answerable in a sentence. Larger tasks belong in a lesson.
4. Add a few that need explaining
"Why" and "what would happen if" questions show whether students have the idea or only the words.
5. Keep it low stakes
Collect nothing, or collect and look without grading. The goal is practice and information for you, and fear of a grade gets in the way.
Worked example: ten low-stakes questions for a unit
Here are ten questions for a unit on photosynthesis, with the answers you would go over.
# | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
1 | What are the inputs of photosynthesis? | Carbon dioxide, water and light energy |
2 | What are the outputs? | Glucose and oxygen |
3 | In which organelle does photosynthesis take place? | The chloroplast |
4 | Name the green pigment that absorbs light. | Chlorophyll |
5 | Why do most leaves look green? | Chlorophyll absorbs mostly red and blue light and reflects more green light |
6 | What is the job of stomata? | Pores that let gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen move in and out |
7 | Write the word equation. | Carbon dioxide + water, with light, makes glucose + oxygen |
8 | Do plants also respire? Explain. | Yes, they release energy from glucose in cellular respiration all the time, day and night |
9 | A plant sits in a sealed, lit jar. Which gas increases at first? | Oxygen, since photosynthesis releases it and uses carbon dioxide |
10 | How is photosynthesis related to cellular respiration? | Their reactants and products are roughly reversed: one stores energy in glucose, the other releases it |
Check the chemistry behind question 7. The balanced equation is 6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂. Count atoms. Carbon: 6 on the left, 6 on the right. Hydrogen: 6 × 2 = 12 on the left, 12 in glucose. Oxygen: 6 × 2 + 6 = 18 on the left, and 6 + 6 × 2 = 18 on the right. It balances.
Notice the mix. Questions 1 to 4 are facts, 5 to 7 link facts to reasons, and 8 to 10 need a short explanation. If most students get 1 to 4 right and miss 9, you have learned something useful about where to teach next.
Spacing the questions
Use all ten on the day after the unit, then a smaller set a week later and again a few weeks after that. Students who answer the same question across spaced sessions remember longer than those who answer it many times in one sitting. Drop the questions most students have mastered, and keep the ones they miss.
If something goes wrong
- Students freeze at a blank page. Allow a few minutes and tell them that guessing is fine. Getting it wrong and then seeing the answer still helps.
- Everyone gets everything right. The questions are too easy or too soon. Move them to later, or make them require more explanation.
- It takes too long. Cut to five questions and take two minutes at the start of class.
- Students copy from a neighbor. Use individual whiteboards or paper that you do not collect, so the point stays on practice.
Keep it going
Keep a bank of questions for each unit, in a shared document. Each time you teach the unit, add questions that revealed misunderstandings and remove ones that were never useful. After a year, you will have a tool that is tuned to your students.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I grade retrieval practice?
- You do not need to. Grading can add anxiety, and the benefit comes from the recall, so a low-stakes check is enough.
- Is multiple choice ever useful?
- Yes, when the wrong options are plausible mistakes, since it can reveal common misconceptions. Pair it with at least some questions that need a written answer.
