retrieval practice

An open biochemistry notebook on a wooden desk with a pen resting across handwritten pathway diagrams, warm afternoon light coming through a nearby window.

Judgments of Learning: Why You Are a Poor Judge of What You Know

Rereading feels like mastery because fluency fools the brain, and students who trust that feeling consistently underestimate what they have not learned

• 5 min read
A hand writing on a blank sheet of paper beside a closed notebook and a coffee cup, in natural window light.

Retrieval Practice and the Testing Effect

Testing yourself beats rereading, the research is clear, and students still refuse to do it. Why retrieval practice works, and why it…

• 7 min read
An open sketchbook on a wooden desk beside a pencil and an open textbook, showing a rough process diagram drawn in pencil.

Drawing vs. Rereading: Why Generating Beats Reviewing

Why drawing from memory beats rereading, even when rereading feels like it's working. The cognitive science of generation, and how to use…

• 6 min read
A student's hand sketching a messy pencil diagram in a spiral notebook under warm desk lamp light.

Why drawing what you’re learning works better than rereading it

The research behind drawing-to-learn, from Fiorella and Mayer to the NSF Picturing to Learn project, and why sketching beats rereading for durable…

• 5 min read