Geography Retrieval Roulette
Retrieval Roulette is an automated quizzing tool developed by London chemistry teacher, Adam Boxer. Adam’s aim is to help people build a simple system to embed regular retrieval practice into their lessons.
Adam writes flashcards in Quizlet for each topic. These are lean and focused, covering only essential information. All the questions and answers from the Retrieval Roulette are printed and given to students at the beginning of the unit. Students are told verbal questions will be based on them and that they need to be learned off by heart.
Every three lessons, Adam’s students receive a mini quiz generated by the Roulette which is displayed on the board. They have 10 minutes to complete them. Students assess each other and record their performance.
What I like about the system is that the roulette questions do not just focus on current learning but students are also assessed on learning earlier in the course which is great for re-visiting prior learning.
I’ve used Adam’s template and added 50 questions based on the AQA Geography Living World unit. I would foresee issuing students ecosystems knowledge organisers along with a copy of all the questions at the beginning of the unit. Below is a screenshot of the spreadsheet.
Retrieval Roulette
Click to download this example.
If you do adopt this and develop a Retrieval Roulette yourself please send a copy to share on this page. You can email them to [email protected]
Finally, take some time to explore Adam’s site A Chemical Orthodoxy, you’ll find some great posts on there!
Anthony Bennett
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