Pedagogy in Practice: Revision, memory and learning

Assistant Head (Teaching and Learning), Mrs McNally explains how effective revision uses active recall to strengthen memory, and shares proven strategies that help revision truly work.

In a recent lesson, we were completing a theme tracker for Macbeth, tracing how an idea develops across the play. As students made notes, I found myself saying something I say a lot: “I’m not just teaching you this because it’s on the exam; I’m teaching you how to learn it. This is what revision looks like.”

What I mean by this is that revision isn’t about cramming content or memorising a list of facts in isolation. It’s about doing something with the information, not just looking at it. In short, students have to wrestle with their learning in order to really understand it. And yet, very often, a student will say, “I just don’t know how to revise.”

At this point in the year, as we move from mock exams towards the real ones, many students feel the pressure to revise, but aren’t always sure what that actually means. One of the challenges we see is that students can become passive in their revision. They may spend time looking at information rather than working with it. The difference is important. Too often, revision is mistaken for quick fixes: watching TikTok videos, highlighting notes, or trying to memorise large amounts of information in one go. It can feel busy, even productive, but it doesn’t always lead to learning that sticks. Real revision requires students to actively retrieve knowledge, apply it in different contexts, and reflect on what they do and don’t yet know.

One reason for this lies in how memory works. Research shows that we forget information quickly if we don’t revisit it, something first identified by the psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus. However, each time we actively try to recall something, rather than simply re-read it, we strengthen that memory and make it easier to access in the future. This is why engaging in retrieval practice is so crucial. Retrieval practice could be students testing themselves, writing down everything they can remember about a topic, or explaining an idea out loud without notes. It can feel harder than just reading through a page, but that difficulty is exactly what helps the learning to stick.

Effective revision, therefore, is not about speed or shortcuts. It is a slow burn; a more deliberate process. It involves students trying to recall information without looking at their notes, testing themselves, making mistakes, and then trying again. It can look like practising exam questions, talking through ideas with a friend, or even watching a production of a text they are studying to deepen their understanding. It often feels effortful, and that’s a good sign. When students are thinking hard, they are strengthening their memory and building more secure knowledge.

As parents, your role in this process is incredibly valuable, and it doesn’t require subject expertise. Often, the most helpful thing you can do is simply to ask questions that prompt thinking. Asking your child what they are focusing on, how they know they have learnt it, or what they might need to improve next encourages exactly the kind of reflection that helps learning to stick. Additionally, creating a calm routine, encouraging regular breaks, and ensuring good sleep and nutrition are just as important as anything else.

Perhaps the most important message is this: revision is not something that happens quickly. It is a gradual process of building, forgetting, revisiting, and strengthening knowledge over time. When students begin to understand this, they become more confident, more resilient, and better prepared for the exam season ahead.

What effective revision can look like
Strong revision is active. It requires students to think hard, recall information, and use it in different ways. Some effective strategies include:

• Practising past papers – Not just completing them, but reviewing answers, identifying mistakes, and improving responses.
• Brain dumps – Writing down everything they can remember about a topic from memory, then checking for gaps.
• Retrieval practice – Regular self-testing: recalling information without notes, little and often.
• Flashcards – Covering answers and testing recall, not just reading through them.
• Mind maps / graphic organisers – Organising knowledge from memory first, then refining and adding detail.
• Explaining ideas out loud – Teaching a concept to someone else (or even saying it aloud) to clarify understanding.
• Exam-style questions – Applying knowledge in context, not just remembering it.
• Interleaving topics – Mixing subjects or topics rather than revising one thing for too long — this helps strengthen memory and understanding.