Even Smart Educators Resist Retrieval Practice—Here’s Why
Quick Take: Why This Matters
This post explores what happens when educators don’t just teach retrieval practice—but actually try it themselves. We break down why retrieval is so effective (and so uncomfortable), how resistance shows up for even the most seasoned teachers, and why that discomfort is actually a gift. You’ll see how the Anti-Boring Learning Lab uses the Study Cycle framework not just to train students—but to transform the way educators reflect, learn, and grow through their own practice.
By the end, you’ll walk away with powerful reflective questions for yourself and students, low-stakes strategies for modeling retrieval, and an invitation to join a cohort of like-minded educators learning how to teach study skills in ways that don’t just stick for students — but transform your own learning as a professional.
Let’s take a closer look at why retrieval is so hard—and so worth it.
This Post Will Resonate Most With:
Academic coaches and tutors who want to move beyond surface-level teaching tips and are ready to model the strategies they want students to use
Classroom teachers who are tired of cramming culture and want new ways to scaffold test prep that build student confidence, not just coverage
Educators of all kinds who geek out on learning science—and who are curious (or maybe a little nervous) to apply those strategies to their own learning habits
🌀 The Study Cycle: Why We Start Here
Much of the Anti-Boring Learning Lab is designed around a tool I call the Study Cycle. It’s a deceptively simple model for helping students study more effectively using the key tenets of learning science.
If you don’t know about the Study Cycle yet, I highly recommend visiting the Lab’s Visitor’s Center to take the free course that introduces both the model and how to teach it.
However, if you’re not up to taking the free course just yet, here’s the least you need to know:
The Anti-Boring Study Cycle is my attempt to summarize the complexity of learning science into a simple, easy to learn framework that students will remember and consistently put into action.
It suggests that truly learning anything requires two essential skill sets—
encoding (getting information into your brain so it sticks) and
retrieval (pulling that information back out to see what stuck and what didn’t).
While teachers can design curriculum to move students through both encoding and retrieval activities, the real transformation happens when students learn how to design their own learning. That means understanding when and how to use encoding and retrieval strategies to harness their brain’s natural potential—without relying on teachers to do all the guiding for them.
Because the Study Cycle is so foundational to how I work with students, I begin my trainings for educators by teaching them this simple model—so they can, in turn, teach it to their students.
But here’s what’s sneaky—I also use the Study Cycle to structure the learning experiences I design for educators themselves.
One characteristic that makes our professional development “anti-boring” is how meta it is: we teach strategies by asking you to try them in your own learning first. Then we invite you to notice what happens—emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally—and use that reflection to teach students from a more grounded and empathetic place.
And guess what most coaches, tutors, and teachers notice when I ask them to retrieve what I just taught? Resistance! A whole lot of it. Turns out educators aren’t all that different from the students we serve.
And here’s the juicy part: when educators notice their own resistance in a supportive, low-stakes environment—that’s where the most meaningful learning begins. Let me explain.
🧠 Why Retrieval Feels So Hard—for All of Us
Retrieval practice is a darling of cognitive science—and for good reason. As we touched on earlier, it’s the act of pulling information out of your brain to check what’s actually been retained. But here’s the incredible thing: recall isn’t just a way to assess learning—it’s a way to deepen it. The more we retrieve the information and skills we’re learning, the more durable that learning becomes. An increasing number of cognitive science studies back this up.
And yet, while retrieval sounds simple in theory, it’s surprisingly uncomfortable in practice—which is exactly what makes it so powerful. That discomfort—the mental effort required to recall information—is what strengthens memory and learning. It’s far more effective than passive review strategies like rereading notes or highlighting, even though those feel easier in the moment.
This feeling of difficulty isn't surprising when we consider what cognitive science has shown—initial attempts at retrieval can be a real brain-strain, as our brains work hard to reconstruct information (Sweller, 1988). It can feel harder than passively reviewing material—especially because passive review often gives us a false sense of confidence. We think we know our stuff simply because it looks familiar on the page. But that confidence is often the “illusion of knowing,” as the literature calls it.
This gap between feeling like you know something and actually being able to recall it highlights the importance of metacognition—our ability to monitor and manage our own learning. Learners often overestimate what they know when they simply reread notes or review material. Retrieval practice, on the other hand, acts as a powerful diagnostic tool, helping us more accurately assess what we truly know—and what we don’t.
And if educators feel this resistance to making their "gap" visible, imagine how our students feel! Experts like us can succumb to what is known as the “expert blind spot” (Chi, Feltovich, & Glaser, 1981), forgetting what it’s like to be a novice and underestimating the difficulty students face.
In the Anti-Boring Learning Lab, I’ve seen educators rediscover just how vulnerable learning can feel—and how powerful it is to face that vulnerability with intention and support.
That’s why I’m adamant that I don’t just talk about retrieval in the Anti-Boring trainings—I ask educators to do it. In every micro-credential inside the Anti-Boring Learning Lab, when I offer a retrieval activity, they’re prompted to retrieve by practicing teaching a mini-lecture or doing a brain dump on a piece of paper. After I assign it, I ask them to:
Notice any resistance that arises, if any at all
Explore creative ways to build their willingness to engage despite resistance
Reflect on what it felt like during and after their retrieval practice
Consider how these experiences might shape how they guide students through similar activities
That’s a whole sequence of complex actions—emotional, cognitive, and practical. And it’s the kind of metacognitive loop that builds empathy, insight, and resilience, both for our students and for ourselves.
🔁 From Avoidance to Empowerment: What Educators Learn
One thing I’ve noticed in every cohort is this: the moment someone pushes through their resistance—teaching a mini-lecture they don't feel "ready" for, or testing themselves from memory about a framework they just learned—they shift from uncertainty to insight.
Consider these quotes from real educators who've worked through the Anti-Boring Toolkit:
“I just taught the mini-lecture to an imaginary student… and realized how much I actually remembered.”
“I recorded myself three times. The first was messy. The third? I finally felt fluent.”
“Struggling with retrieval made me more empathetic to how hard this is for students.”
These reflective moments are powerful. Not because they’re perfect—but because they model exactly what we want for our students: persistence, curiosity, and self-awareness.
And this isn’t just anecdotal—research supports it. Educators who engage in their own learning and reflect on their experience serve as powerful role models (Bandura, 1977). This kind of modeling normalizes the learning process and builds more supportive classroom and coaching environments.
Plus, by experiencing the metacognitive benefits of retrieval—the way it clarifies what they know and don’t—educators are better equipped to teach students how to move from passive review to active, empowered learning.
🧭 Modeling the Mindset
In the Anti-Boring Learning Lab, we like to practice what we want students to experience: reflection, experimentation, and self-compassion. That includes modeling what it looks like to feel uncertain—and keep learning anyway.
Reflective Questions for Educators:
When was the last time you let yourself feel vulnerable while learning?
What do you notice about your own resistance to being a beginner?
In what ways might your awareness of your discomfort (or avoidance) shape the kinds of learning experiences you create for students?
Empowering Questions for Students:
Try a brain dump: What can you remember about what you just learned—without looking?
If you feel resistance to doing that, pause and notice it. That resistance is totally normal—and worth exploring. What exactly are you resisting?
What might help you move through that resistance today? What’s one tiny retrieval action you’re willing to try?
🌊 Ready to Practice What You Preach?
If you’re intrigued by the idea of experiencing study strategies from the inside out—retrieval included—you’re in the right place. We encourage you to come into the Lab and try us out!
The Anti-Boring Learning Lab is always open—but if you're looking for a supportive cohort of educators who geek out on academic coaching for neurodiverse learners, executive function coaching for students, and how to teach study skills effectively, now is a particularly great time to join.
...our summer cohort is forming, and that means structure, community, and a shared rhythm to support your growth. Here’s a document all about our Summer Cohort!
P.S. Retrieval is just one half of the Study Cycle. In an upcoming post, we’ll explore the other side—encoding—and why educators also resist strategies like “Honing Your Notes” despite the fact that they ask students to do just that. Stay tuned!