Introduction 1

1 Discover the Power Behind Power Tools 9

2 Build a Foundation with Retrieval Practice 25

3 Empower Teaching with Retrieval Practice Strategies 55

4 Energize Learning with Spacing and Interleaving 93

5 Engage Students with Feedback-Driven Metacognition 123

6 Combine Power Tools and Harness Your Toolbox 153

7 Keeping It Real: Use Power Tools to Tackle Challenges, Not Add to Them 179

8 Foster a Supportive Environment: Use Power Tools to Reduce Anxiety and Strengthen Community 205

9 Spark Conversations with Students About the Science of Learning 227

10 Spark Conversations with Parents About the Science of Learning 265

11 Powerful Professional Development for Teachers and Leaders 279

12 Do It Yourself Retrieval Guide 303

Conclusion Unleash the Science of Learning 327

Acknowledgments 329

Name Index 331

Subject Index 335

PRAISE FOR POWERFUL TEACHING

"The authors have taken the science of learning and distilled it into its most powerful form—a limited number of simple but powerful ideas, with guidance on how to use them with insight and fidelity. They've made it easy to be smarter about how you—and your students—learn. Who doesn't want that?"
—Doug Lemov, Author of Teach Like a Champion 2.0, Practice Perfect and Reading Reconsidered

"In recent years, educators' understanding of how people learn has shifted in big ways, but we haven't had a go-to manual for applying that research in the classroom. Powerful Teaching bridges the gap, showing us exactly how to put realistic strategies into practice in any subject area and any grade level. Teachers who want to see dramatic improvement in student learning must read this book!"
—Jennifer Gonzalez, Educator and Director of Cult of Pedagogy

"The authors have combined years of scientific expertise and practical experience to create a marvelous book about applying the science of learning in the classroom. Powerful Teaching is highly readable and a boon to all teachers."
—Henry L. Roediger, III, Co-Author of Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

"In Powerful Teaching, educators at every level will find a treasure trove of new techniques for the classroom. Accessible prose, practical strategies, and solid scientific support—these elements combine to make this a book that will benefit all teachers and, more importantly, their students."
—James M. Lang, Author of Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning

"This easy-to-read book makes the phrase 'science of learning' real for anyone responsible for teaching students. It's chock full of practical tips (not fads) and, mercifully, devoid of academic mumbo jumbo. Please read this!"
—Benjamin Riley, Founder of Deans for Impact

"Teachers need this book. Students need this book. Powerful Teaching should be required reading for all teachers. If this book isn't in your school's professional development library, you're missing out."
—Blake Harvard, Blogger and AP Psychology Teacher, James Clemens High School

Powerful Teaching is an indispensable resource for educators who want to take their instruction to the next level. Drawing on a fifteen-year scientist-teacher collaboration, more than 100 years of research, and illustrative examples from K–12 and higher education, the authors present step-by-step guidance on how to transform teaching with four essential strategies: retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition. Equipped with scientific knowledge and evidence-based tools, turn your teaching into powerful teaching and unleash student learning in your classroom.

Powerful Teaching, written by a noted cognitive scientist and a veteran classroom teacher, offers evidence-based recommendations that can be implemented in less than a minute without additional prep time or grading. Decades of research demonstrate that these few powerful—yet intuitive—strategies dramatically raise student achievement.

Readers will learn how to harness four dynamic "Power Tools":

• Retrieval Practice: Boost learning by pulling information out of students' heads, rather than focusing on getting information into students' heads
• Spaced Practice: Boost learning by spreading lessons and retrieval opportunities out over time so learning isn't crammed all at once
• Interleaving: Boost learning by mixing up closely related topics and encouraging students to discriminate between key concepts
• Feedback-Driven Metacognition: Boost learning by providing students with the opportunity to know what they know and know what they don't know

Powerful Teaching provides the rare opportunity to adapt the science of learning for diverse students, parents, and professional development programs. With this interactive guide, think critically about teaching from a research-based perspective and transform learning in your classroom.