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Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning
Unleash powerful teaching and the science of learning in your classroom
Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning empowers educators to harness rigorous research on how students learn and unleash it in their classrooms. In this book, cognitive scientist Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D., and veteran K–12 teacher Patrice M. Bain, Ed.S., decipher cognitive science research and illustrate ways to successfully apply the science of learning in classrooms settings. This practical resource is filled with evidence-based strategies that are easily implemented in less than a minute—without additional prepping, grading, or funding!
Research demonstrates that these powerful strategies raise student achievement by a letter grade or more; boost learning for diverse students, grade levels, and subject areas; and enhance students’ higher order learning and transfer of knowledge beyond the classroom. Drawing on a fifteen-year scientist-teacher collaboration, more than 100 years of research on learning, and rich experiences from educators in K–12 and higher education, the authors present highly accessible step-by-step guidance on how to transform teaching with four essential strategies: Retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition.
With Powerful Teaching, you will:
Develop a deep understanding of powerful teaching strategies based on the science of learning Gain insight from real-world examples of how evidence-based strategies are being implemented in a variety of academic settings Think critically about your current teaching practices from a research-based perspective Develop tools to share the science of learning with students and parents, ensuring success inside and outside the classroomPowerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning is an indispensable resource for educators who want to take their instruction to the next level. Equipped with scientific knowledge and evidence-based tools, turn your teaching into powerful teaching and unleash student learning in your classroom.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 13, 2019
About the author
Pooja K. Agarwal
3 books34 followersPooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D. (she/her, @RetrieveLearn) is a cognitive scientist and Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she teaches psychological science to exceptional undergraduate musicians. Drawing on her combined 20 years of experience as a researcher, public school teacher, and college professor, Dr. Agarwal shares practical evidence-based resources for thousands of educators around the world in her book, Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning, and online at RetrievalPractice.org.
Her award-winning research on how students learn has been published in prominent academic journals; featured in The New York Times and NPR; and funded by the National Science Foundation. She received her Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.
Her award-winning research on how students learn has been published in prominent academic journals; featured in The New York Times and NPR; and funded by the National Science Foundation. She received her Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
July 14, 2019
Good for teachers of all grades/levels, this book does an excellent job of providing practical classroom pedagogy informed by research-based cognitive science. Many books on this subject I’ve read are either too divorced from the research or so mired in the complicated domain of cognitive science that you don’t get anything out of them. In this book, there’s a good balance between the research (all classroom-based, this is no primer on neuroscience (nor should it be)), personal experiences, and specific pedagogical advice. As with all education books shooting for such a wide audience, there’s a bit too much repetition and explaining to my taste but it does make the book more approachable for newbies to research-based pedagogy.
Some observations made in the book that really resonated with me:
What teachers should shoot for is desirable difficulty (beware the illusion of fluency!): “Desirable difficulties don’t feel good, but they’re a good felling to have.”
“Just because something seems ‘active’ doesn’t mean that learning sticks.”
You may be “teaching slightly less, but students are remembering more.”
Tell students why you are doing the things you do (helps to create a supportive environment and models metacognition).
Students will save time in the long run by using these power tools. (Less cramming, less rereading, less forgetting)
Here are their “power tools” and some specific implementation advice:
1. Retrieval Practice
Pulling information out of our heads increases our ability to access it in the future (think long term learning over short term remembering). Practice retrieval after a delay (when you are staring to forget). Retrieval practice should be low (or no) stakes in a supportive environment rather than just an increase in testing.
A. Brain Dumps: Pause in the middle of your teaching, ask students to write down everything they can about a particular topic, continue onwards with your lesson. You could do more with it by having them do some peer feedback as part of the process.
B. Two Things: Stop and ask them to write down two things they learned yesterday, last week, that they would like to know more about, or personal connections to the material
C. Retrieve-Taking: Rather than taking notes in real time, have the students pay attention without taking notes then pause so they can take notes. Discuss and compare what student chose to write. Move on. Teach students to read their textbook this way as well (read a section, close the book, take notes)
D. Retrieval Guides: Rather than complete study guides, teacher provides a template with missing info and has the student fill it in from memory then discuss to complete.
E. MiniQuizzes: Low stakes, frequent assessment. Provide immediate feedback.
2. Spaced Practice: Retrieval paced out in a thoughtful way: multiple times over time. Cramming does help short-term performance slightly but spacing the same amount of retrieval over time outperforms over the long term. A 1:10 ratio is best: for a test in 30 days, do a retrieval quiz/practice/activity every 3 days.
3. Interleaving: Mixing similar content during the spacing. Mix up both content and problem-solving strategies. Put questions from a previous unit in the middle of this unit’s quiz. Have methods to randomize the need to call up important content knowledge throughout the year (roll dice, draw topics from a hat, have student call out randomly from a list).
4. Feedback-driven Metacognition: Students need be aware of what they know and don’t know. Students tend to be overconfident about what they know (illusion of confidence). Provide feedback (and train students to pay attention) to both correct and incorrect answers. Provide elaborative feedback. Encourage mistakes.
A: Provide a template for students to engage in the four steps of metacognition:
1. Identify questions they know the answer to versus those they do not
2. Answer the questions they know from memory
3. Look up and answer the ones they identified as not knowing
4. (Important!) Verify their answers are correct to the ones they claimed they knew!
B: Breathe and Retrieve: Have students identify “nailed it!” or “not sure!” next to questions on their miniquizzes.
C: Metacognition Line Up: Have student span across the room based on their confidence in their ability to answer a specific question. Then have student near each other quickly confer and then pair off student from either end to do some peer instruction. Do a group share out of thing learned, observations about common misunderstandings.
The book has many great examples of how you can increase your usage of these power tools and how to combine them. One great combo example given is creating a power ticket/retrieval grid: Make columns labeled with the essential questions for the unit/course; Students spend about 5 minutes choosing and filling 3 facts about any of those topics on the grid; Then they compare with other students and add to their own grid; Finally do a whole class share-out.
I love that the authors point out that most teachers are already using some of these power tools, but they assert (correctly!) that we can all do more by being conscientious and explicit in our usage of them. I know I am planning on making some specific changes next year based on this book and I am a 17 year classroom veteran (High School Physics).
Some observations made in the book that really resonated with me:
What teachers should shoot for is desirable difficulty (beware the illusion of fluency!): “Desirable difficulties don’t feel good, but they’re a good felling to have.”
“Just because something seems ‘active’ doesn’t mean that learning sticks.”
You may be “teaching slightly less, but students are remembering more.”
Tell students why you are doing the things you do (helps to create a supportive environment and models metacognition).
Students will save time in the long run by using these power tools. (Less cramming, less rereading, less forgetting)
Here are their “power tools” and some specific implementation advice:
1. Retrieval Practice
Pulling information out of our heads increases our ability to access it in the future (think long term learning over short term remembering). Practice retrieval after a delay (when you are staring to forget). Retrieval practice should be low (or no) stakes in a supportive environment rather than just an increase in testing.
A. Brain Dumps: Pause in the middle of your teaching, ask students to write down everything they can about a particular topic, continue onwards with your lesson. You could do more with it by having them do some peer feedback as part of the process.
B. Two Things: Stop and ask them to write down two things they learned yesterday, last week, that they would like to know more about, or personal connections to the material
C. Retrieve-Taking: Rather than taking notes in real time, have the students pay attention without taking notes then pause so they can take notes. Discuss and compare what student chose to write. Move on. Teach students to read their textbook this way as well (read a section, close the book, take notes)
D. Retrieval Guides: Rather than complete study guides, teacher provides a template with missing info and has the student fill it in from memory then discuss to complete.
E. MiniQuizzes: Low stakes, frequent assessment. Provide immediate feedback.
2. Spaced Practice: Retrieval paced out in a thoughtful way: multiple times over time. Cramming does help short-term performance slightly but spacing the same amount of retrieval over time outperforms over the long term. A 1:10 ratio is best: for a test in 30 days, do a retrieval quiz/practice/activity every 3 days.
3. Interleaving: Mixing similar content during the spacing. Mix up both content and problem-solving strategies. Put questions from a previous unit in the middle of this unit’s quiz. Have methods to randomize the need to call up important content knowledge throughout the year (roll dice, draw topics from a hat, have student call out randomly from a list).
4. Feedback-driven Metacognition: Students need be aware of what they know and don’t know. Students tend to be overconfident about what they know (illusion of confidence). Provide feedback (and train students to pay attention) to both correct and incorrect answers. Provide elaborative feedback. Encourage mistakes.
A: Provide a template for students to engage in the four steps of metacognition:
1. Identify questions they know the answer to versus those they do not
2. Answer the questions they know from memory
3. Look up and answer the ones they identified as not knowing
4. (Important!) Verify their answers are correct to the ones they claimed they knew!
B: Breathe and Retrieve: Have students identify “nailed it!” or “not sure!” next to questions on their miniquizzes.
C: Metacognition Line Up: Have student span across the room based on their confidence in their ability to answer a specific question. Then have student near each other quickly confer and then pair off student from either end to do some peer instruction. Do a group share out of thing learned, observations about common misunderstandings.
The book has many great examples of how you can increase your usage of these power tools and how to combine them. One great combo example given is creating a power ticket/retrieval grid: Make columns labeled with the essential questions for the unit/course; Students spend about 5 minutes choosing and filling 3 facts about any of those topics on the grid; Then they compare with other students and add to their own grid; Finally do a whole class share-out.
I love that the authors point out that most teachers are already using some of these power tools, but they assert (correctly!) that we can all do more by being conscientious and explicit in our usage of them. I know I am planning on making some specific changes next year based on this book and I am a 17 year classroom veteran (High School Physics).
August 4, 2019
As soon as I read the first chapter of this book, I started applying the lessons to my DJ teaching practice. I can't wait to use more strategies when the college semester starts. Two Things and Brain Dumps will be the first two strategies I implement. I need to reread this book. Excellent work!
December 31, 2019
Very clear and easy to read, with lots of excellent examples for how to incorporate these strategies in the classroom. I only docked it a star because it was so similar to other books like "Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning" and "Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning" that I didn't feel as if I learned as much as I was hoping to.
July 9, 2020
First. This a good book. Second. This is not a good audiobook. And the reason is easy. The book invites the reader tog reflect and do the power tools not just listen along. And when a big part of the book is built on questions for u to answer that doesnt work very well as a audiobook. If u want to answer all the questions you need to be able to paus and I listen when im in place I cant paus and sketch down the answer. So its not about content but form.
The book is good because it invites as much as it does. And the power tools are great.
The few weakness it has apart from the form of the audiobook is it talks as all science supports it. Which of course it doesnt. Its like listening to a sale pitch in parts. I understand why but its to much sale pitch. And the second weakness is that the book talks about research but fails to go into any depth about why the powertools work and how. The autors focus on proing they are right not how they are right.
Otherwise I like the power tools and how they explain it. And they talk about the reason more people dont use research based teachings and how we can change that. They also put a good amount of focus on making the kids understand the power tools and how the teachers can make the students feel comfortable to use them.
All in all a good read but not a good listen 😊
The book is good because it invites as much as it does. And the power tools are great.
The few weakness it has apart from the form of the audiobook is it talks as all science supports it. Which of course it doesnt. Its like listening to a sale pitch in parts. I understand why but its to much sale pitch. And the second weakness is that the book talks about research but fails to go into any depth about why the powertools work and how. The autors focus on proing they are right not how they are right.
Otherwise I like the power tools and how they explain it. And they talk about the reason more people dont use research based teachings and how we can change that. They also put a good amount of focus on making the kids understand the power tools and how the teachers can make the students feel comfortable to use them.
All in all a good read but not a good listen 😊
June 27, 2019
This is a great book with very practical evidence-based strategies for both K-12 and higher education teachers. I'm excited to help spread the word about how we can widely incorporate the science of learning in every classroom.
December 28, 2019
Helpful book for any teacher who wants to use retrieval practice well. Even for teachers like myself who think they do. The chapters on metacognition, anxiety, and parents were especially helpful. This is a well written, useful book that must be completed with a pen in hand.
August 15, 2020
If you're new to the science of learning, this book will bowl you over. If not, you'll (like me) probably skim most of it. There are great nuggets in here, but I honestly found it to be a bit too punchy for me. I needed it to be half as long and much more straightforward.
July 18, 2019
Good research-based ideas for simplifying teaching to help students retain information and learn how to study.
August 13, 2022
The message here is very simple and could be described briefly as:
The most effective way students retain information is by trying to recall it without assistance.
And the most effective way to have them recall information (‘retrieve’ in the book) is to space out the exercises over time. Cramming is great for short term retention, terrible for long-term retention of knowledge.
That’s it. The style of the book is like a self-help book, and like a self-help book there is a simple message couched in a couple hundred pages of fluff. This is why I gave the book a low rating. The recall/retrieval idea is great, and seems to work. But there’s so much filler.
They also invent fancy terms where simple ones would do, presumably to make the ideas seem more substantial: ‘Feedback-driven metacognition’ is their term for letting students figure out for themselves how much of the class content they’ve learned. Or even more painful are ‘fun’ terms; a rambling conversation (to encourage students to recall information without pressure) is framed as ‘Let’s learn OUTformation not just INformation’. Pausing for note taking is ‘stop and jots’.
This all seems unnecessary as theirs is a solid idea with a practical ways to implement it. For my part, I designed my own course and have a terrible time getting my 7-12 year olds to remember any of it, so this was an extremely useful message. And in the early part of the book, there are practical ways to conduct information recall with the students:
• Simple quiz at the end of each lesson.
• Random mini quiz on slips. Put questions covering class content on individual slips of paper. Hand out randomly to students, one question per student. Get them to write the answers then immediately after (or next lesson) discuss all answers in class.
• Free recall (Brain dumps): Pause lesson and ask students to write down everything they can remember so far. This can be improved by sharing in pairs afterward: What did we both write down, what did we both forget, what did we write down wrong?
• Two things. Less disruptive, get all students to write down – What are two things you learned today? What are two things you learned last lesson? Two things you’d like to learn more about? No need to collect papers or look at the answers, just write down and move on. If the students think it’s strange the teacher isn’t looking at the answers, tell them directly it’s a learning strategy to help them (could also be used as future notes) and can ask some of them to share in groups or pairs what they wrote down.
• Most interesting thing. Actually meant for secondary school kids, where instead of writing notes during class, the class is paused and they write ‘retrieval notes’. A variation which would work for elementary age is at the end of the lesson to ask ‘what is the most interesting thing you learned today?’ and get them to write it down. In the book this is also known as an ‘outcome statement’.
• Quizzes as bell work or exit tickets. Hand out slips with one question to students entering (or as an exit ticket before they leave). It could be about any content of the course.
• True/False cards. Hand out coloured cards to every student with true and false, or ABCD, or 1,2,3 etc on them. Ask the class a question and get everyone to simultaneously hold up the card they think is the answer. This is a way of doing group multiple choice but keeping it as an active class activity, rather than yet another written test.
• Mini whiteboard. Put blank paper in a plastic folder, and give one to each student. Call out questions that only require one word answers, and get them to write it down on the mini whiteboard then hold it up for you to see.
• BBQ (Big Basket Quiz). At the end of a series of classes (a week for regular school, a month for Saturday classes), have a big quiz that repeats questions from across the last four or five lessons AND questions from before that. Make the question selection random (the basket), and discuss the answers.
• Power Ticket. A grid. There are three rows for the students to fill in: Fact one, two, and three. Along the top are a series of columns: What we learned about today (The Cuban Missile Crisis), yesterday (Cold War Alliances) all the way through to last semester (Ancient Rome). The students have to fill in as much as they can.
As mentioned, cramming is a bad way to learn – space all of this recall practice out as much as possible. And secondly this recall practice should not just focus on the last thing learned but draw on the entire course (something they call ‘interweaving’). Also useful is putting information in different contexts, though this is only alluded to and not stated explicitly.
Why is recalling information the most effective learning method, more than going over lesson content repeatedly?
It does two things – it reinforces in the mind what has already been learned, and it helps to mentally reorganise information.
Particularly eye-opening was how ineffectual ‘cold calling’ (asking random students a question about previously learned content) is, because the one or two students answering may benefit from recalling information, but the rest of the class is switched off. I always assumed everyone would be nervously going through the answer in their head, but the reality is that if someone else is answering then they assume the pressure is off, and just stop engaging.
The most effective way students retain information is by trying to recall it without assistance.
And the most effective way to have them recall information (‘retrieve’ in the book) is to space out the exercises over time. Cramming is great for short term retention, terrible for long-term retention of knowledge.
That’s it. The style of the book is like a self-help book, and like a self-help book there is a simple message couched in a couple hundred pages of fluff. This is why I gave the book a low rating. The recall/retrieval idea is great, and seems to work. But there’s so much filler.
They also invent fancy terms where simple ones would do, presumably to make the ideas seem more substantial: ‘Feedback-driven metacognition’ is their term for letting students figure out for themselves how much of the class content they’ve learned. Or even more painful are ‘fun’ terms; a rambling conversation (to encourage students to recall information without pressure) is framed as ‘Let’s learn OUTformation not just INformation’. Pausing for note taking is ‘stop and jots’.
This all seems unnecessary as theirs is a solid idea with a practical ways to implement it. For my part, I designed my own course and have a terrible time getting my 7-12 year olds to remember any of it, so this was an extremely useful message. And in the early part of the book, there are practical ways to conduct information recall with the students:
• Simple quiz at the end of each lesson.
• Random mini quiz on slips. Put questions covering class content on individual slips of paper. Hand out randomly to students, one question per student. Get them to write the answers then immediately after (or next lesson) discuss all answers in class.
• Free recall (Brain dumps): Pause lesson and ask students to write down everything they can remember so far. This can be improved by sharing in pairs afterward: What did we both write down, what did we both forget, what did we write down wrong?
• Two things. Less disruptive, get all students to write down – What are two things you learned today? What are two things you learned last lesson? Two things you’d like to learn more about? No need to collect papers or look at the answers, just write down and move on. If the students think it’s strange the teacher isn’t looking at the answers, tell them directly it’s a learning strategy to help them (could also be used as future notes) and can ask some of them to share in groups or pairs what they wrote down.
• Most interesting thing. Actually meant for secondary school kids, where instead of writing notes during class, the class is paused and they write ‘retrieval notes’. A variation which would work for elementary age is at the end of the lesson to ask ‘what is the most interesting thing you learned today?’ and get them to write it down. In the book this is also known as an ‘outcome statement’.
• Quizzes as bell work or exit tickets. Hand out slips with one question to students entering (or as an exit ticket before they leave). It could be about any content of the course.
• True/False cards. Hand out coloured cards to every student with true and false, or ABCD, or 1,2,3 etc on them. Ask the class a question and get everyone to simultaneously hold up the card they think is the answer. This is a way of doing group multiple choice but keeping it as an active class activity, rather than yet another written test.
• Mini whiteboard. Put blank paper in a plastic folder, and give one to each student. Call out questions that only require one word answers, and get them to write it down on the mini whiteboard then hold it up for you to see.
• BBQ (Big Basket Quiz). At the end of a series of classes (a week for regular school, a month for Saturday classes), have a big quiz that repeats questions from across the last four or five lessons AND questions from before that. Make the question selection random (the basket), and discuss the answers.
• Power Ticket. A grid. There are three rows for the students to fill in: Fact one, two, and three. Along the top are a series of columns: What we learned about today (The Cuban Missile Crisis), yesterday (Cold War Alliances) all the way through to last semester (Ancient Rome). The students have to fill in as much as they can.
As mentioned, cramming is a bad way to learn – space all of this recall practice out as much as possible. And secondly this recall practice should not just focus on the last thing learned but draw on the entire course (something they call ‘interweaving’). Also useful is putting information in different contexts, though this is only alluded to and not stated explicitly.
Why is recalling information the most effective learning method, more than going over lesson content repeatedly?
It does two things – it reinforces in the mind what has already been learned, and it helps to mentally reorganise information.
Particularly eye-opening was how ineffectual ‘cold calling’ (asking random students a question about previously learned content) is, because the one or two students answering may benefit from recalling information, but the rest of the class is switched off. I always assumed everyone would be nervously going through the answer in their head, but the reality is that if someone else is answering then they assume the pressure is off, and just stop engaging.
September 4, 2021
I thought that the research behind this book and also the information that was shared was so important for teaching, especially this school year after a pretty rocky past two school years. Easy to implement in the classroom as well!
September 14, 2019
Illuminating and practical; Pooja and Patrice practice what they teach throughout the book, sharing the "Power Tools" that teachers can use to help their students learn better. The Power Tools are backed by good research and have been practiced in the author's classrooms (middle school and college) and by many other teachers, from K-College, around the US. Lots of great suggestions to try in the classroom. Highly recommend to my teacher/instructor friends!
January 8, 2020
This has a lot of teaching strategies. MOre importantly they are easy to read. Even better when you dip in and out as I do, it is still satisfying. This is a must have on a teacher's shelf
Cut to 2020 and this book is still worth dipping in an out of in order to refresh and dare I say retrieve some memories.
Cut to 2020 and this book is still worth dipping in an out of in order to refresh and dare I say retrieve some memories.
September 1, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. I am going to buy myself a copy. I have already started using some of these retrieval practices in my classroom, and they are so helpful. Easy to read, and I loved when the authors showed how they used the strategies in their own classrooms.
October 3, 2024
found this incredibly easy to read and very powerful! I enjoyed the emphasis on transforming everyday practices instead of overhauling the classroom & practicing what they preach!
very good read for teachers AND learners everywhere
very good read for teachers AND learners everywhere
December 25, 2019
Inspiring!
June 1, 2021
Awesome reading both for teachers and students. Really interesting mix of teaching/learning empiric tests with the science of learning.
November 16, 2025
Chapter 1 introduces us to Pooja, the cognitive scientist, who invites the reader to get to know her and her reason for writing this book by giving us a personal anecdote:
On Christmas Eve, she asks her brother who she is visiting for directions to a nearby cafe. The next morning (so Christmas morning, according to my math), she wants to leave her family and go to the cafe to work, but can’t remember how to get there. She has to look it up…students have to do that in class sometimes, so see how well this relates? (I don’t…) A few days later, she wants to go back, but still can’t remember how to get there (it was four blocks away, and by this point, I am concerned for her mental well-being as a whole). But now she is 99% sure she’ll remember the directions forever! (And by that point, I have zero confidence in her memory skills and even less confidence in her data collection ability).
This book is full of research references, but over 50% of the references are of studies published by the authors themselves or their contemporaries who are sited in joint studies within the book. They also love to cite other books of theirs you can purchase. I get that these “resources” might be beneficial to some, but many of the references only tangentially align with the actual studies themselves and never cite a control group. For a book claiming to be based on science, their scientific process and data collection is questionable at best.
They say their book is gold for any teacher of any subject, “from pre-K to med school,” and as a current high school science teacher, I have to disagree. If you teach middle school social studies in a district where you aren’t held accountable for a standardized state test (like Patrice, the co-author, who started teaching in 1994 and retired from teaching before COVID and Tik Tok came onto the scene), this book would be great for you. For everyone else having to reading it, take a couple things you think you could adjust and maybe make work and discard the repetitive, elementary “certain to work” examples that definitely don’t and won’t work with this century’s students.
And if your kids don’t doodle “best teacher ever” on the sides of their DOK Level 1 quizzes (there’s literally a half-page picture of this in the book…why??), just know that at the end of the day, you’re doing your best, and that makes you pretty damn good.
On Christmas Eve, she asks her brother who she is visiting for directions to a nearby cafe. The next morning (so Christmas morning, according to my math), she wants to leave her family and go to the cafe to work, but can’t remember how to get there. She has to look it up…students have to do that in class sometimes, so see how well this relates? (I don’t…) A few days later, she wants to go back, but still can’t remember how to get there (it was four blocks away, and by this point, I am concerned for her mental well-being as a whole). But now she is 99% sure she’ll remember the directions forever! (And by that point, I have zero confidence in her memory skills and even less confidence in her data collection ability).
This book is full of research references, but over 50% of the references are of studies published by the authors themselves or their contemporaries who are sited in joint studies within the book. They also love to cite other books of theirs you can purchase. I get that these “resources” might be beneficial to some, but many of the references only tangentially align with the actual studies themselves and never cite a control group. For a book claiming to be based on science, their scientific process and data collection is questionable at best.
They say their book is gold for any teacher of any subject, “from pre-K to med school,” and as a current high school science teacher, I have to disagree. If you teach middle school social studies in a district where you aren’t held accountable for a standardized state test (like Patrice, the co-author, who started teaching in 1994 and retired from teaching before COVID and Tik Tok came onto the scene), this book would be great for you. For everyone else having to reading it, take a couple things you think you could adjust and maybe make work and discard the repetitive, elementary “certain to work” examples that definitely don’t and won’t work with this century’s students.
And if your kids don’t doodle “best teacher ever” on the sides of their DOK Level 1 quizzes (there’s literally a half-page picture of this in the book…why??), just know that at the end of the day, you’re doing your best, and that makes you pretty damn good.
January 9, 2026
As an exuberant lifelong learner, 1 appreciated the depth of research and intentional thought put into this book by its two authors— one who teaches in higher education and the other in K-12. I think their varying experiences made the examples and recommendations especially versatile and widely applicable. The Power Tools were clearly explained, well supported by evidence, and demonstrated their value through numerous examples. I highlighted and tabbed a significant amount of information to revisit in the future.
I also realized that several of the proposed tools are strategies I already use, though I hadn't previously had specific names for them. Other sections prompted me to reflect on how I can more intentionally implement these tools at the level I teach —senior registered nurses. I'm looking forward to a presentation that Pooja will be giving to a group of us educators tomorrow.
I also realized that several of the proposed tools are strategies I already use, though I hadn't previously had specific names for them. Other sections prompted me to reflect on how I can more intentionally implement these tools at the level I teach —senior registered nurses. I'm looking forward to a presentation that Pooja will be giving to a group of us educators tomorrow.
March 9, 2022
Background: I read the first 60% of the book in order to learn about the four power tools in teaching to apply to my own study.
Presentation-wise, the book is well written with clear structures and a simple language (I expected it to be highly academic but no). I also love the fact that the authors intentionally apply their own technique in this book (via Power-ups and spaced content). It doesn't feel contrived at all.
Content-wise, the book is full of real-life examples and scientific research to back up the claims. Not that I've read through all of them, but they gave me a sense of trustworthiness.
Presentation-wise, the book is well written with clear structures and a simple language (I expected it to be highly academic but no). I also love the fact that the authors intentionally apply their own technique in this book (via Power-ups and spaced content). It doesn't feel contrived at all.
Content-wise, the book is full of real-life examples and scientific research to back up the claims. Not that I've read through all of them, but they gave me a sense of trustworthiness.
April 6, 2024
Amazon has been suggesting this book to me for a while and I finally bought it after hearing an awesome interview with Patrice Bain on the Progressively Incorrect podcast called “The Room Where it Happened”.
I loved the book and the concept so much! Dr. Agarwal is a researcher who studied Ms. Bain’s class. They took the principles of the science of learning and studied their application in a real classroom! What an awesome contribution to improving instruction and student learning - so many great concepts with immediate streamlined applications.
I loved the book and the concept so much! Dr. Agarwal is a researcher who studied Ms. Bain’s class. They took the principles of the science of learning and studied their application in a real classroom! What an awesome contribution to improving instruction and student learning - so many great concepts with immediate streamlined applications.
May 17, 2023
For being a book based on research, it was pretty easy reading and held my interest. It was nice to have validation for many things I'm already doing and provide easy things to implement to help my students learn about learning. I am looking forward to using so many ideas! It's definitely a book I will occasionally go back and look at over time.
November 30, 2019
Detailed lists for teachers on how to implement the four pillars of effective long term learning: retrieval, spacing, interweaving, and metacognition. Many of these techniques are used in khan academy problems. Biggest takeaway: stress unaided retrieval. Try to do it closed book and then check. Dpl via inter library loan 371.102
June 12, 2020
This is one of the edu books that I've read. It blends the science and teaching philosophy together for applicable strategies that can be easily implemented. Why waste time on typical studying strategies that don't work? Instead, the authors suggest science-based strategies that work. Definitely worth the read.
June 6, 2023
Gave me some great ideas to incorporate into upcoming online classes.
April 12, 2026
Wow, a masterful book. I am tempted to reread it right now, but the book taught me tools that work better. I look forward to implementing the Power Tools in class.
January 19, 2020
The Science of Learning that cognitive psychology is bringing to education circles is long overdue. In this book Agarwal addresses Retrieval Practice, Spaced Practice, Interleaving and Feedback driven Metacognition. For each principle she strikes a nice balance between theory and practical classroom application. I listened to this book and will be buying a paper copy to reread!
March 5, 2024
Really simple book about how to help students remember things through effective practice and feedback. It also showed me how to improve my own studying. I liked how it gives general principles instead of dictating a certain teaching style. I felt it was easier to implement than Make It Stick. I'll be referencing it often.
May 26, 2026
This has practical ideas that seem easy to apply. One book that I should re-read every year.
January 8, 2020
Useful tips!
April 17, 2022
The content of the book easily deserves a 5/5 - but the nature of it inflating itself with the same information over and over, while I understand is part of their teaching/learning method - isn't necessary, IMO.
Totally changes the way I approaching teaching students moving forward. A must read for educators of any form.
Totally changes the way I approaching teaching students moving forward. A must read for educators of any form.
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