Retrieval Practice - Rotating Lists

Previously, I wrote a blog post about Retrieval BINGO, an activity involving retrieval practice which I learned from Liam Printer's "The Motivated Classroom" podcast. To restate Printer, retrieval practice is way to aid in the output process:

'Retrieval practice' is a study technique where mental effort is used to recall information. It focuses on bringing information to mind which enhances and boosts learning. Deliberately recalling information forces us to pull our knowledge “out” and examine what we know. 

Once again, Florencia Henshaw defines output as "expressing meaning retrieving from your (language) system."

So as a way to review a reading which we had been working on in Latin, I did a variation of Retrieval BINGO but based on Eric Richards' Rotating Desk activity.

1. I organized students into three groups of 9 students.
2. Each student had a whiteboard, marker, and rag.
3. I had students number 1-9 on their boards.
4. I then told students to write any Latin word which they remembered from the story for #1.
5. After that, I told students to pass their board to the person on their left.
6. Now, they had to read word #1 and write a new word for #2 (it could have been the word which they wrote for #1 as long as it was a different word).
7. I then had them pass it to the person on their left, read what was written for words #1 and #2 and write a new word for #3.
8. They did this routine until they got back their board and now they had to read what words had been listed.
9. Once they did that, a'la Liam Printer's Retrieval BINGO activity,  I had them all stand up and then I read off 5 words which I had chosen. If the word was on their board, they had to sit down. Whoever was left standing was the "winner".

Observations

1. Yes, this was a very guided, sheltered form of output, yet it was solely based on words from a previous reading with which students were familiar.
2. In re-reading the list of words each round, students got input, with the hopes of maybe using one of those words later if they got stuck and could not think of a word. 
3. Again, I was surprised at what words students recalled which I did not even consider when I made my list of five words.
4. Once again, the standing up at the end created a sense of suspense based on who sat down each time I said one of the words and who was left standing.
5. Yes, a student could write down the same word nine times (the probability is very low of this as the activity progresses), but at the same time, the student is receiving continued input in reading the lists of words each round. Hopefully, these words will start to take root in that student's mental representation of language.