Ask "why would that be true?"
One question turns a fact students will forget into a fact they had to connect to something they already know.
Sep 10, 2026 · 1 min read
Elaborative interrogation is the unglamorous cousin of retrieval practice: after presenting a fact, ask why it would be true, and make students generate the explanation from prior knowledge. It reliably improves fact learning because the answer has to be woven into what's already there (Pressley et al., 1992; rated a useful technique by Dunlosky et al., 2013). It costs one question and no preparation.
In practice
- Deploy after statements, not questions: "Deserts are cold at night. Why would that be?" Pair-share it (see "Let them rehearse in pairs") so everyone generates.
- Accept partial explanations, then refine: the generation attempt does the work even when it's imperfect.
- It works best when students have some prior knowledge to connect to. For brand-new territory, teach first, interrogate second.
Quick takeaway: facts stick when students have to explain why they'd be true.