Building a Sustainable Memory-Optimised Physics Course: A Practical Framework for Secondary Teachers

Physics teachers face a persistent challenge: physics is strongly hierarchical, and requires competence in mathematics, comprehension, and reasoning. Students can often perform well within individual lessons but rapidly forget content, leading to frustration and a pervasive sense that physics is difficult. This article presents a practical classroom framework developed over five years that addresses retention through systematic retrieval practice, rapid feedback cycles, and workload-efficient assessment. The system integrates structured lesson materials, routine low-stakes testing, deliberate improvement of previous work, and automated diagnostic quizzing into a coherent instructional cycle. Implementation has produced strong value-added results in both GCSE Physics and Combined Science whilst reducing teacher planning burden. This article provides concrete guidance for physics departments seeking to implement research-informed practice at scale without compromising sustainability.