Memory
"Using our memory shapes our memory." Robert A. Bjork.
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WHY
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Understanding how students store and recall information is crucial to our teaching. Applying and using
knowledge is vital in students' success and creativity, but having that knowledge stored and retrievable
is just as crucial. As we learn more about the brain and how it functions, we can use this information
to better understand how we can apply it to students' learning.
WHAT
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“When we access things from our memory, we do more than reveal it’s there. It’s not like a playback. What we retrieve becomes more retrievable in the future. Provided the retrieval succeeds, the more difficult and involved the retrieval, the more beneficial it is.” (Robert A Bjork)
There are three types of memory:
Working memory – this is the framework that we use to make knowledge. The alphabet, numbers, systems (timetable, duty roster) are all examples of working memory that we then use to make sense of new knowledge.
Short term memory – is surprisingly limited. It is what we are working on learning here and now. If students do not have good long term memory recall, then their processing is used up on relearning stuff in their short term memory. This has consequences for SEN and students with trauma or socioeconomic factors.
Long term memory – amazingly, everything we have ever learnt is likely still stored away upstairs, but getting it out is the challenge. Retrieval practice is the key; it’s not so much how well it is stored, but how well it is retrieved. Think of an old storeroom where you have dumped all your old files - you know it's in there, but can you get it out when you need it?
Therefore, the better students can store and recall information, the more processing power they have to work on problem solving and critical and creative thinking.
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HOW
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Desirable difficulty – making work just hard enough for students empowers learning; they must grapple with information for it to become a memory. By cognitively engaging with knowledge, but not being either bored or overcome by it, students will retain the information better.
Spaced practice – like refreshing a 4WD track, students should be going over information at regular, spaced intervals. It is not enough to ask them to do it; providing the scaffolding will lead them there. Use online platforms: www.quizziz.com, www.quizlet.com, www.socrative.com
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Interleaved practice – surprisingly, learning in blocks does not help long term memory as much as short interval learning on a range of topics. This has real implications for curriculum design and when and what you revise.
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Links:
https://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/research/
http://www.danielwillingham.com/daniel-willingham-science-and-education-blog/category/memory
