Are teachers neglecting critical thinking for the sake of developing memory skills?
This emerging research explores the relationship between critical thinking and memory retention in students, questioning if our current pedagogy is out of balance …
Students generally excel in memory retention but lag behind with critical thinking skills.
These two cognitive skills are proven to be pivotal in academic performance, as supported by multiple studies such as those conducted by D’Allesio et al. (2019) and Hassevoort et al. (2018).
A new research journal, Critical Thinking, Retention Memory Skills, and Academic Performance (Bayan et al., 2023) suggests that teachers can intervene.
From instructional design to teaching explicit student skills, teachers that design frequent, in-class assessments and learning activities that challenge critical thinking – while leveraging memory skills – can make significant leaps!
Ignoring critical thinking can hinder students from becoming well-rounded learners, limiting their ability to adapt and solve complex problems.
On the flip side, solely focusing on memory retention might lead to rote learning, missing out on the development of self-regulation needed in today’s classrooms.
