There are some bits of information that just stick. Nursery rhymes from pre-school, addresses from homes long since left behind, the fates of Henry VIII’s wives. While we can probably recall this information with minimal effort, we can struggle to hold information that we read only a minute ago.
This doesn’t mean that we have a ‘bad memory.’ Instead, it reveals the different ways our memories process and store information.
Understanding the processes of memory is the gateway to applying cognitive science approaches in our classrooms. Along with cognitive load theory, they provide a solid foundation to implement cognitive science approaches intelligently and sensitively to differing contexts.
With a deeper knowledge of the processes of memory, we can make informed decisions about curriculum planning and classroom practice to best support our pupils to learn and to make that learning ‘stick’.
