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Testing Effect – Desirable Difficulties
The testing effect is all about memory. If you need to have information memorized, the testing effect is said to be your most powerful tool. The testing effect is a simple to administer intervention that strengthens memory traces – in fact, some researchers specify this as being the most important, ignored finding…
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Controlled <-> Automatic Processes
Although we don’t often think of cognitive processes as part of memory, they are. When you are learning to drive a car, you are overwhelmed by the complexity of the skill. There is so much to think about that it is difficult to imagine yourself driving for enjoyment. There are so many…
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The Science of Learning and The Art of Teaching
Knowing what the research tells us about how people learn is not enough unless we use what we know to make a difference in our students’ lives. Usually, when I begin to talk to teachers about the science of learning, I find that they get very defensive. I can understand the defensiveness.…
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Declarative <-> Procedural Memory
Another aspect of memory that is important in formal learning would be the declarative (or conceptual) and procedural distinction. Declarative memory is made up of information that you can describe or talk about, whereas, procedural memory is made up of the information that allows you to do things (carry out procedures). Declarative…
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The Audience Effect – Motivation
An audience has always been a part of any writing. In the past, an audience was an abstract entity or a “work of fiction” (Ong, 1975, p. 9) that was imagined by the writer. This imagined entity determined the form of writing, the voice the writer takes and the genre of the…
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Short/Long Term Memory
Short-term memory is exactly what the name implies, memory for the short term. It is the memory you are using to feed your thinking. The number of items you can hold in short-term memory is between about four and eight (5±2 or 7±2 depending on the research). You keep items active in…
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Memory Basics
I love memory. It is a part of cognitive psychology, and I found it one of the most fascinating aspects of cognition (I ended up studying attention, but I still love memory). Often, educational reformers will talk with some derision about the role of memory in education. All students (in today’s world)…
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Why The Science of Learning?
The Science of Learning is a blend of scientific knowledge. There is a wealth of scientific knowledge that has been accumulated about how people learn. The knowledge is spread across a number of disciplines and is brought together under the umbrella term The Science of Learning. The Science of Learning is the…
