Middle school students learn about the "forgetting curve"
On Friday, March 22, middle school students gathered in Powell Theater to learn about the “forgetting curve” from learning specialists on the academic support team.
“Working memory is the ability to remember information, work with it, and apply it,” explains Karyn Vickery, director of academic support. “Remembering is complex. To learn more about it, you first need to learn about forgetting.”
Students learned that information is stored based on a “use it or lose it” basis. The “forgetting curve” demonstrates how quickly humans forget information over time, and the academic support team shared helpful practices for students to improve memory and recall information.
“There is research that says that if you spend ten minutes on new content within 24 hours of learning it, you have a high chance of remembering the information at a later time,” explains Kim Youmans, middle school learning specialist. “When we repeat information, we are sending a signal to our brain to remember that it’s important.
The academic support team challenged students to spend ten minutes each night reviewing new information learned in class that day either by completing assigned homework or independently studying the subject if no homework was given.
“Be in control of your learning and how you remember things,” encourages Youmans.
Thank you, academic support team, for supporting all middle school students as they become independent learners who readily retain new information!
