Memory Strength

It’s assessment time and the reading this week is about memory, from Cognitive Scientist, Prof Carl Hendrick.

Key points

Robert and Elizabeth Bjork’s, New Theory of Disuse, distinguishes between two kinds of memory strength:

• Retrieval strength – how accessible a memory is right now.
• Storage strength – how well embedded that memory is over time.

Now, consider two students preparing for an exam.

• One crams the night before, so retrieval strength is high, but storage strength is low.
• The other spaces practice across weeks, encountering moments of forgetting and retrieval.

The effort to recall strengthens the trace. On test day, both may succeed. Months later, only one still remembers.

This explains why testing is not just a measure of learning but is also a method of learning. Each act of retrieval, especially when effortful, strengthens the neural pathway. Even a failed recall attempt sends a signal to the brain: ‘this matters – keep it.’

What students don’t get

The strategies that feel easiest, such as re-reading, highlighting, massed review, create the illusion of learning. They produce fluency in the moment but fade quickly once cues are removed. In contrast, the strategies that feel difficult – spaced practice, low-stakes quizzes, self-testing – lead to lasting retention.

Read the full article

So as we move through assessment season, we can encourage students to embrace the productive struggle of retrieval. A couple of tips:

• Replace revise your notes with, test yourself on what you recall.
• Build retrieval moments into lessons, such as quick quizzes, verbal recall, and flashcards.

For homework, remind students to space practice over time rather than compressing it into a single review session.

Happy coaching.

Kind regards
Mark

Upcoming events

• 29 October – Staff Development Collective Free Webinar with Chris McGuire from PAC. If you haven’t already signed up for our Staff Development Collective, please do so here to receive the webinar link.