1. Unforgettable Teaching
The European Bioinformatics Institute
Unforgettable Teaching
How does memory work and how can we teach pupils in ways that help them to remember?
Sue Gathercole, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
Jerry Reed, Sawston Village College
Frances Rowland, the European Bioinformatics Institute
James Woodcock, Sawston Village College

2. The European Bioinformatics Institute
Why now?
Higher knowledge expectations of new GCSE specifications and KS2 curriculum, etc.
Greater emphasis on terminal exams – no modules, little coursework/controlled assessment, etc.
Historically, have we focused more on teaching for understanding and not enough on also teaching for recall?
Purpose of today?
Learning from specialist researcher expertise about memory
Examples from teachers experimenting with new approaches
Fresh perspectives – learning taking place outside of a school context

3. Unforgettable Teaching
The European Bioinformatics Institute
Unforgettable Teaching
1pm Arrival and refreshments
1:30-2:00pm Keynote by Professor Sue Gathercole, of the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Medical Research Council / University of Cambridge
2:00-2:45 Workshop Choice 1
2:45-3:00 Refreshments
3:00-3:45 Workshop Choice 2
3:45-4:30 Plenary – conclusions, questions and next steps (with Sue Gathercole and James Woodcock)

4. Unforgettable Teaching
The European Bioinformatics Institute
Unforgettable Teaching
Workshop Choices (pick 2 of 3):
Facilitating knowledge fluency: strategies for helping pupils to store and recall factual knowledge (Jerry Reed, SVC)
Visual note-taking: Listening, Learning, Remembering (Frances Rowland, EMBL-EBI)
Making meaning and untangling the mess: possible approaches to revision (James Woodcock, SVC)

5. Unforgettable Teaching
Please sign up for two workshops
2:00-2:45
3:00-3:45
Facilitating knowledge fluency: strategies for helping pupils to store and recall factual knowledge (Jerry Reed, SVC)
Visual note-taking: Listening, Learning, Remembering (Frances Rowland, EMBL-EBI)
Making meaning and untangling the mess: possible approaches to revision (James Woodcock, SVC)

6. A gateway and barrier to learning
Memory:
A gateway and barrier to learning
Susan Gathercole
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge
CASSA, SVC, 7th October 2015

7. Different Kinds of Memory

8. Procedural memory Learned skills
Lasts for: lifetime, once skill is established
Examples:
handwriting
riding a bike

9. Semantic memory Facts, knowledge
Lasts for: a lifetime, if used sufficiently frequently
Examples:
knowing that Paris is the capital of France
knowing the meaning of words

10. Episodic memory Records details of particular experiences
Lasts for: up to several days
Examples:
Remembering breakfast this morning
Where did you park the car?
The episodic to semantic shift

11. Working memory
Capacity to hold material in mind and manipulate as necessary for brief period
- Take the first right, second left after the lights, directly opposite the church
- Put your sheets on the green table, arrow cards in the packet, put your pencil away and come and sit on the carpet
- Multiply 15 by 26
Mental workspace
Limited in capacity
Catastrophic loss

12. Working memory: Mean scores on WM test by age, with 10th & 90th centiles bars

13. Characteristics of children with poor working memory
Poor academic progress 13 13

14. Mean working memory scores as a function of English and
Gathercole et al. (2004):
Mean working memory scores as a function of English and
maths attainment groups, schools data from 11-year olds
Average
Poor

15. Characteristics of children with poor working memory
Poor academic progress
Difficulties in following instructions 15 15

16. Characteristics of children with poor working memory
Poor academic progress
Difficulties in following instructions
Lose track in complex tasks 16 16

17. Characteristics of children with poor working memory
Poor academic progress
Difficulties in following instructions
Lose track in complex tasks
Teachers say: short attention span and highly distractible
Similar to ADD 17 17

18. 8 tasks/115 trials per session
Can WM be trained?
Cogmed
Adaptive
8 tasks/115 trials per session
20-25 sessions

19. Changes in WM scores after Cogmed training
Improvements in verbal WM persisted 12 months after training
But:
no changes in classroom activities known to tap WM, including the ability to follow instructions
no improvements in maths or reading, even after 12 months
Dunning, Holmes & Gathercole, 2013, Developmental Science

20. How does training work?
By establishing new cognitive routines and strategies (for example, chunking, mental imagery) that are highly specific to the trained activities

21. How can we make WM training effective?
by narrowing the transfer gap: embed training in educational activities that depend on WM
learn lessons from other fields of intervention:
metacognitive awareness
extensive practice following training in applying strategies to everyday activities

22. By secondary school…
WM problems typically do not diminish with age, although the challenges change:
lecture-style delivery, sustained attention
note-taking
essay planning
integration of multiple information sources for coursework
revision
Those who do progress to tertiary education:
i) choose their courses wisely (science > humanities)
ii) have compensatory cognitive skills
ii) have developed highly effective personal strategies that play to their cognitive strengths (Abd Ghani & Gathercole, 2013)
Problems lead to failure to access the curriculum

23. Summary
Working memory problems are common in childhood and later in life, and contribute to learning difficulties
Recognition of the difficulties is key step,
WM training in relevant contexts may be helpful ….
but discovery of compensatory strategies that play to individual strengths is probably vital

24. For more information:
Web materials, publications, events at the Centre for Attention, Learning & Memory

25. Unforgettable Teaching
The European Bioinformatics Institute
Implications for the curriculum?
What do we need to learn more about?
Unforgettable Teaching
Questions?
Reflections?
Next steps?
Implications for SEND support and interventions?
Implications for
classroom practice?

26. implications might there be? What other
Implications for the curriculum?
What do we need to learn more about?
Implications for
classroom practice?
Implications for SEND support and interventions?