Skills to stay: memory functions in 21st century education
In this report, Dr Helen Abadzi explores the research into cognitive neuroscience, what it can tell us about how we learn, and – crucially – what we can do to turn that understanding into effective classroom practice and education policy.
To survive in the era of artificial intelligence and global markets, citizens are expected to learn new skills fast and keep up with workforce demands. Accordingly, teachers and policy-makers emphasise complex skills, such as creativity and communication. Many high-income students perform feats of learning, but others, particularly in lower-income areas, do not. To think critically, students must first perform the underlying ‘low-level’ components instantly and effortlessly: reading, writing, calculating, and fact recall. Our minds today learn through systems that were set up in ancient environments. Paradoxically, the road to excellence is always built on memorisation, practice, and performance speed. To evaluate how to teach complex skills efficiently to the majority of students, it is important to understand memory functions.
