More about Macbeth and Memory – Education & Teacher Conferences Skip to main content

More about Macbeth and Memory

Earlier this month, I wrote about the distinction between autobiographical memory and semantic memory.

Both kinds help us live meaningful lives.

But, schools focus on semantic memory: we want our students to know facts and skills over the long term.

We don’t really need them to remember the class or the exercise (or even the teacher) who taught them those facts and skills. That’s autobiographical memory.

That blog post was inspired by Clare Sealy’s recent essay ironically entitled “Memorable Experiences Are the Best Way to Help Children Remember Things.”

Happily, Sealy is the guest on a recent EdNext podcast: you can hear her in-depth explanation.

Equally happy, that podcast includes Sealy’s essay itself.

To understand Sealy’s argument, and its full implications, you can both have a look and have a listen.


Recent Blogs

Executive Functions: Setting the Record Straight
Guest Post

If you’ve been in education long enough, you’ve probably heard...

ChatGPT and the Future of AI—The Deep Language Revolution by Terrence Sejnowski
Erik Jahner, PhD
Erik Jahner, PhD

Every semester, a few essays arrive so polished they almost...

Interleaving Meets Prequestioning: A Powerful Combination for Learning?
Andrew Watson
Andrew Watson

A few weeks ago, I wrote about an intriguing research...