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Tag Archives: working memory

Working Memory in Everyday Life
Imagine this scenario: you’re standing in the CVS toothpaste aisle, trying to decide. You think you should be able to recognize something familiar, but honestly there are so many choices. Which brand are you loyal to? Do you want mint?

The Best Book on Cognitive Load Theory: Ollie Lovell to the Rescue
Teaching ought to be easy. After all, we have a functionally infinite amount of long-term memory. You don’t have to forget one thing to learn another thing — really. So: I should be able to shovel information and skills into
Posted in Book Reviews, L&B Blog
Tagged classroom advice, cognitive load theory, working memory
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Conflicting Advice: What to Do When Cognitive Science Strategies Clash?
Teachers like research-informed guidance because it offers a measure of certainty. “Why do you run your classes that way?” “Because RESEARCH SAYS SO!” Alas, we occasionally find that research encourages AND DISCOURAGES the same strategy simultaneously. What to do when
Posted in L&B Blog
Tagged desirable difficulty, interleaving, spacing effect, working memory
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The Source of Student Motivation: Deeper than We Know?
Usually I blog about specific research findings that inform education. Today — to mix things up — I thought it would be helpful to talk about an under-discussed theory pertinent to education. This theory helps us at least two ways:

Obsessed with Working Memory [Reposted]
I’m on vacation for the month of August, and so we’ll be reposting some of our most-viewed articles. We’re starting with our series on working memory: one of the most essential concepts from the field of cognitive science. When I attended

What’s Better Than Caffeine (And Doesn’t Require Electrodes)?
Is there an easy way to help students use their working memory more effectively? Do we have to zap their brains with electricity to accomplish this goal? Continue reading

A Fresh Approach to Evaluating Working Memory Training
A new method for evaluating working memory training raises an intriguing possibility: despite all our skepticism, might that training work after all? Continue reading

Retrieval Grids: The Good, the Bad, and the Potential Solutions
“Retrieval grids” promote retrieval practice — that’s good! But they might lead to working-memory overload — that’s really bad. Happily, we might be able to solve this problem… Continue reading

When Good Classroom Assignments Go Bad
Classroom assignments often sound like great ideas, until they crash into working memory limitations. Happily, we’ve got the strategies to solve this kind of problem. Continue reading

Obsessed with Working Memory: Resources
To complete our summer-long series exploring working memory, this post includes lots of handy resources to help you explore and discover more. Continue reading