Development
Dynamics
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4D
The Learning Sciences:
From Theory to Practice
Learning is at least in part defined as a change in long-term memory... if nothing in the long-term memory has been altered, nothing has been learned
Education inspection framework
Ofsted, 2019
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In the latest Ofsted inspection framework, teachers are encouraged to harness research findings from the learning sciences, in order to embed knowledge. The guidelines cover techniques like spaced practice, interleaving, testing for learning, retrieval practice and elaboration. Each of these techniques is based on well-established findings from the long-term memory literature.
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Whilst this is not one of our primary areas of study, we have been asked many times to run sessions for teachers on the science underpinning long-term memory and its mechanisms, including how information transfers from episodic to semantic memory, consolidation and the factors that can influence.
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So we put together a workshop session, in collaboration with a colleague at the MRC CBU who researches long-term memory (Dr Andrea Greve). This session covers this science and then applies it within classroom contexts, outlining the evidence behind different strategies teachers might use to