26th May 2025
While memory is often defined as the retrieval of information from long-term storage, this narrow view risks reducing learning to passive recall. Drawing on cognitive science, this blog reframes memory as a dynamic construct involving remembering, knowing, and reasoning — all essential for usable knowledge. It argues that strategies like retrieval practice are effective for recall but insufficient for deeper understanding. To bridge this gap, the blog makes the case for explicitly teaching metacognition and oracy. These approaches equip pupils with the cognitive and communicative tools to connect, organise, and apply their knowledge, transforming memory from static storage into a flexible, functional system for thinking and learning.
