Why children need to remember
Over the years educational fads come and go and so we might be forgiven for thinking that the current apparent fixation on the importance of children remembering their learning is just another one.
However, as a teacher of over 22 years experience, 10 of those as a headteacher and a further 7 as depuy headteacher, it is clear that the issue of children not remembering what they have been taught is a perennial one. I have lost count of the number of times that as a teacher I silently rebuked the previous teacher for not having taught the children what they needed to know so that they could access what I was teaching, or teachers approaching me as a headteacher to complain about the child’s previous teacher. It is obvious then that the children just aren’t bothering to remember isn’t it? in reality, if we take the time to reflect, it is clear that children don’t remember because they are not able to cope with the amount of information and the style of teaching that they have been exposed to.
Teachers need to make sure that they are able to share knowledge with their children in ways that help them remember and be able to link what they know with their new learning (More of this in future posts). Once that happens, children will be able to flourish in the learning and there will be no more cursing previous teachers!
Note: the definition that is being used of learning is one that closely matches the Ofsted (2019) definition of knowing more and remembering more. My definition is based on the ideas of Mary Myatt which is the retention and redeployment of knowledge and skills.
Mary Myatt (2018) The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to coherence, 1 edn., : John Catt Educational Ltd.
