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Our short term memory, or working memory, is limited. When kids learn something new, they challenge their working memory. Too many new pieces of information inhibit their ability to complete a task. Therefore, it is important to budget working memory and strategically manage its limitations.

One strategy for achieving this is chunking. A chunk is a group of details or information that is meaningfully related. Once our brains chunk related details together, we  process it quickly as one piece of data, instead of several. Let me give an example. When I first started to learn Arabic, a simple sentence took me several minutes of intense effort to create. I had to slowly retrieve each individual word from my long term memory. But there was one phrase that gave me no trouble at all: My great grandfather is of Lebanese descent. Why was I able to recite this with no trouble? Because I was asked about my ancestry so frequently, my brain turned the answer into one chunk of information. I wasn’t recalling each word, just the phrase.

Something similar occurs when we associate details about the years 1860–1865 in U.S. history (the dates of the Civil War). Or when six different steps in solving a math problem gel into “finding the x-intercepts of a parabola.”

How can chunking help your kids succeed?

• Look for curriculum or resources that break material into manageable chunks. Learning new information a little at a time like this keeps kids from overtaxing their working memory. (My mom’s language arts programs—Writers in Residence and Readers in Residence—follow this principle.
• In math and science, practice processes and techniques until they become automatic. This takes the many steps involved in solving a problem and creates one chunk for kids’ brains to access instead. Once new information is chunked, then tackle new content and skills.
• Emphasize connections and how different information is related. Reading a piece of historical fiction concurrent with history lessons or using a math skill to complete a science fair project will help kids form more chunks.

In the past week have you forgotten anything important? I have a baby and a two year old so my list of forgotten things is quite long. I forgot to put size three diapers in the diaper bag, I forgot my son needed to go potty before his nap, and I forgot where I put my phone (23 times!).

My forgetfulness often makes me frustrated and even more so when I am trying to learn something new. My online math students voice similar frustrations, especially on tests. But forgetfulness actually makes our brains more effective.  Our short term memory allows us to process things in the moment, but that memory is limited. Our brains only convert some of that information—the details it believes to be most important—into our long term memory storage. That is why I can remember what the weather was like on August 14^th, 2010 (my wedding day), but not what the weather was like every day for the past 6 years.  Filling my brain with unimportant details would just slow down the processing and storing of new information.

The key to long term learning is to help our brains convert the right information from short term memory to long term. Once it is there,  we also need to ensure that we can recall that information when we need it.

There are many methods to help us remember information for the long haul but for the sake of simplicity I’m going to only mention two: spaced repetition and retrieval practice.

1. Spaced Repetition. Researchers have found that the best way to absorb new information is to learn it in small chunks over a long period of time. If you want to memorize a poem it is better to recite it 5 minutes a day for 10 days than to work on it in one 50 minute session trying to cram it into your brain. This is probably something we all know, but are we putting it into practice? One of my main pushes with my students is that they work on their math a little bit every day—we just aren’t designed to master 5 math lessons in one sitting. Students must learn it, then forget some of it, and relearn it. This process makes our neural pathways (which we use for retrieval) stronger and faster.

2. Retrieval Practice. We’ve all had the experience of being quizzed on a topic only to realize we didn’t know the material as well as we thought. But did you know that just the process of trying to recall something helps us learn it? Low stakes quizzing like this, where the grade doesn’t count, is actually a smart teaching strategy. Asking your kids to recount the main points in the chapter they’ve just read will help them move some of the information into long term storage.  Reviewing what they can’t remember will then help them learn that information too.  [That’s why the correct answer to the question we posted on Facebook is B]

Try incorporating some of these ideas into how you plan out your kids learning. And stay tune for our next post on how to increase learning: chunking.

Consider the ten penny brain puzzle below. By moving just 3 pennies, can you form a triangle that points down? (Like this: \/) Try it now. This exercise will show you something about how your brain works.

Were you able to do it? Did you give up? Did it come to you all at once after you took a break? (You can check your answer here.)

Two modes of thinking

When you first tackled this puzzle, your brain went into something called focused mode. In focused mode your thoughts are very precise and you concentrate on what is right in front of you. It is easy to solve a problem in focused mode—if there are clear and systematic steps. However, a drawback is that you can get stuck on wrong assumptions or initial ideas that are not correct. This is called the Einstellung Effect. In the penny puzzle, this might have happened if you thought wait, I need to move 6 pennies to make the triangle point down. Getting stuck on that idea will block your ability to think about the problem in a new way.

Happily, our brains have another mode which researchers call diffuse mode. In diffuse mode your brain is not focused.  Our brains automatically shift to diffuse mode when we do  “mindless” tasks like jogging, riding in a car, or taking a nap. What’s fascinating is that our brains will continue to work on problems while in diffuse mode. We refer to  this phenomenon when we say something “is in the back of my mind.” In diffuse mode, our brains can generate new and innovative solutions to problems. When we aren’t in focused mode,  it is easier for our brains to make new neural pathways or connect seemingly unrelated ideas.

Why is this true? Let’s return to the puzzle again. Imagine you spent 20 minutes staring at it and trying different arrangements and you just could not get the answer. You got up in frustration and went into the kitchen. You absentmindedly washed some dishes and then returned to the puzzle and the answer came to you suddenly in a brilliant moment of illumination!

Or maybe not . . . but you probably have had an experience like that. You’re stuck on a problem and then you sleep on it and in the morning you suddenly have a fresh idea. This is because you allowed your brain to shift from focused to diffuse mode.

So how can we use this to help our kids? Give them opportunities to shift from focused to diffuse mode . . . especially when they are in the higher grades and completing more difficult tasks. If they’re stuck or frustrated, that’s a cue they need a break from steady concentration.

Here are some quick ways to help your kids switch brain modes:

• Work on an unrelated task. This can be as simple as switching subjects.
• Get them moving with household chores. It gives the brain a break and helps you too!
• Take a short nap
• Go outdoors
• Exercise

If they’re really stuck, then suggest that they revisit the material after a good night’s rest. Try it! It will work for you too.

Coming next . . . memory and how to make learning last.

***For more information on diffuse and focused modes of learning I highly recommend the book A Mind for Numbers by Dr. Barbara Oakley***