

Students need to access the information in ways that are relevant to their world, and to transfer knowledge to new situations. It’s only when the person returns to the same environment that they remember the key information.īut education is about more than memorising facts. The new set of sensory information – lighting, odours, temperature – enters their working memory and any pre-existing information is displaced.

On leaving the classroom, the information in the working memory is replaced by the topic in the next class.Īdults experience a similar reaction when they walk into a new room and forget why they are there. This information is continually updated during the class. When students learn in the classroom, they are using their short-term or working memory. These same students reported that the demands of homework caused sleep deprivation and other health problems, as well as less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits. The anxiety related to homework is frequently reviewed.Ī survey of high-performing high schools by the Stanford Graduate School of Education, for example, found that 56% of students considered homework a primary source of stress. Increasingly, there’s a divide between those who support the need for homework and those who suggest the time would be better spent with family and developing relationships.
