An interesting(yet amazingly long) article found on Wired about a program called Supermemo has some interesting ideas for harnessing the brains ability to remember facts. The idea behind the software rests in an algorithm based on the rate of memory decay. Let’s take a look at the impact of such an algorithm in the classroom.

After the brain takes in a new fact, a period of decay begins to happen. Not that the information fades away, but that the brain begins to lose connection with that fact. (The article points out that facts never really disappear, they just become extremely hard to resurface.) The algorithm focuses on reminding the brain after a period of a few days the first time, and then a longer period of time  before it reminds it again. Each time getting longer between reminders. The thought being that each time the brain is reminded the rate of decay decreases. This slower rate of decay allows for more time before the brain needs to be reminded again. The whole point being that there is an optimal time for these reminders to happen,

Lets compare this to another bodily organ.. the stomach. We’ll look at a couple of scenarios.

Person 1 eats regularly. Each day they eat a set of hearty meals. The body’s metabolism recognizes this pattern and speeds up. It figures that since there is plenty of food, it doesn’t have to keep it as long and begins burning it quickly. After a while the body just begins to expect it until one day, it stops. Person 1 decides not to eat that day. The body is still in the habit of burning off the food quickly and never realized that it would ever need to go longer than a day without nourishment.

Person 2 will also cut back their intake, but let’s say they do it intervals. Each interval goes longer and longer between meals. The body realizes this pattern and slows way down. It doesn’t expect food as often and will begin slowing the rate at which it gets rid of it.

Now imagine if thoughts were burned like calories. If the intake is constantly plentiful, it will assume that it can discard the intake quicker. If the intake is spaced out, it will be retained longer.

When applied to a school setting, the results are very interesting. When we teach units, the brain is used to constantly being fed similar ideas. Since it gets these facts regularly, there is no need to hold on to it very long. Realize why students can’t seem to remember the previous unit once you move on to something else? It’s because the brain didn’t realize it would have to retain that unit’s information longer than a day.

Thoughts on this algorithim’s effect in the classroom setting? Leave them in the comments.