From the Assistant Principal

The forgetting curve is real

The phrase ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it’ is pretty spot on when it comes to learning.

I’ve written previously about short- and long-term memory, cognitive load and the science of learning. Today, I want to share something about a crucial part of our Instructional Model that you and I probably didn’t experience when we went through school: Daily Review.

If you haven’t heard of the forgetting curve or interleaved practice, I don’t blame you. You might not have any particular interest in learning about them, either! But they’re fundamental to understanding how we help learning stick.

The forgetting curve describes how we tend to forget information over time when we don’t revisit it. Without opportunities to revisit and practise what we’ve learned, information can quickly become harder to recall. This is where retrieval practice and interleaved practice come in.

Rather than teaching something once and hoping it sticks forever, we need to give students multiple opportunities to retrieve and revisit their learning over time. This helps strengthen their memory and makes it easier to recall information when they need it. In other words, learning isn't just about what happens when something is first taught; it's also about what happens afterwards.

At Newport Lakes, Daily Review is one of the ways we put this into practice.

For 10 to 15 minutes each day, students revisit previous learning. That might mean something they learned earlier in the week, last week, last month or even much longer ago. By bringing this learning back to the surface, we give students opportunities to strengthen their understanding and build connections between new and previously learned concepts.

Our teachers are incredible. They really are. Over the past two terms, we've been refining and reflecting on how to make our Daily Reviews as impactful as possible. Teachers are using a wide range of strategies to maintain engagement, provide students with opportunities to respond and check for understanding along the way. It’s a treat to watch it in action!

Daily Reviews aren’t about teaching the same thing over and over again. It's about making sure students can remember and use what they've learned. Because the more securely students remember the foundations of their learning, the more capacity they have to tackle new ideas, make connections and take on more complex challenges.

Of course, we don't expect children to remember everything the first time they're taught it. Forgetting is a normal part of learning, and that's exactly why we revisit concepts and give students repeated opportunities to practise. It's not about getting everything right the first time; it's about building knowledge and confidence over time.

Because sometimes, the most powerful learning doesn't come from introducing something new. It comes from revisiting something old.

Mat Williamson

Assistant Principal (and not expecting you to remember any of this tomorrow, so read it again next week)