Encoding

 One of the things on my PDP this year is to connect back to current theories and research in the field of education in general and English specifically.  It's to varying degrees of success.  One of the things I did do is to subscribe to a few email publications in these areas.  

I've given up on many of them because they are pushing hard for using AI to develop lesson plans.  I have strong feelings on that.  One email that I still have coming is Peps Mccrea.  It's not that I am in love with this weekly email, but it seems to be focused on how kids learn and think and while I know this, it's always a good reminder.  When I see something, I can look at my current practices to make sure that I am still doing it the way it needs to be done.  Take this week's email, for instance:

Big idea  The best teachers use lots of quick activities during their explanations. Choral response, turn-and-talk, MCQs. We tend to think of these as ways to check for understanding, or to sustain student attention. Both are super important… but there's something even more fundamental going on. Every time we ask our students to briefly use an idea we've just introduced, we're catalysing encoding: the process by which learning gets embedded in the brain. When we just explain, our students have to try to encode by listening alone. It's a bit like trying to press a shape into hard clay without actually pushing down. The information touches the surface, but doesn't leave much of an impression. This is weak encoding. Which is why, when we explain lots of new ideas back-to-back without encoding along the way, most of it gets forgotten. It's like someone reading out a long string of numbers and expecting us to remember them all. So why does actively using knowledge make such a difference? When we have to produce an answer (rather than merely receive it), our brain treats it as a much more valuable thing. Even something as brief as a true-or-false question forces our students to rehearse and reorganise the idea. That creates a much deeper neural impression than merely listening alone. And further: brief encoding moments don't just strengthen what came before... they also improve our students' ability to encode what comes next. Retrieval seems to clear working memory and reset attention, making the brain more receptive to new information. So when we pause to encode after introducing each new idea, we're not just consolidating existing knowledge: we're prepping for more. In short, if we think of these moments primarily as checks for understanding, we’re likely to underprice and so underuse them. But if we see also them as vital encoding opportunities, we'd do them far more often. Which would be a very. good. thing.  For more, check out this paper on retrieval practice.

Summary Effective teachers frequently use quick activities to check understanding, often catalysing encoding without realising it.  When learners actively use knowledge, learning is strengthened. Encoding moments both consolidate prior knowledge and prepare the mind for what comes next.

Little updates  Study on praise → finds mixed impact on motivation & performance depending on setting. Paper on psychological needs → links need fulfilment to improved motivation & resilience. Research into curiosity → suggests it may drive science learning more than intelligence, once prior knowledge is considered. Paper on long-term memory → suggests retrieval depends on similarity, not storage location.

You are doing this, I know.  But it helps to serve as a reminder when I am looking at materials that I am creating and ask myself if I can be doing this more.  I would be remiss if I used their content without providing a link (no, I am not getting anything from this - I use their free service only): https://snacks.pepsmccrea.com/subscribe?ref=ynYI2eKayJ