(Photo by Spencer Grant)
University of California Television (UCTV) is making a host of videos available on its website during this period of social distancing. Among them, with descriptions courtesy of UCTV (text written by UCTV staff):
“How We Learn Vs. How We Think We Learn”: There are negative associations with the word “forget,” and we often envision ourselves as striving not to forget things. But according to Robert Bjork, Distinguished Research Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychology, forgetting is actually an important component of learning and memory. In his words, “Forgetting, rather than undoing learning, enables learning and focuses remembering.” Bjork maintains that humans misunderstand our system of remembering and forgetting as it relates to learning. Consequently, the decisions we make about managing our own learning are not optimal. Additionally, we grapple with societal assumptions and attitudes that actually reinforce behaviors counterproductive to learning.