Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning

by James M. Lang

“There's wide consensus among memory researchers that long-term memory is essentially unlimited” (Miller 2014, p. 94). However, that unlimited storage capacity can be as much of a problem as a long-term memory with smaller storage capacity. In an earlier essay on what college teachers should know about memory, Miller explained that “in long-term-memory the limiting factor is not storage capacity, but rather the ability to find what you need when you need it. Long-term memory is rather like having a vast amount of closet space—it is easy to store many items, but it is difficult to retrieve the needed item in a timely fashion” (Miller 2011, p. 119). So the challenge for students, or for any of us, is not jamming facts and information down into our long-term memories but instead drawing those facts and information out when we need them or when they will help us in some way.