What it Means to be a Science-Led Company
What guides your day-to-day decisions? We all strive to act with fairness and honesty with our close ones, and with our work. But how often do our personal values align with those of the company we work for? For many of us here at MemoryLab, we have the privilege and delight of knowing that they […]
Smart flashcards: How to generate effective lessons with ChatGPT
Creating learning materials like flashcards by hand can be time-consuming and repetitive. Retrieval practice using flashcards is one of the most effective learning methods, but how can you make well-crafted flashcards as quickly as possible to allow yourself or your students to start applying retrieval practice? As our previous blogpost explained, making flashcards is not […]
Beyond the test: transforming how we assess what learners know
Traditional knowledge assessment How do we assess a learner’s knowledge level? We test them. A traditional assessment might involve asking the learner short-answer or multiple-choice questions, or requiring them to demonstrate their knowledge by writing an essay, for example. We then infer what a learner knows from the correctness of their responses. While these traditional […]
Adaptive Learning at Zpannend Zernike
Earlier this month, we attended Zpannend Zernike, a family-oriented science festival held across the city of Groningen. As educational researchers and designers, this was a wonderful opportunity to see our work in the hands of young learners – And an opportunity for them to learn more about their internal learning and memory processes. The personalised […]
Learn less, memorize more – New mastery system to improve spaced learning habits
Let’s talk about a familiar feeling—that moment when you’ve done just enough to feel productive, but still wonder if it’s really enough. You want that “that’ll do for today” moment without pushing so far that you become fatigued and slip into overlearning. Finding the study sweet spot is a delicate balance between feeling accomplished (happy […]
Why knowledge-based exams are harmful to the goals of education.
Why knowledge-based exams are harmful to the goals of education. Centuries of research have demonstrated that the best long-term retention of educational materials is achieved when the materials are studied in a spaced fashion. This means that students should not invest the time they have available for studying in a single study session, but instead […]
Modality Matters: Benefits of Speech-Based Learning in Learners with Dyslexia
Abstract Developmental dyslexia is a common learning disorder that affects reading, writing, and spelling, often leading to academic difficulties. In this study, which was awarded the 2024 Computational Modeling Award by the Cognitive Science Society, researcher Thomas Wilschut aims to address some of these challenges by improving the process of vocabulary learning in dyslexia. He […]
Optimizing vocabulary learning: The Impact of MemoryLab’s ‘Quick Skip’ algorithm
Adaptive learning systems are designed to tailor learning experiences to the personal needs of each student. These systems can track and predict student performance, and based on this data, develop personalized repetition schedules of to-be learned material. This can enhance the retention of declarative knowledge, such as vocabulary or toponymy (Lindsey et al., 2014; Papousek […]
Towards adaptive, inclusive and personalised assessment and learning technology
Digital learning technologies create new opportunities for personalising the learning process. By personalising each learner’s environment, we can better align it to their needs. When thinking about personalisation in this context, there are several important questions to consider. Which elements of a learning environment can be personalised? And who decides what to personalise and how? […]
Data-driven skill discovery to personalise education
Imagine facing a task you have never encountered before. Perhaps a broken vacuum, a challenge unfamiliar yet oddly conquerable. Recalling how you tackled a clogged drain by clearing a blocked pipe, you then remember using a broom to retrieve your shoes from under the couch. Skill A meets Skill B, and you wield a stick […]
