3 Ways to Help Students Overcome the Forgetting Curve By Cathleen Beachboard
Summary for Educators (600 words)

Cathleen Beachboard’s article, published in Edutopia on June 13, 2025, tackles a persistent dilemma educators face: why do students forget so quickly after seemingly mastering a lesson? Drawing on cognitive science, she identifies the culprit as “the forgetting curve”—a well-documented phenomenon that causes up to 90% of learned information to be lost within a week unless reinforced. Rather than overhaul curriculum, Beachboard offers three practical, low-effort strategies to help students build lasting memory and become owners of their learning: immediate recall, personal reflection, and immediate use.

Understanding the Forgetting Curve

Over a century ago, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that human brains are wired to forget unless prompted to retain. Without reinforcement, 50% of information fades within an hour, 75% is gone by the next day, and 90% disappears within a week. Forgetting, Beachboard emphasizes, is not failure—it’s biology. To flatten this curve, educators must incorporate retrieval, reflection, and application into regular instruction.

1. Immediate Recall: Brain Dumps

One of the most effective memory tools Beachboard uses in her high school English class is the “brain dump.” After teaching a concept like tone in nonfiction, she asks students to set aside notes and write down everything they remember—definitions, examples, reflections—within two to four minutes. While students initially hesitate, they begin to appreciate the power of this practice over time and even request it.

Brain dumps strengthen memory by encouraging students to reorganize and express knowledge in their own words immediately after learning, tapping into retrieval practice and formative assessment. It also reveals misconceptions and gaps in understanding that teachers can address in real time. Students don't just recall—they begin to own the material.

2. Personal Reflection: Living Walls

To build deeper cognitive connections, Beachboard implements a “living wall,” a physical bulletin board where students use sticky notes to answer reflective prompts such as “What surprised you?” or “How might you use this outside of class?” This strategy builds “elaborative encoding,” the brain’s way of linking new content to existing knowledge.

Students often create personal connections—one noted how commercials use pathos to influence emotions, another related rhetorical strategies to their dad’s financial advice. These notes serve as growing webs of thought, organized by color for clarity. The wall is more than decoration; it becomes a living representation of collective and evolving learning.

Beachboard builds intentional reflection time into the week, especially on Fridays, with structured activities: rereading older notes, creating connection notes, grouping ideas, and celebrating intellectual growth. Initially guided by the teacher, students gradually learn to navigate the wall independently.

3. Immediate Use: Apply Knowledge Quickly

Beachboard’s third recommendation is to ensure that students use new knowledge right after they learn it. When students apply concepts immediately—through quick, creative tasks like writing micro-stories, drawing, or creating mock Instagram posts for literary characters—they solidify the learning.

This approach, supported by John Medina’s Brain Rules, helps transfer information from short-term to long-term memory. It’s not about perfect application but about timely, authentic engagement. Students might create metaphors, sketch diagrams, or write tweets to express their understanding—activities that shift them from passive consumers to active participants in their own learning.

Conclusion: Memory Must Be Built

Beachboard concludes that forgetting is not a failure of students but a signal that teaching strategies must shift. Memory is constructed through a process of retrieving, reflecting, and using knowledge—not through coverage or repetition alone. The strategies she shares empower students to develop learning habits that endure beyond a test or assignment.

Teachers who embed brain dumps, reflective living walls, and quick applications into their practice foster environments where students don’t just recall content—they connect with it meaningfully and remember it long-term. The result is not just improved academic performance but the development of lifelong learners.

Source: Beachboard, Cathleen. “3 Ways to Help Students Overcome the Forgetting Curve.” Edutopia, June 13, 2025. https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-ways-help-students-overcome-forg...