Science for Society | Memory Lab for higher marks

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Learning facts at school is something hardly anyone likes. The day before a test, pupils cram as many words or names as possible into their heads, only to hopefully remember them the next morning and then forget them again after the test. Cognitive psychologist Hedderik van Rijn shows that it does not have to be this way. 

Van Rijn developed an online tool that helps students learn better and more efficiently. In addition, the knowledge they acquire stays for the long haul and they get higher marks. The successful online learning method called SlimStampen (smart cramming) is offered in the Netherlands by Van Rijn’s company MemoryLab, which is also the international name of the tool.

Measuring the speed of forgetting

SlimStampen’s algorithm is based on research into  the speed of forgetting. Van Rijn explains: ‘Since the 1960s and 1970s, we have become increasingly better at predicting how long knowledge stays in someone’s memory after you teach them something new. Just knowing the average, however, does not help us much in an individual case. The innovation of SlimStampen is that each time you present someone with a piece of knowledge, the algorithm can estimate the speed of forgetting with increasing accuracy— in other words, it uses your personal speed of forgetting. That means you can train much more specifically on the specific knowledge you struggle with.’

Higher mark

SlimStampen not only checks if an answer is correct, but also how quickly someone provides the answer. As a result, it can accurately estimate which piece of knowledge is quickly forgotten and which is not. Knowledge that tends to be forgotten more quickly is offered more often by the program than the knowledge that has already been retained. That way, knowledge can be optimally offered on an individual basis.

Van Rijn: ‘For example, if you can quickly remember where Enschede is on a map of the Netherlands but have to think a little longer about Deventer, then Deventer will be offered more often. That is, until the programme thinks the material has sunk in well enough and you will most likely be able to memorize it.’ A pupil who studies using this method will score one mark point higher on a test one day later than someone who studies according to a method exclusively based on right or wrong answers.  

Test for insight, not facts

Van Rijn believes that his method is perfectly suitable for learning factual knowledge. If you have the facts well-memorized thanks to the regular use of SlimStampen, why even bother testing it separately through a test, he wonders. Van Rijn replies: ‘If you have obtained a certain number of ticks in the online module over a three-month period, the teacher may assume you’ve mastered the factual knowledge, and you can then proceed to test the understanding of a  subject matter in a test. It saves time, stress, and ultimately ensures a better understanding of the lesson material.’ As a matter of fact, some schools have already moved away from testing factual knowledge in the old-fashioned way.

The broadest possible impact

By integrating this method into a teaching method, you can make the broadest possible impact. That is why MemoryLab also works together with publishers. Noordhoff has national coverage and the methods are available to all children in schools. By doing so, MemoryLab ensures that the method is not only available to parents who can afford to give their children some extra support. Van Rijn explains: ‘As a company, we have a commercial goal, but I also want SlimStampen to be as accessible as possible, and in that case collaborating with both large and small publishers is the most democratic way.’ In addition, teachers at every educational level can create their own modules with their own teaching materials.

MemoryLab Health

In addition to the teaching method, Van Rijn is currently developing medical applications. These could be aimed at the elderly, to monitor how quickly their memory deteriorates, or at people with head trauma, or those recovering from a burnout. Again, this is about the speed of forgetting. 

Van Rijn: ‘You could annually use the test for elderly individuals from the age of 60 onwards to see how their memory is doing. That way, you can spot Alzheimer’s early on. In case of a brain injury, you can also monitor someone’s recovery effectively. For example, it will tell you when a child can go back to school after a concussion, as the speed at which they forget will be dropping. In this way, the low-threshold MemoryLab method can have an even greater impact.’

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More information:

• Hedderik van Rijn
• MemoryLab