Yolanda U. Trapp
We are learning more about memory and recall, and how strongly past experiences influence new learning . What we already know acts as a filter, helping us attend to those things that have meaning (that is relevancy), and discard those that don't. Thus, meaning has a great impact on whether information and skills will be learned and stored. If students have not found meaning by the end of a learning episode, there is little likelihood that much will be remembered. To help children find meaning, today's curriculum must contain connections to their past experiences, not just ours. Paring down and integrating the secondary curriculum will also help students make relevant connections between and among the content areas, thereby improving learning.
