Dr. Tommy Lee, a behavioral neuroscientist in Barnard College’s Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, joins Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning to challenge one of higher ed’s most persistent assumptions: that memorization is a low-level task standing in the way of real learning. Dr. Lee’s research considers how the brain forms episodic memory, including our memories of experiences and spaces.
In this episode, we tackle the dead idea that remembering and thinking are opposites. Lee complicates this notion by drawing on his own research into the hippocampus and other studies on working memory, disproving the notion that memorization crowds out critical thinking. Lee argues that as AI agents make it easier to “just look up info,” this dead idea is again becoming pervasive in higher education. We end the episode with practical guidance for instructors looking to build retrieval practice into their coursework. The end result is a classroom that lowers the stakes for students, reduces their anxiety, and makes progress more tangible.
Recommended Readings / References:
Lee, S. L. T. (Forthcoming 2027). Neuroscience of learning for AI-enhanced teaching. In E. R. Reynolds & B.R. Johnson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education. Oxford University Press.
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 212–218. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4104_2
Pfeiffer, B. E., & Foster, D. J. (2013). Hippocampal place-cell sequences depict future paths to remembered goals. Nature, 497(7447), Article 7447. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12112