As summer is with us, students and teachers look forward to a break from the busy school year. However, taking a long break from learning, especially here in Malta where the summer break lasts for three months, can cause students to forget important information and skills. This is known as the “summer slide”.
To help keep their knowledge and skills fresh, it is important for students to review during the summer recess what they have learned throughout the scholastic year. To understand why reviewing is important, let us look at how memory works.
Building a stronger memory
The human brain stores information in two main ways: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory is similar to a notepad where information is kept for a short time. For this information to become long-term memory, which is stored more permanently, it needs to be reviewed and repeated.
The process of transforming short-term memories into long-lasting ones is known as memory consolidation. This involves different areas of the brain responsible for memory formation and storage.
Initially, when students acquire new information, it is temporarily stored. For this information to become engrained in long-term memory, regular review is essential. Without this reinforcement, the brain begins to lose the newly acquired information over time.
Studies (Broekman et al., 2021; Shideler, 2020) show that students can lose up to 30 per cent of what they learned during the school year if they do not review over the summer. The summer slide affects all students, as the brain tends to forget unused information, leading to a loss of learned material if students do not review.
So why is reviewing important? Repetition and review make memory stronger, making it easier to remember information later. Regular review aids information retention by keeping important information active in the brain, as the brain tends to get rid of unused information. Additionally, reviewing what they have learned helps students keep their thinking and problem-solving skills sharp, which are crucial for success in school.
Several effective strategies
There are several effective strategies for reviewing. To prevent the summer slide, parents or guardians can engage their children in daily reading and educational activities. Setting aside time each day for reading not only helps maintain literacy skills but also fosters a love for books. Incorporating educational games and activities, such as puzzles, maths challenges, or science experiments, can keep children’s minds active, and parents/guardians can use online resources, library programmes and educational apps to create a varied and engaging learning environment.
Encouraging children to journal about their summer experiences helps maintain writing skills and promotes reflective thinking. Additionally, short, regular review sessions using games, flashcards and online resources can make reviewing more fun and effective.
Parents/guardians can support their children’s learning by creating a good home environment and participating in review activities, which also strengthen the parent/ guardian-child relationship.
Another effective strategy is to integrate learning into everyday activities. Cooking can become a maths lesson through measuring ingredients, while nature walks can serve as opportunities for scientific observation and inquiry. Planning educational outings to museums and historical sites, when the weather permits, can provide hands-on learning experiences.
Additionally, parents/ guardians can set goals and reward systems to motivate children to complete educational tasks.
Consistency and creativity in incorporating learning into daily routines can make education a fun and integral part of summer, effectively combating the summer slide while maintaining literacy skills and promoting critical thinking.
While having a break is important for students during the summer, it should not be a complete break from learning. Instead, it should be a time to reinforce and build on what students have learned, helping them continue to grow and succeed academically.
Erika Galea is the founder and director of the Educational Neuroscience Hub Europe (Malta), focused on promoting evidence-based strategies to improve teaching and learning effectiveness, emphasising student-centred education. E-mail erikagalea@educationalneurosciencehub.com.
For more education-related articles, click here. For more Child stories, follow this link.
