What does differ is our cognitive load, which is how much the brain can process at a given time, or how much information can be held in short-term memory. This seems to be determined by genetics and dramatically impacts how easily new skills or knowledge are acquired.

There are two ways to transfer information into long-term memory. There either needs to be a genuine interest in the subject (which doesn’t always happen at school!), or systematic repetition. It takes on average 12 weeks of consistent practice to achieve this, but if the brain doesn’t value the information or isn’t periodically reviewed, it will prune it completely from memory. Once the knowledge has been practiced sufficiently, it will become mastered and recalled as easily as “the sky is blue,” and nothing except old age can remove it.

Unfortunately, the school term is roughly 10 weeks, which is too short to master any new content, coupled with the school holidays, which are long enough to forget everything. This leaves children susceptible to ineffective teaching or the consequences of being absent from school. My methods are based on the latest research, which involves MRI technology.

Until recently, it was unethical to use children in MRI clinical trials. Previous debates over the most efficient ways to learn have now been put to rest. However, unless a teacher has completed additional professional development, they may be unaware of this new evidence.