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Clara Moskowitz, a LiveScience Staff Writer, posted a very interesting article on human memory. This reports on a study detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). While Clara notes that the article is in the September 8th issue of PNAS, I can not find such an issue. The latest available copy is September 2, and the early edition is September 16th (as of the writing of this post).

But, Clara did mention one of the authors, Talia Konkle. And, I found Talia’s website, and it lists a soon to be available PDF of the article in question. So, let’s operate with the assumption that Clara’s summary of the report is accurate. Here are some astonishing things with profound implications for learning.

1. The research was done using pictures of objects. Hmmm, remember that old picture is worth 1,000 words? How many of your PowerPoint presentations are textual as opposed to pictorial?
2. Humans appear to have visual memories for such pictures far in excess of what anyone expected.
3. Interestingly, to encourage participants to strive to remember, the researcher gave small money prizes for the participants who scored the highest. Hmmm, are you actually encouraging your students to stay motivated?

This is a fascinating report. I cannot wait until I get a chance to read the entire report. But, I hope you agree that this have profound implications for workplace learning and performance improvement.