Megan Sumeracki
Compared to older children, preschool children are easily distracted, are poor at predicting how much they will remember, and tend to forget things quickly. Preschool children also do not tend to attempt to adopt effective learning strategies on their own. Given all of this, it is important to understand whether relatively simple strategies, like spacing and retrieval practice, can be implemented in preschool classrooms to help preschool children retain more of what they are learning in school.
This article is part of a collaboration with The Learning Scientists.
AUTHOR
Megan Sumeracki (née Smith) is a tenured professor at Rhode Island College. She is an original co-founder of The Learning Scientists.
Megan earned her MA in Experimental Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, and her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Purdue University. She specializes in human learning, memory and applying the science of learning to educational contexts. Megan's research program focuses on the application of cognition to education, and specifically enhancing meaningful learning in the classroom and during independent study. She is also passionate about science communication. In her spare time Meg crochets, plays board games, and reads. She also loves to travel, hiking and wine tasting, as well as spending time with her young daughter and husband!