ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Doolittle - Educational psychology professor
Peter Doolittle is striving to understand the processes of human learning.

Why you should listen

Peter Doolittle is a professor of educational psychology in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, where he is also the executive director of the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research. He teaches classes such as Cognition and Instruction, Constructivism and Education, Multimedia Cognition and College Teaching, but his research mainly focuses on learning in multimedia environments and the role of "working memory."

Doolittle has taught educational psychology around the world. He is the executive editor of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and the co-executive editor of the International Journal of ePortfolio.

More profile about the speaker
Peter Doolittle | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2013

Peter Doolittle: How your "working memory" makes sense of the world

Filmed:
2,344,275 views

"Life comes at us very quickly, and what we need to do is take that amorphous flow of experience and somehow extract meaning from it." In this funny, enlightening talk, educational psychologist Peter Doolittle details the importance -- and limitations -- of your "working memory," that part of the brain that allows us to make sense of what's happening right now.
- Educational psychology professor
Peter Doolittle is striving to understand the processes of human learning. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So yesterday, I was out in the street
0
231
2380
00:14
in front of this building,
1
2611
2676
00:17
and I was walking down the sidewalk,
2
5287
3036
00:20
and I had company, several of us,
3
8323
1860
00:22
and we were all abiding by the rules
4
10183
1498
00:23
of walking down sidewalks.
5
11681
2387
00:26
We're not talking each other. We're facing forward.
6
14068
2442
00:28
We're moving.
7
16510
1423
00:29
When the person in front of me slows down.
8
17933
3263
00:33
And so I'm watching him, and he slows down,
9
21196
1990
00:35
and finally he stops.
10
23186
1597
00:36
Well, that wasn't fast enough for me,
11
24783
2085
00:38
so I put on my turn signal, and I walked around him,
12
26868
3679
00:42
and as I walked, I looked to see what he was doing,
13
30547
2733
00:45
and he was doing this.
14
33280
2563
00:47
He was texting,
15
35848
1944
00:49
and he couldn't text and walk at the same time.
16
37792
2022
00:51
Now we could approach this
17
39814
1809
00:53
from a working memory perspective
18
41623
1892
00:55
or from a multitasking perspective.
19
43515
1985
00:57
We're going to do working memory today.
20
45500
2529
01:00
Now, working memory
21
48029
2140
01:02
is that part of our consciousness that we are
22
50169
3148
01:05
aware of at any given time of day.
23
53317
2454
01:07
You're going it right now.
24
55771
1642
01:09
It's not something we can turn off.
25
57413
1654
01:11
If you turn it off, that's called a coma, okay?
26
59067
3451
01:14
So right now, you're doing just fine.
27
62518
3103
01:17
Now working memory has four basic components.
28
65621
2356
01:19
It allows us to store some immediate experiences
29
67977
2597
01:22
and a little bit of knowledge.
30
70574
1616
01:24
It allows us to reach back
into our long-term memory
31
72190
3369
01:27
and pull some of that in as we need it,
32
75559
1850
01:29
mixes it, processes it
33
77409
2200
01:31
in light of whatever our current goal is.
34
79609
2294
01:33
Now the current goal isn't something like,
35
81903
1514
01:35
I want to be president or the best surfer in the world.
36
83417
2282
01:37
It's more mundane. I'd like that cookie,
37
85699
2803
01:40
or I need to figure out how to get into my hotel room.
38
88502
2602
01:43
Now working memory capacity
39
91104
2180
01:45
is our ability to leverage that,
40
93284
2606
01:47
our ability to take what we know
41
95890
2795
01:50
and what we can hang onto
42
98685
1276
01:51
and leverage it in ways that allow us to satisfy
43
99961
3599
01:55
our current goal.
44
103560
1750
01:57
Now working memory capacity
45
105310
1784
01:59
has a fairly long history,
46
107094
2053
02:01
and it's associated with a lot of positive effects.
47
109147
2199
02:03
People with high working memory capacity
48
111346
2388
02:05
tend to be good storytellers.
49
113734
2244
02:07
They tend to solve and do well
on standardized tests,
50
115978
3977
02:11
however important that is.
51
119955
2345
02:14
They're able to have high levels of writing ability.
52
122300
3783
02:18
They're also able to reason at high levels.
53
126083
2874
02:20
So what we're going to do here
is play a little bit with some of that.
54
128957
2918
02:23
So I'm going to ask you to perform a couple tasks,
55
131875
2550
02:26
and we're going to take your
working memory out for a ride.
56
134425
3079
02:29
You up for that? Okay.
57
137504
2597
02:32
I'm going to give you five words,
58
140101
2198
02:34
and I just want you to hang on to them.
59
142299
1793
02:36
Don't write them down. Just hang on to them.
60
144092
1868
02:37
Five words.
61
145960
1412
02:39
While you're hanging on to them,
I'm going to ask you to answer three questions.
62
147372
3203
02:42
I want to see what happens with those words.
63
150575
1905
02:44
So here's the words:
64
152480
1847
02:46
tree,
65
154327
3288
02:49
highway,
66
157615
2935
02:52
mirror,
67
160550
2378
02:54
Saturn
68
162928
2132
02:57
and electrode.
69
165060
2419
02:59
So far so good?
70
167479
1584
03:01
Okay. What I want you to do
71
169063
1854
03:02
is I want you to tell me what the answer is
72
170917
3347
03:06
to 23 times eight.
73
174264
2322
03:08
Just shout it out.
74
176586
2714
03:12
(Mumbling) (Laughter)
75
180766
3702
03:16
In fact it's -- (Mumbling) -- exactly. (Laughter)
76
184468
2421
03:18
All right. I want you to take out your left hand
77
186889
3227
03:22
and I want you to go, "One, two, three, four, five,
78
190116
2680
03:24
six, seven, eight, nine, 10."
79
192796
2203
03:26
It's a neurological test,
just in case you were wondering.
80
194999
2696
03:29
All right, now what I want you to do
81
197695
1865
03:31
is to recite the last five letters
82
199560
2225
03:33
of the English alphabet backwards.
83
201785
2869
03:38
You should have started with Z.
84
206637
1902
03:40
(Laughter)
85
208539
3291
03:43
All right. How many people here are still pretty sure
86
211830
2087
03:45
you've got all five words?
87
213917
2451
03:48
Okay. Typically we end up with about less than half,
88
216368
3181
03:51
right, which is normal. There will be a range.
89
219549
2075
03:53
Some people can hang on to five.
90
221624
1556
03:55
Some people can hang on to 10.
91
223180
1284
03:56
Some will be down to two or three.
92
224464
2305
03:58
What we know is this is really important
to the way we function, right?
93
226769
3404
04:02
And it's going to be really important here at TED
94
230173
1948
04:04
because you're going to be exposed
to so many different ideas.
95
232121
3036
04:07
Now the problem that we have
96
235157
2207
04:09
is that life comes at us,
97
237364
1712
04:11
and it comes at us very quickly,
98
239076
2117
04:13
and what we need to do is to take that amorphous
99
241193
3913
04:17
flow of experience and somehow
100
245106
1778
04:18
extract meaning from it
101
246884
1507
04:20
with a working memory
102
248391
1299
04:21
that's about the size of a pea.
103
249690
2269
04:23
Now don't get me wrong,
working memory is awesome.
104
251959
2547
04:26
Working memory allows us
105
254506
2115
04:28
to investigate our current experience
106
256621
2372
04:30
as we move forward.
107
258993
1495
04:32
It allows us to make sense of the world around us.
108
260488
3168
04:35
But it does have certain limits.
109
263656
1919
04:37
Now working memory is great
for allowing us to communicate.
110
265575
3843
04:41
We can have a conversation,
111
269418
1472
04:42
and I can build a narrative around that
112
270890
2687
04:45
so I know where we've been and where we're going
113
273577
1730
04:47
and how to contribute to this conversation.
114
275307
2088
04:49
It allows us to problem-solve, critical think.
115
277395
2237
04:51
We can be in the middle of a meeting,
116
279632
1804
04:53
listen to somebody's presentation, evaluate it,
117
281436
2503
04:55
decide whether or not we like it,
118
283939
1642
04:57
ask follow-up questions.
119
285581
1258
04:58
All of that occurs within working memory.
120
286839
3370
05:02
It also allows us to go to the store
121
290209
1847
05:04
and allows us to get milk and eggs and cheese
122
292056
3654
05:07
when what we're really looking for
123
295710
1771
05:09
is Red Bull and bacon. (Laughter)
124
297481
2837
05:12
Gotta make sure we're getting what we're looking for.
125
300318
2722
05:15
Now, a central issue with working memory
126
303040
3337
05:18
is that it's limited.
127
306377
1397
05:19
It's limited in capacity, limited in duration,
128
307774
2196
05:21
limited in focus.
129
309970
1610
05:23
We tend to remember about four things.
130
311580
2735
05:26
Okay? It used to be seven,
131
314315
1897
05:28
but with functional MRIs, apparently it's four,
132
316212
2024
05:30
and we were overachieving.
133
318236
2543
05:32
Now we can remember those four things
134
320779
1973
05:34
for about 10 to 20 seconds
135
322752
1863
05:36
unless we do something with it,
136
324615
1727
05:38
unless we process it,
unless we apply it to something,
137
326342
2513
05:40
unless we talk to somebody about it.
138
328855
3645
05:44
When we think about working memory,
139
332500
3242
05:47
we have to realize that this limited capacity
140
335742
3304
05:51
has lots of different impacts on us.
141
339046
2495
05:53
Have you ever walked from one room to another
142
341541
3025
05:56
and then forgotten why you're there?
143
344566
3011
05:59
You do know the solution to that, right?
144
347577
2169
06:01
You go back to that original room. (Laughter)
145
349746
2346
06:04
Have you ever forgotten your keys?
146
352092
3937
06:08
You ever forgotten your car?
147
356029
2529
06:10
You ever forgotten your kids?
148
358558
2971
06:13
Have you ever been involved in a conversation,
149
361529
2189
06:15
and you realize that the conversation to your left
150
363718
1944
06:17
is actually more interesting? (Laughter)
151
365662
2834
06:20
So you're nodding and you're smiling,
152
368496
1624
06:22
but you're really paying attention
to this one over here,
153
370120
2388
06:24
until you hear that last word go up,
154
372508
2300
06:26
and you realize,
155
374808
1660
06:28
you've been asked a question. (Laughter)
156
376468
2954
06:31
And you're really hoping the answer is no,
157
379422
1947
06:33
because that's what you're about to say.
158
381369
3219
06:36
All of that talks about working memory,
159
384588
2476
06:39
what we can do and what we can't do.
160
387064
2258
06:41
We need to realize that working memory
161
389322
1537
06:42
has a limited capacity,
162
390859
1399
06:44
and that working memory capacity itself
is how we negotiate that.
163
392258
3519
06:47
We negotiate that through strategies.
164
395777
2171
06:49
So what I want to do is talk a little bit
about a couple of strategies here,
165
397948
2321
06:52
and these will be really important
166
400269
1275
06:53
because you are now in an
information target-rich environment
167
401544
3755
06:57
for the next several days.
168
405299
2120
06:59
Now the first part of this that we need to think about
169
407419
2904
07:02
and we need to process our existence, our life,
170
410323
2767
07:05
immediately and repeatedly.
171
413090
1715
07:06
We need to process what's going on
172
414805
2441
07:09
the moment it happens, not 10 minutes later,
173
417246
2914
07:12
not a week later, at the moment.
174
420160
2269
07:14
So we need to think about, well,
do I agree with him?
175
422429
3733
07:18
What's missing? What would I like to know?
176
426162
2780
07:20
Do I agree with the assumptions?
177
428942
2222
07:23
How can I apply this in my life?
178
431164
1810
07:24
It's a way of processing what's going on
179
432974
1980
07:26
so that we can use it later.
180
434954
1767
07:28
Now we also need to repeat it. We need to practice.
181
436721
2960
07:31
So we need to think about it here.
182
439681
2412
07:34
In between, we want to talk to people about it.
183
442093
2795
07:36
We're going to write it down,
and when you get home,
184
444888
2223
07:39
pull out those notes and think about them
185
447111
1960
07:41
and end up practicing over time.
186
449071
2389
07:43
Practice for some reason
became a very negative thing.
187
451460
2551
07:46
It's very positive.
188
454011
1452
07:47
The next thing is, we need to think elaboratively
189
455463
3050
07:50
and we need to think illustratively.
190
458513
2340
07:52
Oftentimes, we think that we have to relate
new knowledge to prior knowledge.
191
460853
3454
07:56
What we want to do is spin that around.
192
464307
1930
07:58
We want to take all of our existence
193
466237
1757
07:59
and wrap it around that new knowledge
194
467994
1753
08:01
and make all of these connections
and it becomes more meaningful.
195
469747
3448
08:05
We also want to use imagery.
We are built for images.
196
473195
3794
08:08
We need to take advantage of that.
197
476989
1858
08:10
Think about things in images,
198
478847
1510
08:12
write things down that way.
199
480357
2349
08:14
If you read a book, pull things up.
200
482706
1562
08:16
I just got through reading "The Great Gatsby,"
201
484268
2053
08:18
and I have a perfect idea of what he looks like
202
486321
3099
08:21
in my head, so my own version.
203
489420
2998
08:24
The last one is organization and support.
204
492418
2003
08:26
We are meaning-making machines. It's what we do.
205
494421
2569
08:28
We try to make meaning out of
everything that happens to us.
206
496990
3141
08:32
Organization helps, so we need to structure
207
500131
2290
08:34
what we're doing in ways that make sense.
208
502421
1579
08:36
If we are providing knowledge and experience,
209
504000
2586
08:38
we need to structure that.
210
506586
1485
08:40
And the last one is support.
211
508071
2499
08:42
We all started as novices.
212
510570
1722
08:44
Everything we do is an
approximation of sophistication.
213
512292
3041
08:47
We should expect it to change over time.
We have to support that.
214
515333
2937
08:50
The support may come in asking people questions,
215
518270
2656
08:52
giving them a sheet of paper that has
an organizational chart on it
216
520926
3498
08:56
or has some guiding images,
217
524429
2548
08:58
but we need to support it.
218
526977
1900
09:00
Now, the final piece of this, the take-home message
219
528877
5291
09:06
from a working memory capacity standpoint is this:
220
534168
2926
09:09
what we process, we learn.
221
537094
2931
09:12
If we're not processing life, we're not living it.
222
540025
4801
09:16
Live life. Thank you.
223
544826
1892
09:18
(Applause)
224
546718
4185

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Doolittle - Educational psychology professor
Peter Doolittle is striving to understand the processes of human learning.

Why you should listen

Peter Doolittle is a professor of educational psychology in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, where he is also the executive director of the Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research. He teaches classes such as Cognition and Instruction, Constructivism and Education, Multimedia Cognition and College Teaching, but his research mainly focuses on learning in multimedia environments and the role of "working memory."

Doolittle has taught educational psychology around the world. He is the executive editor of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and the co-executive editor of the International Journal of ePortfolio.

More profile about the speaker
Peter Doolittle | Speaker | TED.com