So how is learning intertwined with our memories? 
     Memory is essential to all learning because it lets you store and retrieve the information that you learn.  Memory is the record left by a learning process.  For example, you learn a new language by studying it, but you then speak it by using your memory to retrieve the words that you learned!

• Learning is the acquisition of skill or knowledge
• Memory is the expression of what you've acquired

Neuroplasticity
     We learn and remember, we think new thoughts, or we visualize new images, and we change throughout our lifetimes.  Whenever our neural networks change as a result of new information being stored, our behavior also changes.  
     Our brains respond to the same experiences differently at different ages in our lives and especially during early development.  So the same experience we have as an infant that effects our brain, might cause a different effect when we experience it in adolescence and beyond.

Prenatal Experiences
     Prenatal events can influence our brain plasticity throughout life.
Prenatal experiences alter our brain organization.  Potentially negative experiences (i.e. prenatal exposure to recreational drugs) and positive experiences (i.e. tactile stimulation of the mother's skin), can alter our gene expression or produce other effects on brain organization.  ​

The brain of a newborn is constantly being flooded with information.  Over the first few years of life the brain grows rapidly and as each neuron matures it sends out multiple branches (axons) which increases the number of synaptic contacts.  As we get older the old connections are deleted in a process called "synaptic pruning".  This means that the old memories that we no longer frequently use become weaker and weaker until they are pruned and eliminated.  The memories and connections that we actively and most frequently use become strengthened and preserved. 
     Like in the movie Inside Out when Joy and Sadness find Bing Bong (Riley's old imaginary friend) who accidentally ends up in the Memory Dump: the place where old memories are discarded to make way for new ones (aka Synaptic Pruning at work).  If we don't use a memory or something we've learned enough, our brain decides it's not important and gets rid of it to make room for new information.

There are different types of memory.

• Short term memory: What we think about
  • ​Sensory memory: what we perceive; it’s the ability to retain information related to the different senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing) and when we focus our attention on a sensory memory it moves into short-term memory
  • Working memory: is the way we process the sensory information we are actively thinking about. It’s limited to holding between five and seven items in the mind at a time for about 30 seconds. When information in working memory seems important it’s transferred to long-term memory
• Long term memory: What we know
  • ​Explicit memories (declarative): our conscious memories. This is “knowing what” something is. It looks at semantic memory (knowing what actually happened) and episodic memory (our impression of what happened).
  • Implicit memories (non-declarative): an unconscious memory. It includes our procedural memory which focuses on knowing how something works.

Memory is learning that has persisted over time. It is information that has been stored and that can be recalled
Memory can be accessed through three different ways:

1. Recall
   
   1. A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier (i.e. fill in the blank tests)
2. Recognition
   1. A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned (i.e. multiple choice tests)
3. Relearning
   1. A measure of memory that assess the amount of time saved when learning material again (i.e. studying for a final exam)

This is why repetition and practice are essential for us to learn something new.  Reading about something one time doesn't mean we know it and will remember it.  We have to put in work to keep information in our long term memory so that we can actively call on the information we learned when ever we want!

What is reflective practice?
Reflective practice is the act of assessing your own thoughts and actions for the purpose of personal learning and development.  For a lot of people, this act is something that is natural and instinctive. For others, it's something you need to actively work towards.  It is the idea of learning from experience.

1. You think about what you did.
2. You think about what happened as a result.
3. You decide from there what you would do differently next time.

Thinking about what happened is the natural part about being human. The difference between casually "thinking" about what you did and "reflective practice" is that in reflective thinking you are required to put a conscious effort into developing insights.

What is the purpose?
Reflective practice helps us explore ideas and apply them to our experiences. It encourages growth and improvement. It can be applied to any profession or personal situation. It is a continuing process where you analyze and evaluate an experience to learn and gain insight to positively improve client outcomes. The whole goal is to lead to changes and improvements in our professions. 
As teachers and therapists we need to think about what you did, why you did it, how you did, and if it worked.
By collecting information about what goes on in our classrooms and sessions and analyzing that information, we can lead to change and improvement in our teaching.

You might be talking to a coworker and say, "My students didn't understand that lesson at all" or "I've been working on this concept with this child for a month and he still doesn't seem to get it." THAT is the beginning stages of reflection. However, if we don't spend time focusing and discussing what actually happened we might jump to conclusions. We may only remember those louder students reactions or we may only remember what the child didn't do. Reflective practice involves a systematic approach of collecting, recording, and analyzing our thoughts and observations to make change.
Think about these things:

• If the child didn't understand the concept, think about what we did and how it may have been unclear.
• If the child grasps a concept and is able to use it, think about what went well, describe it, and think about why it was successful.
• If the students didn't understand a lesson, think about what you said, what were the reactions of all the students, and how did you teach it.
• If the students are misbehaving, think about what they were doing, when, and why?

Getting started:
At the end of every lesson: QUESTION:

1. What did you do?
2. Why did you do that?
3. What is effective?
4. How do you feel about that?
5. How did the children respond to the lesson?
6. Why do you think they responded that way?
7. How can you do that lesson better?
8. What will you do tomorrow?

At the end of every day: QUESTION:

1. Did I accomplish what I wanted to today?
2. Was I prepared today?
3. What did I do well and why was it successful?
4. What can I do better and what do I need to do to change it?
5. What was the most important thing I wanted them to learn today? Is there any evidence that they learned it?
6. What did I learn from the kids today?

Lastly, in the book People Skills, Neil Thompson suggests six steps to reflection:

1. Read- Read around the topics you are learning about or want to learn about and develop
2. Ask- Ask others about the way they do things and why
3. Watch-Watch what is going on around you
4. Feel- Pay attention to your emotions, what prompts them, and how do you deal with the negative ones
5. Talk-Share your views and experiences with others
6. Think-Learn to value time spent thinking about your work

Remember, reflection is a natural thing for humans to do. It only takes a little more conscious effort on your part to become a reflective practitioner and improve the learning of both yourself and your students. You may decide to do something a different way, or you may discover proof that what you're doing is the best possible way-and THAT is what reflective practice is all about.