In a recent article titled Why The Forgetting Curve Is Not As Useful As You Think, Carl Hendrick critically examines Hermann Ebbinghaus’ groundbreaking work on memory and its application in education today. While Ebbinghaus’s research, particularly the forgetting curve, was revolutionary at the time, Hendrick argues that it doesn’t provide a complete picture of how learning happens in real-life classroom situations. I couldn’t agree more.
As a teacher and someone deeply passionate about the science of learning, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we apply research in the classroom, especially when it comes to memory and retrieval practice. The forgetting curve—while useful in some contexts—has often been oversimplified and misapplied. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through my take on Hendrick's article, sharing why I think Ebbinghaus’s research is only part of the story. I’ll also explain why teaching morphology is a far more effective approach for helping students retain and apply knowledge.
Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve suggests that most information is forgotten shortly after learning, with the rate of forgetting slowing down over time. This idea gave rise to the concept of spaced repetition in education, a strategy where students revisit material at strategic intervals to combat forgetting.
However, Hendrick’s article points out a critical flaw: the forgetting curve assumes that forgetting happens uniformly over time. This idea was based on Ebbinghaus’s experiments with nonsense syllables—meaningless, disconnected pieces of information. But real learning doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Students aren’t memorizing random syllables; they’re learning content that has meaning, context, and connections to their existing knowledge. And this is where Ebbinghaus’s findings fall short.
What I find especially compelling about Hendrick’s critique is his emphasis on the fact that we don’t remember things exactly as they were; we remember them in ways that make sense to us. This is a fundamental concept in how the brain processes information, and it’s one that morphology teaching taps into perfectly.
When students learn the morphological structure of words (roots, prefixes, and suffixes), they’re not just memorizing random facts. They’re building a network of interconnected knowledge that helps them understand the relationships between words and their meanings.
For example, if a student learns the root "bene" (meaning good or well), they can connect it to words like benevolent, benefactor, and benefit—words that all share a common semantic link.
Hendrick highlights another important point: forgetting is not a permanent loss, but rather a temporary inaccessibility. This ties into Robert Bjork’s work on memory, which suggests that retrieval—not just repetition—is what strengthens memory.
This is why teaching morphology is such a great strategy for retention. When students work with word sums, word matrices, and other morphology exercises, they are actively engaging with the structure of language.
The resources and pedagogy approach MorphologyHub.com takes align perfectly with Hendrick’s ideas. The tools encourage students to explore the semantic relationships between words, helping them build a network of connected knowledge.
Ultimately, Hendrick’s article is a call to rethink how we apply memory research in the classroom. Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve is valuable, but it’s not the only framework we need.
That’s why morphology offers such an exciting opportunity for teachers. By focusing on the connections between words and their meanings, we can help students build a deeper, more resilient understanding that goes beyond memorisation. And with tools like the ones found at MorphologyHub.com, teachers have a powerful resource to help students make these connections and improve their retention in meaningful ways.
If you want to learn more about how to teach morphology effectively and help your students build meaningful connections between words, visit MorphologyHub.com. There, you’ll find a range of free, no-sign-up matrix puzzles and worksheets that can help you bring these concepts into your classroom today.
Hendrick, C. (2025, March 19). Why the forgetting curve is not as useful as you think. The Learning Dispatch. Retrieved from https://carlhendrick.substack.com.
