You cast your eyes around the room, ready to ask the crucial question - the one that will surely be the turning point for your lesson. You spot a pupil watching you attentively, clearly engaged in the topic. Perfect. You look directly at them and ask, “So, what do we think this means, er…?” And then you falter as you realise that you have completely forgotten the student’s name.

Such scenarios are rare midway through the year but at the start of term, or in a new school - when you are faced with a packed timetable of classes full of ever-changing faces - they are much more likely.

But does it really matter if you forget a name, even for a brief moment? Of course, it is polite to know pupils’ names and it is useful for behaviour management - but does it aid their learning to use their name mid-lesson?

The tentative answer appears to be that, yes, it does. First, this is because hearing our name sharpens our attention. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging technology by academics at the Institute for the Study of Child Development - a research centre at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in the US - have demonstrated that several regions in the left hemisphere of the brain show greater activation on hearing our own first name.

This phenomenon is sometimes termed the “cocktail party effect”, with some studies suggesting that people are able to hear their names and other personally significant words amid a general hubbub in the background. In other words, hearing our names, no matter how discreetly spoken, can make our ears prick up and take notice.

Getting to know your pupils’ names

So, saying someone’s name increases their level of attention - this is, perhaps, unsurprising. But it gets intriguing when you consider this within the classroom setting, where the goal is to impart knowledge.

According to Peter Fonagy, a professor of psychoanalysis and head of the division of psychology and language sciences at UCL, using a pupil’s name can make them predisposed to learn.

When a pupil hears a teacher address them by their name, it opens up a “biological gate to learning”, he says. “It makes the kid trust you and, if they trust you, they learn from you. They trust your knowledge.”

This is crucial, he explains, because trust is an important part of how humans have evolved to pass on knowledge from one generation to the next. Unlike animals, who pass on knowledge “rather passively, through having survived”, human beings are “freed from the genetic transmission” of information, Fonagy argues. Instead, we transfer knowledge from one generation to the next through teaching.

To illustrate this, Fonagy uses the metaphor of one person passing a “bucket” of information to another. “So, how do you know that you can trust the person who is passing you the bucket? Because they recognise you,” he says.

In other words, the use of a name personalises this transfer of information and is key to establishing the trust that will ensure we commit that information to memory - because we see it as “important” and “relevant” to us.

So heightened is this instinct to trust someone who recognises us that it doesn’t matter if the “person” using our name is human or not - hearing our name alone will have an impact on how far we trust the knowledge being imparted.

Fonagy cites research conducted at UCL in which a group of people were asked to recall words from a list that had been read out to them (without them knowing in advance that they would be asked to recall the words).

“What they found was that they could remember more words if the computer called them by their first name in presenting the test - not even another human being, just a computer,” says Fonagy.

Learning names, therefore, is important not just for managing behaviour or knowing who to call on but because, when teachers use pupils’ names, it can also boost learning, trust and factual recall.

But remembering an endless roster of children’s names is not easy, especially in those first few weeks of term. So, what if you find yourself unable to recall a name at a crucial moment? Is it better to stay silent than risk having a stab at a name you’re not sure about? Could that risk creating distrust?

In fact, Fonagy believes that getting a name wrong, or mispronouncing it, could potentially prove beneficial in the long run - as long as it doesn’t happen too often.

“If you get the pupil to correct you, they see you as trying to learn,” he says. “If you show additional effort, you are making them feel recognised - it could be even more effective than pronouncing it right first time.”

Of course, the effects of this are bound to diminish if you get a name wrong repeatedly. So, how can you make sure this doesn’t happen? What are the best ways to learn your pupils’ names - and do so quickly?

In terms of remembering, Fonagy recommends the use of mnemonic devices, including making different visual links between students’ names, appearance and behavioural quirks. These links do not have to be logical - they just need to work.

“As a teacher, I would probably use the link between this year’s Peter and last year’s Peter, connect them together in some way, form the association, then the association would get me to the name,” he says.

Other teachers have suggested using funny rhymes linking a pupil’s main character or physical trait to their name.

Use of regular seating plans and taking the time to always read out the register are also effective methods of remembering a class full of names - both of which most teachers tend to do already.

The important thing is that you find a method that works for you and make the most of it, because putting in the effort to learn names early will not only help to boost learning and engagement in lessons, it will also help pupils to feel part of their school community, suggests Tom Arrand, principal of Cardiff Sixth Form College.

“Remembering names is essential. Their name is their identity. We cannot say we care for every child as an individual if we don’t know their names,” he says.

Arrand admits that during the pandemic, learning names has been harder owing to the various restrictions - not least face coverings and being on screens. But this experience has served to really bring home to him how important it is to remember students’ names.

“Learning names has been even more important, as we must always ensure we are engaging as people, not as a box on a screen. I have used the school database constantly to make sure that whenever a student is mentioned or contacts me, I can put a face to the name, and I try my hardest to memorise it,” he says.

But what if, even with the best will in the world, and making use of some of these tips and tricks, you just can’t get all the names and faces to stick? There is a final piece of research that offers some reassurance: as long as students think you know their names, this can still have a positive impact.

Researchers at Arizona State University found that by getting students to place name cards on their desk, 78 per cent of students assumed the instructors then knew their name, when, in fact, the lecturer only recalled 53 per cent.

The positives felt by the students from assuming that their name was known included feeling more invested in the course, feeling more comfortable asking for help and feeling part of a classroom community.

So it’s worth using whatever methods you can to learn as many names as possible in those first weeks of term. But if you’re still struggling, rest assured that the tried and tested name-cards-on-the-desk technique should be enough to carry you through.

Irena Barker is a freelance journalist

This article originally appeared in the 27 August 2021 issue under the headline “Tes focus on...Knowing names”