Understanding tacit learning, metacognitive access, and context-dependent memory
When you know – but can’t say how
During my training, I often found myself able to speak confidently about what I did with clients, yet when I sat down to write an assessment, I froze.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the material – I did – but translating what I knew in practice into something formal and written felt like trying to capture air in a jar.
If you’ve ever revised for an exam, only to go blank at the critical moment, or known you understand a concept but couldn’t put it into words, you’ve probably experienced the same thing.
It turns out there’s a reason for this – and it lies in how our brain learns, retrieves, and expresses knowledge.
The three memory systems that shape how we recall what we know
Our ability to “know” and to “explain” come from different but overlapping cognitive systems. Understanding them can help us stop blaming ourselves for that blank-page paralysis – and start working with how our minds actually function.
1. Tacit (or Implicit) Learning: Knowing without knowing how
My experience:
When I was completing my training assessments, this was the hardest part.
In sessions, everything flowed naturally – tone, pacing, the questions that encouraged reflection, the gentle use of silence.
But when I tried to write about why I’d done those things, I couldn’t.
My skills lived in the doing, not the describing.
What’s happening:
Tacit learning is the kind of knowledge we pick up through experience – how to sense when a classroom goes quiet, how to steer a discussion, or how to fix a computer problem without checking a manual.
We know how to do it, but we can’t easily break it down step by step.
Much of this kind of “knowing how” (implicit or procedural learning) relies on brain systems such as the basal ganglia and cerebellum – regions more involved in automatic, patterned, and timing-based processes (rather than the language-based systems of the cortex).
So when we’re asked to write, our brain has to translate something intuitive and physical into something verbal and analytical – a process that can feel awkward and slow.
Everyday example:
An actor might sense when the audience’s attention drifts, adjust their delivery mid-scene, yet struggle to articulate what triggered the change afterwards.
2. Metacognitive Access: The librarian of your mind
My experience:
When I was asked to describe how I worked or what I’d learned from specific practices, the words just wouldn’t come.
I knew what I’d done – but when I sat at the laptop, my mind went quiet.
Later, in conversation, I’d find myself explaining those same things effortlessly.
What’s happening:
Metacognition means “thinking about thinking.”
It’s our brain’s internal librarian – the part that can step back, look at what we know, and describe it.
When metacognitive access is limited, we can feel that we know something but can’t quite retrieve or verbalise it.
This often shows up as that “tip-of-the-tongue” sensation – frustratingly close, but just out of reach.
Everyday example:
A student revises thoroughly but freezes in an exam, only to remember the exact answer walking home afterwards.
3. Encoding Specificity: Why context matters
My experience:
When sitting in front of my laptop, trying to recall theory or describe a session, I drew blanks.
But as soon as I was back in front of a client – or even talking about my work – the information poured out.
The difference? Context.
What helped me was sitting in the same room where I conduct therapy and record my social videos.
I started recording myself answering questions as if I were speaking to a client or a friend.
As soon as I did, the knowledge surfaced – the same ideas that felt trapped minutes earlier.
What’s happening:
The encoding-specificity principle posits that we recall information most effectively when the retrieval cues (sights, sounds, posture, context) match those present during encoding.
Your brain stores memories along with the sensations and emotions that surrounded them.
When you recreate those cues, the original memory network lights up again.
(Tulving & Thomson, 1973)
Everyday example:
An actor remembers their lines better when on the same stage and using the same gesture they practised in rehearsal.
A caveat: what about long-term memories?
Recent neuroscience expands on this idea. A 2024 paper titled Evolving Engrams Demand Changes in Effective Cues (PMC12056888) argues that as memories age, they transform – losing fine sensory details and becoming more abstract. The researchers propose that retrieval cues should evolve with these changing memory traces: immediately after learning, the original contextual cue (like the study desk or specific environment) is most powerful, but over time, broader or more conceptual cues may work better.
This doesn’t contradict the encoding-specificity principle used here — rather, it adds a time dimension. In short-term learning contexts, such as studying for assessments or writing reports soon after practice, matching the original context still optimises recall. For older, autobiographical, or emotionally laden memories, however, recall may benefit from more flexible, high-level cues that align with the transformed memory trace rather than its initial encoding.
What the research shows
Over the last two decades, cognitive neuroscience has explored how these systems — tacit learning, metacognitive access, and context-dependent recall — operate across individuals, including those with neurodivergent profiles such as ADHD and autism.
Research on ADHD suggests that procedural or tacit learning is generally intact. Where difficulties tend to emerge is in the areas of encoding and retrieval control — processes that rely on sustained attention and executive regulation. Studies have shown that when attention or working-memory resources are strained, the ability to encode information consistently or retrieve it on demand can fluctuate. Differences in metacognitive access are also common, with many individuals with ADHD describing a sense of “knowing” but being unable to express what they know under pressure. Sleep quality appears to play a mediating role, with disrupted or inefficient sleep linked to reduced consolidation of newly learned skills.
In autism, research has identified somewhat different patterns. Studies suggest that individuals on the spectrum may recall fewer episodic details and experience diminished subjective recollection — a phenomenon thought to relate to how the brain encodes and retrieves contextual information. These findings do not reflect a lack of knowledge or intelligence but rather differences in how memory cues are bound to sensory and emotional contexts. As a result, recall may rely more heavily on routine and structure, while spontaneous or context-dependent retrieval (such as recalling abstract emotional experiences) can be more variable.
Taken together, these findings highlight that variation in learning and recall is part of a spectrum rather than a deficit. Anyone — regardless of diagnosis — can experience the frustrating gap between “knowing” and “explaining” when stress, fatigue, or context mismatch interrupts access to stored information. Understanding these mechanisms allows us to approach learning and expression with more self-compassion and to work with, rather than against, the way our memory systems are naturally wired.
What helps bridge the gap
Here’s what worked for me, and what evidence suggests helps others too:
1. Recreate the learning context
If you learn best through conversation, replicate that when you write:
- Sit where you usually teach, study, or talk about your subject.
- Speak your ideas aloud before writing; let the rhythm of speech unlock the knowledge.
2. Speak first, write second
Record yourself explaining the topic as if to a friend or student.
Then transcribe the key points into sentences.
This method mimics natural recall and strengthens metacognitive awareness.
3. Link new learning to strong cues
Use images, metaphors, colours, or stories to give each idea a “handle.”
The more senses involved, the easier retrieval becomes later.
4. Reflect regularly
After study or practice, ask:
- What did I understand easily?
- Why did it work?
- How would I describe it to someone else?
This builds the bridge between doing and explaining.
5. Work kindly with your brain
Fatigue, perfectionism, and over-focus can all block retrieval.
A brief grounding exercise or slow breathing before writing can calm the prefrontal cortex and open the recall pathways again.
Key takeaways
- Struggling to explain what you know isn’t a flaw – it’s how the human memory system works.
- Tacit learning, metacognitive access, and context-dependent recall are separate but intertwined systems.
- Neurodivergent profiles, including ADHD and autism, may experience greater variability in these areas, but the challenge is common to many.
- By recreating learning cues, speaking ideas aloud, and linking knowledge to multiple senses, you can help your brain recall more fluently – and feel more confident on paper.
- For long-term memories, remember that cues may need to evolve — abstract or emotional associations can often retrieve what specific contexts no longer can.
Reflection prompt
Think of a time you knew the answer but couldn’t explain it until later.
Where were you? What cues were present?
When you next sit down to write, try recreating a small piece of that context – your posture, tone, or environment – and notice what changes.
References
Butzbach, M., Greimel, E., & Geiser, C. (2021). Metacognition in adult ADHD: subjective and objective evidence of metacognitive deficits in ADHD. Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Lenartowicz, A. & Loo, S. (2024). Training of awareness in ADHD: Leveraging metacognition. CNS Spectrums.
Minear, M. E., Stuart, N., & Kelly, D. (2023). Is practice good enough? Retrieval benefits students with ADHD. Frontiers in Psychology.
Ortega, R., et al. (2020). Attention-related encoding and retrieval processes in ADHD. Scientific Reports.
Sanjeevan, T., Cardy, R. E., & Anagnostou, E. (2020). Procedural Sequence Learning in ADHD: A Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology.
Prehn-Kristensen, A., et al. (2011). Sleep restores daytime deficits in procedural memory in ADHD children. Journal of Sleep Research.
Bowler, D. M., Gaigg, S. B., & Gardiner, J. M. (2014). Episodic memory and remembering in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Tulving, E., & Thomson, D. M. (1973). Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory. Psychological Review.
Barry, C., et al. (2024). Evolving engrams demand changes in effective cues. Hippocampus. PMC12056888.