Memory Strategies to Help StudentsRemember what they See and Hear in theClassroom
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http://twitter.com/psychoeducation In these days where information travels faster than ever, being updated within seconds, weexpect students to memorize, understand, and apply more facts and ideas than ever before. Thereare so many facts and concepts bombarding our brains that teachers and parents need to makesure that children know how to hold on to the important information they need to learn, so thatthey are better able to perform in the classroom and their knowledge base grows. As Sousa(2001) states,
learning
is the process by which we acquire knowledge,
memory
is the process bywhich we retain it. In this article, we present some teaching tips and learning strategies to helpstudents organize and remember the information they need to learn so that they can achieveacademically.
Kinds of Memory
Richards (2003) distinguishes between semantic or declarative memory and procedural memory.
Semantic memory
refers to the knowledge of facts, rules, and concepts, for example, symbols for words, rules for manipulating words, and the meaning of words.
Procedural memory
refers to
procedures or steps to learn new skills, that is,
how
to do things. Simply put, semantic memorydefines and explains facts and ideas (i.e.
what
a fact or idea is); procedural memory explains how
to do something, for example, how to use the long division algorithm to solve a long division problem. In addition, we need to distinguish between
short-term memory
, for example, the
recalling of a person’s name within seconds of presentation, and
long-term memory
, for example,
being able to recall that same person’s
name one year after. Only a few facts and informationfrom our short-term memory move into our long-term memory. This is true for everybody, butseems to be an area of major difficulty for children with learning problems. Teachers of studentswith special needs know very well that most of our students are able to retrieve facts andinformation from short-term memory without difficulty, but struggle retrieving facts andinformation from long-term memory. The literature reviewed agrees that typical learners needabout 40 rehearsals or practices to transfer information to long-term memory, but children withlearning disabilities require at least 200 practices to consolidate the exact same information inlong-term memory. Next, we give some
teaching tips
to help students memorize the information,followed by
learning strategies
that students can use, at school and at home, to stimulate their memory.
Teaching Tips to Stimulate
Students’
Memory
Students cannot remember what they do not understand. A new skill or concept is easier to learnand memorize if it fits into what children already know, so help children link the newinformation in some way to known material. Make sure that students understand the
meaning
(relevancy)
of the new information, or
how the new information fits into children’s personal
lives. In other words, make sure that the new information makes sense and is meaningful tostudents.It is
the way that students rehearse
the new information or skill what helps in recalling, not justhow many times they practice. In rehearsing new concepts or skills, add
variety
and
novelty
. For example, memorizing a spelling word using five different writing formats (e.g. with a colored pencil, typing, on the chalkboard, throwing bean bags, and jumping the rope) is more effectivethan simply writing down the same spelling words twenty times in the same way. Another wayto add variety is to ask the child to write the spelling word in five
different
ways, e.g. APP-le, ap- ple, A-PP-le, APPLE, and
apple
.
Short memorizing rehearsals are more productive than long ones. Make sure that each practice isno longer than 30 minutes at a time.With students with special needs, present smaller bits of new information at a time and thenrequire from students to practice what they have learned.Memory improves when students use multiple sensory pathways to learn the material. For example, when students are learning
visual
material, they need to elaborate
verbally
on what theyare seeing. On the other hand, if students are trying to consolidate verbal material, for example,from the social studies textbook, memorization is easier if they draw a diagram or write smaller bits on information on index cards that they can study visually.When you deliver your lessons, explicitly tell students what is more important about the lecture,
for example, “These are the three points that you need to remember…”
In addition, you can writethe main points, key phrases, and/or key words on the chalkboard.Remember that when the learning material is both
meaningful
and
organized
is always easier toremember. Explicitly teach students how to use organization aids such as timelines, outlines, bullet lists, flowcharts, cause and effect diagrams, and/or comparing and contrasting diagrams.Give students practice in highlighting, outlining, and summarizing important information.Teach
note-taking
skills.Give practice in
paraphrasing
, and explain to students that information is easier to remember when they translate it into their own words.Make sure students understand that they can remember definitions better if they use
their ownwords
, rather than trying to memorize exactly what the teacher said or what they read in the book.When students are learning definitions or new concepts, if they write a short paragraph in their own words is more effective than trying to recall the information word-for-word. Students withlow writing skills can make a drawing or a sketch that illustrates the paragraph.To help students understand and remember bigger and/or more complex amounts of information,organize the new information around
concepts
, for example,
Change
,
Democracy
, or
Relationships
. Concepts help students
associate
and
link
information that otherwise they would perceive as different and disconnected, and they help children see the
bigger picture
.
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Memory Strategies to Help Students Remember what they See and Hear in the Classroom
This article introduces teaching tips and learning strategies to help students organize and remember the information they need to learn.
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