Lets Keep Remembering Our Memories By Becca Jessup

On March 11, 2014 my classmates and I sat around a table discussing the topic of memory, after reading chapter 3 of Understanding how Children Learn, by Wendy Ostroff.  The dictionary definition of Memory “is the power or process of remembering what has been learned, something that is remembered, the things learned and kept in the mind” (Merriam Webster). All of these definitions were discussed in different topics that we discussed.

The main topics that were brought up on this subject were

•          How to remember
•          Mnemonic Devices
•          Reading for studying and tests
•          Working Memory 

How to Remember 

Memory Games

This part of the class discussion was based on the question “How can we help our students memorize in a fun way?” (Lela Harris). Some of the answers that were brought up were also ideas from Wendy Ostroff from in chapter 3 of Understanding how Children Learn. On page 97, Wendy Ostroff brings up the idea of using games, and even word relay races. For example she says, “Combine a physical workout with a mental one, by running a Working Memory Relay” (Ostroff 97). This is where you give every kid a word, and have them do a relay race, but using the word that you gave them instead of a baton. This way the kids have to remember their word, plus the kids before them words, as well. She also brings up the idea of a Snowman Memory Game. This game is where you “designate one child to be the snowman. All of the other children will close their eyes, while this child will choose what he or she wants to put on as the snowman. The children in the class should be asked to open their eyes look at the snowman for 30 seconds, then close their eyes again. The snowman will change one thing that he or she is wearing and ask the others to point out what has changed” (Ostroff 97). 

            Another topic that was brought up were using flash cards and taking notes. The problems with these are that they might not work for everyone, and in that case use one of the other ideas. There are so many different ways to take notes or even create flashcards. Taking notes or even crating flashcards work for people because when you write information on paper your brain remembers the motion of the writing, and can sometimes recall the information that you wrote down.  Some different ways to take notes are:

Note Taking Techniques

•          T-charts
•          Sketch with Labels
•          Webs
•          Bullet points or Bullet points with boxes
•          Timelines
•          Cornell Method

Different ways to create flash cards are: 

• Words with a picture 
• Word on one side definition on the other side
•  Picture one side word on the other

Cornell Method

Another way that we discussed was creating songs, dances and poems- something to trigger the information. These help me learn probably the best because anything with a catchy tune or something that keeps you move, or even something that you created will stick with you. Things that we still remember from elementary school in the form of song or dance were: The fifty states song, alphabet, school house rock, and the conjugation of verbs.

Schoolhouse Rock!

Mnemonic Devices

            Mnemonic devices are something that I remember to this day, and still help me when I am trying to us PEMDAS, or remember the order of the planets, or even the colors of the spectrum for science. Mnemonics are a way to help your brain put things together to remember the information that you are given. The dictionary defines mnemonics as “a technique of improving the memory” (Merriam Webster). When teaching them to little kids as we were discussing we were worried that if you taught them a mnemonic for everything that they needed to learn it would be too much, and they might get confused and mix everything up. So we decided that when used in the proper terms and when it is actually necessary they can be one of the most helpful ways to remember something. Examples that we thought of:

•          PEMDAS- Pleas Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
•          Planet Order-  My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles
•         Cardinal Direction Points- Never Eat Soggy Waffles
•          Color Spectrum- ROY G. BIV
•         Compound Sentences- FAN BOYS
•          Quadratic formula- Song
•          Dates, months- use Rhymes

Reading

Book on how to use Drama in the classroom

            Reading is another topic that we had a big discussion about. Not only is reading important because it is something that you will use for the rest of your life, but it is important to teach it the right way and make sure that kids understand what they are reading. One of my fondest memories about reading is when I was in first grade we read the three little pigs, and the entire group of first graders got to preform and act out the play on stage for the whole school and any parents that wanted to come. This is a way to make reading interesting and fun. Wendy Ostroff addresses using skits, and scripts in her book and this is a way to incorporate them into the day. Reading is just reading if you are not taking notes (for older kids) or discussing it to really make sure that you understood the reading, and got the main points that were being discussed in the book.

            Not only is reading important, so make a game out of it, but it is difficult for many kids. This is an area where a lot of kids fall behind, and some teachers just don’t have the time to help a child read better so they pass them on to the next grade anyways, so reading out loud to the class or teaching them how to get passed difficult words, by sounding them out or looking them up. Another thing that would help with hard readings and getting to the point of the main themes and topics would be to use your resources. Use Sparknotes, or Cliffnotes, watch the movies, include it in a lesson plan because this way kids can have the tools that they used inside the classroom outside as well can they can continue learning through an activity that they are used to doing, playing on a computer or watching T.V.

Working Memory

            Working Memory is a big part in any child learning. Wendy Ostroff defines it as, “a sticky note for temporary storage in our minds, a system for storing information for very short periods of time to be used for further manipulation (Baddeley 1986)” (Ostroff 93).  Children now have been diagnosed with ADD and ADHD starting at such a young age, and this could be the problem. Bad working memory has often been confused with being distracted for long periods of time which can cause children to be diagnosed with learning disabilities. Maija-Riikka Stennari, wrote an article about how sleep can affect working memory, and that now a days kids with all the distractions go to bed later which can cause according to her conclusion, “sleep quality and quantity affect performance of working memory tasks in school age children”, or a lack of focus and working memory task problems (Steenari).

Working Memory 

            One way that we can help working memory improve would be too lighten the load, assign a griot, and micro-move when it comes to instructions. One way to lighten the load would be to put the instructions up on the board, and this way if the kids forget to do something all they have to do is look up at the board to see what they have to do next. Another thing would be repeating it only so many times and then if they get stuck have them ask another classmate for help on what else they are supposed to be doing.  The next idea is having a child be the griot for the week. This means that that child is in charge of reminding the classroom what they have to do for the week, and what is due the next day and if there is anything special going on that week. This will help lighten the load on the working memory of students because this way they don’t have to always remember it and they can just ask the person who is in charge of it that week. The last way would be to micro-move. This means slowly doing more than one instruction at a time. Start off with just one instruction and then two weeks later move to two, once everyone can do two, move to three and then just continue and see how many the class can get to by the end of the year.

Conclusion

            Memory is a really important thing that people need to teach kids how to grow. As adults we have a lot of memories in our memory, and that includes school tasks that we did, and things that we learned, and we need to pass those techniques that we still know how to do on to the next generation so that they can learn them too. Mnemonic devices, reading, and working memory are some of the most important things that we will ever learn, and learn about, so we need to keep them interesting and fun so that we can keep remembering them and keep the memories of the things that we learned. Games, songs, rhymes are all good ways to help keep these fresh in our mind. These ideas will change over time and it is our job to help the future generations keep them fresh in their minds too. 


Citations: 

Ostroff, Wendy L. "Understanding Children's Attention." Understanding How Young
Children Learn: Bringing the Science of Child Development to the Classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2012. 54-87. Print.

Steenari, Maija-Riikka, et al. "Working Memory And Sleep In 6- To 13-Year-Old Schoolchildren." Journal Of The American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 42.1 (2003): 85. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.