The LIGHT Center, T-90, College of the Redwoods (476-4290) - February 15, 2000

A couple of weeks ago, a rather theoretical look at human memory was taken; investigating its structure and functioning. While it is important to have some notion as to what is known about memory, for most of us the day to day functioning of it is more important. All one has to do is walk into the local pharmacy to see numerous supplements designed to improve, strengthen and enhance memory function. The notion of being able to strengthen something as abstract as memory emerges from a medical model of study. Education however, tends to consider memory from a more pragmatic, functional viewpoint.

When considering one’s memory skills in an academic setting such as College of the Redwoods, this involves examining how a student takes in and retains information most effectively. In any given educational milieu, the two primary modes of receiving information are auditory and visual. Therefore, an examination of the auditory and visual memory skills is essential. The auditory memory refers to the mechanism which allows the student to retain information that is received through the ears. Visual memory refers to information taken in and retained through vision. In both cases, an assumption is made that the ears and the eyes are working adequately and not interfering with the retention of the information that they send to the brain.

Most individuals have a strength in either the auditory or visual memory. In some cases, the individual may have both the auditory and the visual systems depressed. When this occurs other channels are investigated, such as kinesthetic memory or tactile memory. Kinesthetic memory is the ability to recall movement, and plays a role in our ability to always "remember" how to ride a bike. We remember how it is supposed to feel. The same holds true for writing. Most of us do not have to think about the formation of letters we write. This is because the formation, the pencil grasp and finger movement are encoded into our kinesthetic memory. Tactile memory refers to our ability to recall information through the use of touch. For example, visually impaired students who use Braille rely on tactile memory.

There are other ways that education conceptualizes memory. For example, the literature talks about "procedural memory", "experiential memory" and others. These are memory systems that are intricately entwined with critical thinking skills. Conceptual hierarchies of information, schemas, and scripts are also ways that memory organization is talked about in education. These ways of considering the memory’s functioning however rely on cognition and organization, whereas the more sensory-based memory framework relies more heavily upon attention, persistence and the ability to use strategies to retain information. For example, a given smell can stimulate two memory systems. When one recognizes the smell and identifies the specific source, it is considered to be olfactory memory. However, the memories of people, places and events that the smell may evoke depend more on organization, association, and cognition.

Remember that everyday factors such as the amount of sleep one has had, stress level, and general wellness can affect the retention of information. There are though, a number of things that an instructor can do to assist in the task of retaining information.

• Try to present information thematically. This will allow the student to associate the new material with previously learned material. Isolated facts are difficult to retain.
• Build redundancy into lectures. Make sure that important concepts are repeated throughout the lecture.
• Try to use a multi-sensory format.
• Don’t rely only on verbal output; visual and auditory cues are important to maximize retention of material for the greatest number of students.
• If there is material which has to be learned rote, the 12 cranial nerves for example, give the student examples as to how you the instructor managed to put that material to memory. This will illustrate the usage of mnemonics, and association in a real life setting.
• When writing an exam, remember that the cue you give in the question should be one which has been associated with the answer in class or in the text. When students cannot "pull out" an answer, it can be because the cue (question) was too obtuse to be associated with the answer.

Comments? Mailto:trish-blair@redwoods.edu

-Joan Crawford-