10 Strategies to Enhance Students' Memory By Glenda Thorne, Ph.D.

The memory demands for school-age children are much greater than they are for adults. As adults, we have already acquired much of the knowledge and skills we need to function day to day. Although the knowledge base for some fields such as technology changes rapidly, the new information is generally highly specific and builds on existing knowledge. On the other hand, school children are constantly bombarded with new knowledge in multiple topic areas in which they may or may not be interested. Additionally, they are expected to both learn and demonstrate the mastery of this knowledge on a weekly basis. Thus, an effective and efficient memory is critical for school success. Many students have memory problems. Students who have deficits in registering information in short-term memory often have difficulty remembering instructions or directions they have just been given, what was just said during conversations and class lectures and discussions, and what they just read. Students who have difficulty with working memory often forget what they are doing while doing it. For example, they may understand the three-step direction they were just given, but forget the second and third steps while carrying out the first step. If they are trying to solve a math problem that has several steps, they might forget the steps while trying to solve the problem. When they are reading a paragraph, they may forget what was at the beginning of the paragraph by the time they get to the end of the paragraph. These students will look like they have difficulty with reading comprehension. In facts, they do; but the comprehension problem is due to a failure of the memory system rather than the language system. Students who have deficits in the storage and retrieval of information from long-term memory may study for tests, but not be able to recall the information they studied when taking the tests. They frequently have difficulty recalling specific factual information such as dates or rules of grammar. They have a poor memory of material they earlier in the school year or last year. They may also be unable to answer specific questions asked of them in class even when their parents and/or teachers think they really know the information. The following ten general strategies are offered to help students develop a more efficient and effective memory. 1. Give Directions in Multiple Formats: Students benefit from being given directions in both visual and verbal formats. In addition, their understanding and memorizing of instructions could be checked by encouraging them to repeat the directions given and explain the meaning of these directions. Examples of what needs to be done are also often helpful for enhancing memory of directions. 2. Teach Students to Over-learn Material: Students should be taught the necessity of "over-learning" new information. Often they practice only until they are able to perform one error-free repetition of the material. However, several error-free repetitions are needed to solidify the information. 3. Teach Students to Use Visual Images and Other Memory Strategies: Another memory strategy that makes use of a cue is one called word substitution. The substitute word system can be used for information that is hard to visualize, for example, for the word occipital or parietal. These words can be converted into words that sound familiar that can be visualized. The word occipital can be converted to exhibit hall (because it sounds like exhibit hall).The student can then make a visual image of walking into an art museum and seeing a big painting of a brain with big bulging eyes (occipital is the region of the brain that controls vision). With this system, the vocabulary word the student is trying to remember actually becomes the cue for the visual image that then cues the definition of the word. 4. Give Teacher-Prepared Handouts Prior to Class Lectures: Class lectures and series of oral directions should be reinforced by teacher-prepared handouts. The handouts for class lectures could consist of a brief outline or a partially completed graphic organizer that the student would complete during the lecture. Having this information both enables students to identify the salient information that is given during the lectures and to correctly organize the information in their notes. Both of these activities enhance memory of the information as well. The use of Post-Its to jot information down on is helpful for remembering directions. 5. Teach Students to Be Active Readers: To enhance short-term memory registration and/or working memory when reading, students should underline, highlight, or jot key words down in the margin when reading chapters. They can then go back and read what is underlined, highlighted, or written in the margins. To consolidate this information in long-term memory, they can make outlines or use graphic organizers. Research has shown that the use of graphic organizers increases academic achievement for all students. 6. Write Down Steps in Math Problems: Students who have a weakness in working memory should not rely on mental computations when solving math problems. For example, if they are performing long division problems, they should write down every step including carrying numbers. When solving word problems, they should always have a scratch piece of paper handy and write down the steps in their calculations. This will help prevent them from losing their place and forgetting what they are doing. 7. Provide Retrieval Practice for Students: Research has shown that long-term memory is enhanced when students engage in retrieval practice. Taking a test is a retrieval practice, i.e., the act of recalling information that has been studied from long-term memory. Thus, it can be very helpful for students to take practice tests. When teachers are reviewing information prior to tests and exams, they could ask the students questions or have the students make up questions for everyone to answer rather than just retelling students the to-be-learned information. Also, if students are required or encouraged to make up their own tests and take them, it will give their parents and/or teachers information about whether they know the most important information or are instead focused on details that are less important.

8. Help Students Develop Cues When Storing Information: According to the memory research, information is easier retrieved when it is stored using a cue and that cue should be present at the time the information is being retrieved. For example, the acronym HOMES can be used to represent the names of the Great Lakes Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. The acronym is a cue that is used when the information is being learned, and recalling the cue when taking a test will help the student recall the information. 9. Prime the Memory Prior to Teaching/Learning: Cues that prepare students for the task to be presented are helpful. This is often referred to as priming the memory. For instance, when a reading comprehension task is given, students will get an idea of what is expected by discussing the vocabulary and the overall topic beforehand. This will allow them to focus on the salient information and engage in more effective depth of processing. Advance organizers also serve this purpose. For older students, Clif Notes for pieces of literature are often helpful aids for priming the memory. 10. Review Material Before Going to Sleep: It should be helpful for students to review material right before going to sleep at night. Research has shown that information studied this way is better remembered. Any other task that is performed after reviewing and prior to sleeping (such as getting a snack, brushing teeth, listening to music) interferes with consolidation of information in memory. CDL's on-line library contains more articles on this topic. Read more about memory. Guides for memorizing series Using Memory Effectively The following techniques with their exercises use associations with letters, images, maps, etc to help you remember. As you proceed through this list of techniques, try to think of strategies that would be useful to you! Some people use letters, some images, even songs. Each depends on how comfortable you are with, or how useful they are to, your way of thinking! 1. Acronyms An acronym is an invented combination of letters. Each letter is a cue to, or suggests, an item you need to remember. PEMDAS, sequence in solving or evaluating math equations Parenthesis | Exponents | Multiplication | Division | Addition | Subtraction ROY G. BIV, the colors of the visible spectrum Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo,Violet IPMAT, the stages of cell division Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telephase Practice your acronym 2. An acrostic is an invented sentence or poem with a first letter cue: The first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (PEMDAS, above) Sequence in solving or evaluating math equations Parenthesis | Exponents | Multiplication | Division | Addition | Subtraction Acrostic exercise GARBAGE | Acrostic exercise EGBDF 3. Rhyme-Keys: (for ordered or unordered lists) First, memorize key words that can be associated with numbers. example: bun = one; shoe = two, tree = three, door = four, hive = five, etc. Create an image of the items you need to remember with key words. Four basic food groups-- diary products; meat, fish, and poultry; grains; and fruit and vegetables Think of cheese on a bun (one), livestock with shoes on (two), a sack of grain suspended in a tree (three), a door to a room stocked with fruits and vegetables (four) Practice your rhymes 4. The Method of Loci: (for approximately twenty items) Select any location that you have spent a lot of time in and know well. Good for kinesthetic learners! Imagine yourself walking through the location, selecting clearly defined places--the door, sofa, refrigerator, shelf, etc. Imagine yourself putting objects that you need to remember into each of these places by walking through this location in a direct path. Again, you need a standard direct path and clearly defined locations for objects to facilitate the retrieval of these objects. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Nixon, you could imagine walking up to the door of your location and seeing a dollar bill stuck in the door; when you open the door Jefferson is reclining on the sofa and Nixon is eating out of the refrigerator. Practice your loci 5. The Keyword Method: (for foreign language vocabulary) First, after considering the foreign word you need to remember, select a key word in English that sounds like the foreign word.

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Next, imagine an image which involves the key word with the English meaning of the foreign word. For example, consider the Spanish word "cabina" which means "phone booth." For the English keyword, you might think of "cab in a ... ." You could then invent an image of a cab trying to fit in a phone booth. When you see the word "cabina" on the test, you should be able to recall the image of the cab and you should be able to retrieve the definition "phone booth." Practice your keywords The Image-Name Technique: (for remembering names) Simply invent any relationship between the name and the physical characteristics of the person. For example, if you had to remember Shirley Temple's name, you might ingrain the name in memory by noticing that she has "curly" (rhymes with Shirley) hair around her temples. Practice image-naming Chaining: (for ordered or unordered lists) Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember cues the next idea you need to recall. If you had to remember the words Napoleon, ear, door, and Germany, you could invent a story of Napoleon with his ear to a door listening to people speak in German. Practice your chaining

Note Taking Memory Technique When I was in graduate school, I spent several days revising for tests, and still made average scores. Part of my problem was having an undiagnosed learning difficulty related to my short-term memory. My comprehension, on the other hand, was brilliant. To solve this, I started using two memory techniques that worked wonders. I cut my revision time down to just one day, and scored higher on my exams. Not bragging, but I graduated with honors too. Below you will find the two techniques I used: The first memory technique is for note taking. Don't write anything down that you already know. Only put the notes of things you dont know on the page, and leave a three inch blank margin on the left hand side of the paper. Read through your notes after class, and put a word or phrase in the margin next to your notes. When you study for your test, fold the notes over and only look at your margin. If you can recall the information by looking at your key word, then tick it and move on to the next key word. If you cant remember the information associated with a key word, then circle the word and read over that part of your notes again. When you go through the list of key words in your margin again, only look at the key words that you circled. The next one is a memory tool that will help you keep facts in your head, and is based on a pegging system. A pegging system is where you connect what you need to remember, onto something else. The key with a pegging system is to make sure that the information and the object that you peg your information on, actually connect. Make sure the information that you want to remember has action - the crazier, the better. This will be the glue that will help you remember the information that you have pegged. You can peg things to your body, your car or even to objects in every room of your house. This memory technique works brilliantly with lists. So if you want to cut down on time and perform better on your tests, remember to use the note taking technique and the pegging system. These are simple tools that are guaranteed to work. Great memory techniques! by: admin I had used a variation of the technique you described for note taking, during my school days as well. Basically, using keywords to remember specific notes, crossing off those keywords that sufficiently remind you of the notes associated to them, and going through those that don't - that's the repetition and association memory techniques at work for us. Thanks, Keith, for sharing these excellent memory ideas here, with the readers of this website. -PR Memory Strategies To Obtain Photographic Memory

Everyone wants to have a photographic memory where the information that they memorize once is retained forever. Since everyone doesn't have such an extraordinary memory by birth, few simple memory strategies can be quite helpful in improving one's memory and retaining power. Some of the most vital memory strategies include: Monitor Your Comprehension It is possible to remember and complete retain only those ideas which we have understood correctly. So, look for way to monitor how well you have comprehended an idea. Always find logic behind ideas that occur to you. If you find the logic, you will be able to reconstruct the idea, even if u can't recall it immediately. Think in Colors, Shapes and Pictures While learning, use colors to highlight important information. Take the help of shapes such as boxes, circles and flow charts to organize the important ideas. Also, it is a known fact that concrete images are a lot each to remember in comparison to abstracts ideas. Therefore, pictures serve as one of the best instructional aids

and memory strategies. Generate Own Examples Do not always stick to the ideas provided to you in class or in books, put your experience and knowledge into use and related them with academic ideas. For example, relate your capacity to throw a ball with physical forces which you study in your class. You can relate a potted plant in your basement that is dying with photosynthesis. Similarly, you can relate almost all subjects that you study with some or the other facet of daily life. For instance, in chemistry the use of acids can be related to use of vinegar in cooking food, or in physics acceleration can be linked to riding a bicycle. Generating your own examples would help you to enhance your memory as well as exhibit your comprehension. Use Mnemonics Mnemonics are memory strategies or memory training techniques that help in improving memory and retaining power of the brain. They can be exceptionally powerful and useful, but should be used in appropriate amounts. This means that you should not waste too much time in learning or generating mnemonics and too less time on understand the material. The Mnemonic memory strategies are of various kinds such as: Rhymes are easy to remember and make learning a lot of fun. Students of psychology often use the rhyme 'Id is the Kid' to remember Freud's personality theory. The initial alphabets of a set of information are developed into sentences or phrases to remember lists of information. Acronyms extract the initials of sets of information and form a word using it. Effective Memory Strategies for Special Needs Children Students with learning disabilities frequently struggle with memory retention, which unfortunately often leads to academic problems. Children with memory retention problems, especially those unable to retain information on a short-term basis, usually have poor problem solving skills. Children struggling with remembering facts and information on a long-term basis, often struggle recalling details which they must know to pass exams. Many children struggle with short and long-term memory retention. However, various strategies can be utilized to improve these problems. Short-Term Versus Long-Term Memory Long-term memory (LTM) is the ability to remember specific details and information for an extended period of time. New vocabulary words and the ability to perform simple math functions is a common example of information retained on a longterm basis. Retaining this information is essential in later school years when students must write term papers and solve complicated math problems. Short-term memory (STM), also known as working memory, is the ability to remember facts and specific details for a short period of time. Students rely on STM when teachers provide detailed, multi-step instructions, and when they interact and work with their peers. Effective Memory Strategies for Special Needs Students The following are strategies teachers can employ to assist children struggling with long and short-term memory retention: Mnemonics Is a learning strategy where students associate familiar words, rhyming words or phrases, or songs with terms theyre struggling to remember. Listed below are common mnemonic devices: The ABC song popular among young children learning to read before E except after C FANBOYS to remember the 7 coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so Rote Practice Exercises Repetition is one of the best ways to learn and retain new information, so teachers should constantly review concepts with students struggling with memory loss problems. Teachers can create drills students can complete on their own, or conduct drills with the entire class. Whatever strategies teachers employ, if they repetitively review curriculum in their classrooms, students will retain more information. Hands-on learning After students become familiar with a concept, they can further their knowledge through hands-on learning. For example, students can learn about an insect and then conduct a dissection to study its anatomy. Students can also learn about a historical event that occurred in their community and then tour a historical site associated with it. If children cannot retain information presented to them in the classroom, it becomes very difficult for them to pass exams and have the necessary knowledge to study more advanced concepts. However, many teaching methods and strategies exist to help students struggling with memory loss. By implementing these methods and strategies, children can overcome their disabilities, earn good grades, and obtain future academic and career goals.