MemoryMemory: is the way in which we record the

past and refer to it so that it may affect the present. Memory is an indication that

learning has persisted over time.

Memory

Imagine our lives without memory. There would be no savouring the remembrances of joyful moments, no guilt or misery over painful recollections, no learning of what to do or avoid doing again. Each moment would be a fresh experience. But each person would be a stranger, each task, dressing, cooking, biking, a challenge, every language a foreign language.

Memory

Our memory ahs the capacity for remembering countless voices, sounds and songs, tastes, smells, textures, faces, places, and happenings.

Memory

Have you ever experienced a song playing that triggers a memory of something, someone?

How about a certain smell triggering a memory?

Or a certain food?

Flashbulb Memories

Clear memories of emotional moments when the brain command: “PRINT THIS!”

For example:› Where were you when you saw the images

of planes crashing into the towers of the World Trade Centre?

› Will and Kate’s wedding day!!

Exercising Your Mind

An experiment in Short Term Memory

Answer the following questions about the items we use day after day:› Who is pictured on the $10 bill?› What letters do not appear on a telephone

dial?› On an ordinary traffic light, is the red or

the green light on top?

Two Kinds of Memory

1. Short Term Memory• Stores information for a few seconds (i.e.

phone number)• Takes sounds/visual images and turns

them into something meaningful (i.e. a phone number is remembered by repeating it or visualizing it on a piece of paper)

Short Term Memory

Stores 7 items (your brain will eliminate items if you try to store more in your short term memory)

Try It: Peach 1. Book 2. Sword 3. Car 4. Enemy 5. Mirror 6. Shoe 7. Thermometer 8. Clock 9. Brick 10. Bed 11. Salt 12. Flower 13. Calendar 14. Airplane 15.

Short Term Memory

Peach 1. Book 2. Sword 3. Car 4. Enemy 5. Mirror 6. Shoe 7. Thermometer 8. Clock 9. Brick 10. Bed 11. Salt 12. Flower 13. Calendar 14. Airplane 15.

Count as correct, only those words that match the list in the correct order. (On average, people score 7 correct).

How do we retain more?

“Chunking” – giving meaning to chunks of information

Try to remember the following group of letters

ckud – hsero - ppael

How much easier is it when we give meaning to these letters?

duck – horse - apple

Long Term Memory

Stores information for minutes to a lifetime

It stores: sounds, pictures, language, tastes, and smells

Vast storage powers but sometimes difficult to recall

Recalling Information from Long Term Memory Storage

How do we recall information?› Give it meaning

Example: Remember the horse kicked over the pail in the stable.

It is easier to remember meaning than exact words (i.e. summarize)

Blockades in Memory Recall

New info more difficult to recall (i.e. a similar telephone number may interfere with retrieving an old one, or vice versa).

Emotions (i.e. stress)

Improving Learning and Memory

1. Context – understand ideas rather than simply memorizing words and phrases (i.e. thinking/inquiry or application type questions)

2. Don’t Cram – short periods of study are more effective than one long period (i.e. 1hr/day versus 7hr in one day). The mind sorts and organizes between sessions. Cramming is sometimes necessary but not useful in remembering and understanding in the long run.

Improving Learning and Memory

3. Active Learning vs. Passive Learning- take notes- explain material back to yourself or a friend- whole learning (skim entire unit first

before reviewing in pieces)4. Over Learn – especially important parts. Overlearned material will say with you while “barely” learned material will escape you.

Other principles to aid learning

1. Learning transfer2. Be motivated – keep goals in mind3. Rewards4. Gain feedback5. Define your purpose6. Performance – observe behaviour7. Middle8. The Unusual – associate what you learn with

unusual experience9. Mnemonic devices – link what has been learned

with things to make remember more easily (i.e. M.A.I.N)

Follow Up Read page 86

› What is the name of an illness that affects one’s memory?

› What area of brain is affected?› Using the information in this note, hypothesize why you

think meditation therapy (i.e. repeated finger movements while accompanying singing) increases blood flow to the area of the brain that affects memory.

Read page 87› Using the arguments presented and what you have

learned about memory brainstorm ways internet use or technological construction of the webpages could be altered to achieve better learning results.

Read pages 250-251 “Memory Alteration”› Answer questions 1 and 2