Understanding Memory

Strategies for Learning

Neurodevelopment“Short Lessons”

Carol LandaSept,2013

ND 5050 Metacognition Lesson

How Can I Remember Everything?

Objectives

You will be able to…

Explain how your brain processes and stores key facts

Identify strategies to increase long-term memory (storage)and retrieval

Key Vocabulary/Concepts

Stimuli (Sensory inputs) Sensory Register Attention (how does it influence memory) Short Term Memory (STM) - Immediate and Active Working

Memory Chunking Encoding Long-term memory Learning Strategies - Rote vs. Elaborative

Why Is This Important to YOU?

This year, your brain is going to receive LOTS of new information.

Your performance in this class (your grade) will depend on your ability to:

understand and link this new information to previous learnings and to your own life experiences.

Use new and past information to problem-solve

Visualizing Brain Processing

The brain goes through many steps before information is put into long-term memory.

At each step, information can be lost We can’t “see” the brain process information BUT…we can create a visual (a model) that can

represent the process Look at the next slide (you have a handout) Can you understand the diagram ? Identify some key

concepts you can understand, and some you cannot

Information Processing Model

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns

Information Processing Model

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns

To make sense of this diagram we need to understand the vocabulary used on the diagram and the how the diagram relates to you.

Lets break the diagram down into steps!

Breaking the model down into steps

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns

What does the highlighted area represent?

What are two (separate) words you could use to describe sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste?

Information Processing Model

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns

What does the highlighted area represent?

You SENSORY REGISTER filters incoming stimuli (the lines represent a side-view of venetian blinds)

It allows some stimuli to enter immediate memory

Short term memory (STM) - Immediate

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns

IMMEDIATE MEMORY –lasts for 30 seconds. Info is passed on to working memory or discarded. 1. What good is a 30 second memory?

Past experience (bad/ good) can affect information transfer to immediate memory

Present environment affects your attention (and therefore movement of information into STM.

STM – Active Working Memory

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns

ACTIVE WORKING MEMORY (AWM) is a temporary, limited space where you can combine previously learned information with new information. Ideas are built, taken apart, or reworked for eventually storage.

Info in AWM must be linked and stored in < 25 min or it is lost.

Practice: STM Task

I am going to quickly read a list of 10 things you might find carry in your book bag. I will only read the list ONCE!

After I have read the list you will write down as many of the names as you can. You won’t be able to SEE the list. You will only be able to hear the list. Don’t write until I tell you!

Paper clips

Stapler

Marker

Sticky notes

Notepad

Pencil

Ruler

Calculator

White-out

Glue

How many words or concepts fit on your Working Memory Table?

Where (in the list) were the words located that you remembered?

How did you remember the words? (did you use a trick, did you associate the words with each other?)

Does “seeing the words” help?

Could you create a story to remember the words?

Capacity of Working Memory

Did you remember at least 5 items? Average for adolescents is 7. varies with age, and type of input (visual, just facts, etc.)

What happens if your working memory space isn’t big enough? Information is lost, unless we can put the same amount of

information in less space.

Paper clipMarkerStapler

Sticky

not

es

Notepad

White out

The Limits of Working Memory

Random sequences of numbers can also be hard to remember. Can you remember a 10-digit number?

READY….

Five seconds…don’t write it yet

4915082637

What was the number?

What was your strategy for remembering the number?

Would looking at the same sequence of numbers divided into three groups make a difference?

Five seconds…don’t write it yet

491-508-2637

Chunking

Did it help to separate the number into “three groups”?

Could you associate any of the groups of numbers with a memory or meaning that made them easier to remember?

Sometimes, chunking takes the form of a mnemonic or a picture. A mnemonic translates information into a form that is easier to remember that the original form. What mnemonic identifies the colors of the rainbow?

In what order do you know them?

Rehearsal – Vocabulary definitions

Before we move to the topic of long-term memory - let’s take time to “rehearse” (or review) new information

Identify a single word that can be used to identify an input that comes in through one of your five senses

What is the sensory register? Identify and define the two components of short term

memory What is a mnemonic? We discussed the word attention, but never defined it.

Define attention (based on today’s class).

In order to answer questions that use vocabulary,

be sure you understand the meaning of each word.

Application and Inference Questions (Typical 9th grade questions)

What is an example of a STIMULUS?

How are IMMEDIATE and WORKING MEMORY different?

Why might the SENSORY REGISTER “drop” the wrong information?

How is ATTENTION linked to IMMEDIATE and WORKING MEMORY?

Provide one mnemonic (besides ROYGBIV) that you learned in middle school.

The questions are quite difficult, if you don’t know the meaning of the vocabulary in the questions!

Long Term Memory (LTM) Can you store/retrieve information?

Sousa, D. (2011). How the Brain Learns

LONG-TERM STORAGE occurs when information is encoded (linked to memories or similar facts) during deep sleep.

Information must be in working memory to be transferred to LTM

LTM is influenced by your experiences and views (cognitive belief system) and self-concept (your feelings about yourselves)

Encoding

Storing information in small chunks that are connected by neurons (a pathway)

The more connections the easier it is to retrieve information and apply it to a variety of situations.

Must use the pathway repeatedly or it is lost

Newborn 3 mo 15 mo 24 mo

Storing Information (Encoding)

Does this new learning make sense?

Does this new learning have meaning (relevance to me)?

Working memory asks two questions before it stores info.

Mak

es S

ense

Has Meaning (Is it relevant to YOU)

Little SenseLittle Meaning

Little Chance of LT Storage

Makes SenseLittle Meaning

Low to Moderate Chance

of LT Storage

Has Meaning Little Sense

Moderate Chance of LT Storage

Makes SenseHas MeaningHigh Chance of LT Storage

You can best store and remember information that is

relevant and make sense!

Demonstration - Encoding

Assume the dry oatmeal is previous knowledge (stored information and memories) and the water is new knowledge.

If I put energy (heat) into the water, connections between the new information and previous information are made ( .

Energy (study) + Time new information links to (and can change) stored information.

Importance of Time, Sense, and Relevance

The brain needs time and rehearsal to identify/create connections and pathways long term memories.

Elaborative rehearsal – make associations and relationships between new and past experiences (attach sense and relevance)

Rote rehearsal – memorizing the material exactly as taught

3 -24 – 7

3 -24 - 7

3 -24 - 7

Types of elaborative rehearsal

(only words)5%What you remember if you learn or study using each learning strategy (by itself)

Passive

Active

Closure

Explain encoding.

What types of elaborative rehearsal were used in this presentation?

How does elaborative rehearsal help to get information that is in AWM into LTM?

To check your understanding, teach the information processing model to a classmate (using correct vocabulary)