Understanding Memory Strategies for Learning Neurodevelopment “Short Lessons” Carol Landa Sept,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 clip Marker Stapler Sticky notes 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

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

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).

Application and Inference Questions (Typical 9 th 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.

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 mo24 mo

Storing Information (Encoding) Does this new learning make sense ? Does this new learning have meaning (relevance to me)?

Makes Sense Has Meaning (Is it relevant to YOU) Little Sense Little Meaning Little Chance of LT Storage Makes Sense Little Meaning Low to Moderate Chance of LT Storage Has Meaning Little Sense Moderate Chance of LT Storage Makes Sense Has Meaning High Chance of LT Storage

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 –

Types of elaborative rehearsal (only words) 5% What you remember if you learn or study using each learning strategy (by itself) PassivePassive ActiveActive

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)