This presentation is associated with Technology Together: Whole-School Professional Development for Capability and Confidence, by Renata Phelps and Anne Graham. Copyright 2013, ISTE ® (International Society for Technology in Education), Distribution and copying of this presentation is allowed for educational purposes and use with full attribution to ISTE and the authors. The research informing this publication was conducted as a collaboration between the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University and the Catholic Education Office, Lismore Diocese, NSW, Australia and was funded by the Australian Research Council. Other resources are available from the Technology Together website: Clipart is drawn from Masterclips 500,000 ® IMSI

PRELIMINARY NOTE This presentation is intended to be used with staff as part of the Technology Together process. We strongly recommend that you modify the presentation, selecting those slides which convey concepts most appropriately to your staff. You may choose to delete some slides or insert additional material relevant to your local context. This is a hidden slide and it will not show in your presentation.

Memory and retention Resource 26 || Presentation

Many less confident computer users approach computer learning from the perspective of needing to ‘memorise’ things. This is not surprising, since computers have been shrouded in jargon In training contexts people are usually guided through a large number of ‘steps’ and there is an implication that you need to memorise these steps. While memory does undoubtedly plays a role, computer learners generally struggle when they focus on ‘memorisation’ as a learning strategy.While memory does undoubtedly plays a role, computer learners generally struggle when they focus on ‘memorisation’ as a learning strategy.

Writing down or reading through steps can be valuable, however it can often get in the way of: really looking at what is being shown to you seeing the patterns and relating it to what you already know and can do Repeating the process a few times focusing on key points which underpin the process. For most people, the best way of ‘remembering’ is through ‘doing’.

I wrote down everything that would help me remember the steps... It occurred to me however that this was a waste of time and really not practical. Sure I could write down some things but to write absolutely everything was silly, especially when the computer has the “help” function. This was an eye opening experience.

When learning involves a degree of ‘difficulty’ it leads to long-term learning outcomes Training contexts which make learning easy during the session can fail to support long-term performance Contexts that introduce difficulties for learners can enhance post-training performance (Bjork, 1994)

As teachers we ‘like’ helping our students and making learning easy for them… it makes our learners happy and makes us feel liked, wanted and needed. However, learning is best retained when it involves a degree of difficulty.

“We should probably find the absence, not the presence, or errors, mistakes and difficulties to be distressing – a sign that we are not exposing ourselves to the kinds of conditions that most facilitate our learning, and our self-assessment of that learning.” (Bjork, 1994, p.201)

Small group discussion Share your own experiences and perspectives on “memorising” technology steps. Discuss how you feel about using the “help files” (as an alternative to memorising or writing down all the steps). Brainstorm features and/or shortcuts that staff have discovered are common across many different software programs e.g. save, cut and paste, accessing help

Weekly challenge Access the online help section of a software program that you regularly use. Use the ‘Help manual’ to find out how to do one new thing. Metacognition in the classroom Do you try and make your students’ learning easy and comfortable? How do students respond when they encounter difficulties?

This presentation is associated with Technology Together: Whole-School Professional Development for Capability and Confidence, by Renata Phelps and Anne Graham. Copyright 2013, ISTE ® (International Society for Technology in Education), Distribution and copying of this presentation is allowed for educational purposes and use with full attribution to ISTE and the authors. The research informing this publication was conducted as a collaboration between the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University and the Catholic Education Office, Lismore Diocese, NSW, Australia and was funded by the Australian Research Council. Other resources are available from the Technology Together website: Clipart is drawn from Masterclips 500,000 ® IMSI