MEMORY TECHNIQUES

This program aims on teaching children to plan their own learning. The first term was about memory techniques that facilitate long-term memory.

At the first mobility, held at Rayleigh, UK in November 2020, we participated at a training session about memory techniques that will help children to enhance their own learning. The memory techniques we learnt were:

1.  Talking

2.  Re-writing

3. Mind – map

4. Seahorse

5. The route technique

6. Music for memory

7. Mnemonics

1.  Talking

When you talk about something it becomes easier to remember. First, when you repeat something out loud you anchor the concept in two different senses: you get the physical sensation in your throat, tongue, and lips when voicing the concept and second, you hear it. When you hear it you can draw pictures and therefore, it is easier to recall the information. Also, when you talk about something you have to tell it in your own words. Putting the concept in your own words forces you to think about it and to understand it.  

2.  Re-writing

When students re-write something that helps them remember. When we learn something new, all the information stay at the short-term memory. If then I have to re-write, I should assess the importance and then categorize in our mind these informations. This process helps to organize these informations in our minds and therefore the recall them easier when needed. Therefore, re-writing enhance our memory. 

3. Mind – map

Mind mapping is used as a tool to aid memory. First, the children identify what they know about a subject by creating a map of their existing knowledge. Then,they learn more about this subject through various learning processes (videos, books, teaching) and they add their new knowledge to the initial mind map.

They can add to their maps as many times as they want. At the end, they present their work. During the preentation, they could add at their mind maps knowledge that occurs from the other's presentations. 

Presenting their work facilitates memory throung the technique of "Talking". 

4. Seahorse

5. The route technique

The route technique involves mentally placing items to be remembered along an imagined path. This memory technique is based on the idea that a person can best remember places that they are familiar with. So if you can link something (key ideas, items to a list) with the place that you know well, the location will act as a cue to help remember what you are trying to memorize. When I "walk" the path, I make connections which help me to recall information. 

6. Music for memory

Songs and jingles can be used as a mnemonic. A common exmple is how children remember the alphabet by singing the ABCs. Music for memory uses songs to help retention

7. Mnemonics

They are used to move knowledge from short-term to long-term memory. It is better when the students recognize or create their own mnemonics. A succesful mnemonic should be funny, have senses and symbols.  

After the UK mobility, the cypriot participants organised a staff meeting to foster good practice by disseminating all the information about memory. Following you can find some information the participants shared with their colleques:

Presentetion for colleques - memory.pptx

Then, we mainly worked on three memory techniques:

Mind maps

Mnemonics

Re-writing

Here is a presentation of the activities of the Cypriot team.

Memory.pptx