Issue 166: Jan 23, 2012 Connections Newsletter

Using Mnemonics as Memory Tools

Toni Enloe
Jan 24, 2012

How can mnemonics be used to assist students in remembering large chunks of new information?

It was 9:15 in the evening when the telephone rang. On the other end was a former student. After brief hellos, he shared that his girlfriend and he had been having a discussion and needed to ask a science question. After the question was answered, but before the student hung up, he asked if I wanted him to sing "The Sun" song (our name for it). Delighted that he even remembered the song he had learned in his 8th grade science class, I encouraged him to share. Remembering all of the words, he sang the song. He informed me that not only did he remember that song, but he remembered all of the others he had learned that year. He was 23 years old. Now, at the age of 32 he shares these songs with his fiancée's children.

 

Having a musical background, using music as a mnemonic to help my students access content quickly, came naturally.Convincing 8th grade boys that it was cool to sing was another matter. However, when exam time came, you could see all of the students silently working through their science songs to access those science facts that would help them answer those higher level questions.

What are mnemonics? Simply stated, they are instructional tools that assist students in learning large chunks of content or difficult content so that they can readily access the information at a later time.As students, we all used mnemonics to help us remember information whether it was the colors of the visible spectrum, Roy G. Biv, the Great Lakes, HOMES, or notes on the treble staff - Every Good Boy Does Fine. While there are many that we may have learned as students, the ones that may have a more lasting effect are those that students create themselves. They don't have to make sense to work.Sometimes the most bizarre mnemonics are the most effective.

While no single method works for all students, mnemonics can be great memory tools. Mnemonics can take many forms, formulas, rhymes, songs, dances, acrostics, etc.Regardless of the form, the purpose is the same.

There are five types of mnemonics that teachers typically have students use.The mnemonic SCRAM can help you remember the five.

Sentences/Acrostics - Math- Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally for order of operations

Chunking - This type of mnemonic is useful in remembering numbers and is based on the idea that short term memory can only hold a limited number of things. For adults this number of items falls between the 5-9 range. Think about your own phone number or someone elses. You probably chunk the numbers into smaller pieces.

Rhymes and Songs - Students who learn tunes easily find particularly useful as a learning tool. You probably learned the alphabet to a familiar tune, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".

Acronyms - To create acronyms the first letter from a group of words is used to form a new word. Some familiar acronyms include: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) SCUBA ( Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), OR LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)

Method of Loci - This technique utilizes the visual cortex of the brain. It uses memory paths or peg lists. This method can help students remember a long list of items by having them associate the words from the list with images. This peg list is often used:

1. bun
2. shoe
3. tree
4. door
5. hive
6. sticks
7. heaven
8. gate
9. line
10. hen

Let's say that you have ten items that you want to buy at the grocery store and you don't have access to a notepad. Milk, eggs, bread, peanut butter, apples, tomato soup, hamburger, butter, Oreos, cheese. Now let's see how we could remember the grocery list using the peg list above. Using the list above visualize each to the items on your grocery list with the pegs.

Ex: Bun dripping with butter

For details on how to use these memory paths check out this website,

http://web-us.com/memory/mnemonic_techniques.htm

While mnemonics focus on rote memory they shouldn't be used in isolation. When used in combination with Extending Thinking Strategies, they can assist students in getting to a deeper understanding of concepts. The focus of lessons then shifts from memorization of laundry lists of facts to challenging student thinking.