The Mystery of Memory

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The Mystery of Memory

• 23rd Annual TNADE Conference
• Gatlinburg, TN
• October 25, 2007

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The Mystery of Memory

• Presenter Information
• Kay Haralson, Associate Professor
• Retention Specialist
• Institutional Research and Effectiveness
• Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN
• haralsonk_at_apsu.edu www.apsu.edu/haralsonk

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The Mystery of Memory

• Definition
• Memory is an organisms ability to store,
  retain, and subsequently retrieve information.
  (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory)
• Memory is the most extraordinary phenomenon in
  the natural world. (Thompson and
  Madigan )

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The Mystery of Memory

• So what determines what gets stored and what gets
  trashed?
• Why are some memories easily retrieved and others
  put up a fight?
• Why can I remember what type of flowers were in
  the lei I wore at a luau in Hawaii 8 years ago,
  but cant remember if I turned off the coffeepot
  this morning?
• Why can I remember faces of former students, but
  not names?
• How can I purposefully create lasting memories?
• Understanding how memory works will shed light on
  some of these questions.

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The Mystery of Memory

• Even Peppermint Patty knew the workings of the
  mind were a mystery.

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The Mystery of Memory

• Three Phases of Memory
• Learning or encoding phase
• Storage phase
• Retrieval phase
• Source Sprenger

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The Mystery of Memory

• Problems can occur during any phase
• Learning phase
• Lack of attention, focus or concentration
• Storage phase
• Sleep deprivation, interruptions during storage
• Retrieval phase
• Lack of appropriate cues or triggers, distortion
  of information
• Source Sprenger

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The Mystery of Memory

• Categorization of memory is generally based on
  three processes that relate to the duration of
  memory retention.
• Sensory memory
• Short term memory (temporary)
• Immediate memory
• Active working memory
• Long term memory (permanent)
• Implicit memory (nondeclarative)
• Explicit memory (declarative)
• Source, Sprenger, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Sensory Memory
• Information enters our brain through our senses.
  (i.e. seeing, hearing, touching, etc.)
• It is what is remembered in the initial 200-500
  milliseconds after an event is perceived.
• Operates subconsciously or consciously
• It is where we put information briefly while we
  decide what to do with it.
• Capacity of approximately 12 items
• Degrades very quickly, stays up to 30 seconds
• If information is determined to be unimportant it
  drops out of the temporary memory system.
• Source Sprenger, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Short Term Memory
• Immediate memory (conscious memory)
• The process by which sensory memory is held in
  the brain.
• Allows us to take in new information and hold it
  while more is added.
• Adult capacity for this short term storage is
  between 3 to 5 items
• Can recall something from several seconds to up
  to a minute without rehearsal.
• Source Sousa, Sprenger, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Look at the letters below for 3 seconds and try
  to remember as many as possible.
• NRAFBITBRUTK

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The Mystery of Memory

• Your sensory memory saw all twelve letters, but
  your immediate memory probably only placed 3-5 in
  short term storage.
• If I asked you to recall the letters 5 minutes
  from now, you would probably remember even fewer.

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The Mystery of Memory

• However, if the twelve letters are chunked into
  meaningful groups of letters, you will be able to
  recall more letters. Try again.
• NRA FBI TBR UTK

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The Mystery of Memory

• A chunk is a perceptual unit. If the letters
  are random, each letter is a chunk of
  information. But if the letters are separated
  into meaningful groups, each group becomes a
  chunk.
• Chunking can increase memory capacity.
• The ideal size for chunking is 3 (whether
  meaningful or not). Ex. Phone numbers, car tags,
  street addresses, initials.
• Sources Thompson Madigan, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Short Term Memory
• Active Working Memory
• When something from sensory memory requires more
  of our attention it is transferred to working
  memory.
• This type of memory is between immediate and long
  term memory
• Working memory is like a computer screen, where
  we work on something and eventually dispose of it
  or save it elsewhere.
• Information can be retrieved for up to a minute
  without rehearsal.
• Capacity very limited, stores between 5-9 items.
• Sources Sousa, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Short Term Memory
• Active Working Memory and Memory Process
• It is where new and old information meet.
• When exposed to new information our brains look
  for hooks or previously established memories
  related to the new information to increase the
  likelihood of recall.
• Allows you to retain a question while your mind
  searches for an answer.
• Allows you to hold information as you use
  strategies to remember.
• Allows you to hold parts of problems as you solve
  them.
• Stores the first words of a sentence so you
  understand the sentence when you get to the end.
• Sources Sousa, Sprenger, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Four Factors Affecting Immediate and Working
  Memories are Important for Learning
• Interest
• Intent
• Understanding
• Prior Knowledge
• Even without the others, having the intent to
  learn can make the difference.
• Source Hopper

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The Mystery of Memory

• Time Limits of Working Memory
• Preadolescents 5-10 minutes
• Adolescents and adults 10-20 minutes
• After this time, focus drifts, fatigue, boredom
  sets in
• To maintain focus, you must change the way you
  deal with the item. (i.e. switch from listening
  to physically applying it, talk about it, make
  connections to other learning)
• When an item is important and unresolved we can
  keep it in working memory for longer periods of
  time until it is resolved and clears out of
  working memory. (Ex. Practicing for a test,
  taking the test, dumping the information.)
• Source Sousa

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The Mystery of Memory

• Implication for Teachers
• Consider capacity limits and time limits on
  working memory when planning lessons.

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The Mystery of Memory

• Long Term Memory
• Implicit Memory (Nondeclarative)
• Memory that occurs without conscious effort, was
  not consciously learned, and cannot be explained
  easily.
• More involved with feelings and how to rather
  than what.
• Three types
• Conditioned response
• Procedural memory
• Emotional memory
• Sources Sousa, Sprenger, Thompson and
  Madigan, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Conditioned Response
• Formed by repetition
• Creates strong networks in the brain, lasting
  memories
• Some may require a trigger
• Other may be automatic, i. e. singing the
  alphabet, reciting multiplication facts
• Use this memory type to help students learn using
  melodies, rhymes, metaphors, etc.
• Source Sprenger

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The Mystery of Memory

• Procedural Memory
• Implicit-procedural memory deals with knowing how
  rather than knowing what.
• It is the learning of motor and cognitive skills,
  automated procedures, i.e. driving a car, finding
  our way to work, counting, math operations.
• Procedural memory is enhanced by rote rehearsal.
• Procedural and declarative memories are stored in
  different parts of the brain.
• In procedural memory a set of steps can be
  followed to produce an outcome, without knowing
  why we are doing them.
• Sources Sousa, Sprenger, Thompson Madigan

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The Mystery of Memory

• Emotional Memory
• The most powerful memory.
• Neutral experiences leave little to remember.
• Experiences that stir emotions are remembered
  longer. You remember what you FEEL.
• Emotional memory accounts for our fears, phobias,
  likes and dislikes.
• Emotions affect attention, perception, decision
  making and memory.
• Creative thinking skills and problem solving can
  create emotional memory.
• Using debates, role playing, skits, adds emotions
  to learning.
• Sources Sousa, Sprenger, Thompson Madigan

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The Mystery of Memory

• Implication for Teachers
• Personalize learning, make up stories, have
  students create stories and relate information to
  life experiences.
• Stir EMOTION!

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The Mystery of Memory

• Long Term Memory
• Explicit Memory (Declarative)
• Memory explicitly stored and saved, i.e. names,
  facts, music, objects.
• A conscious and almost effortless recall of facts
  and events.
• Can be consciously retrieved and put into words
• Two types
• Episodic Memory
• Semantic Memory
• Source Sousa, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Episodic Memory
• The conscious memory of life events.
• Is location and circumstance related.
• To remember what you did last Saturday you must
  remember where you were. This leads to who you
  saw, what you said, what you felt, etc.
• Importance for learning Triggers can be used to
  retrieve episodic memory, i.e. A student looks at
  the whiteboard or the teacher, visualizes the
  teacher explaining a problem and triggers the
  memory of how to work the problem.
• Sources Sprenger, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Implication for Teachers
• Test in the same environment in which the
  learning occurred, with the same teacher in the
  room.
• Provide TRIGGERS!

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The Mystery of Memory

• Semantic Memory
• Knowledge of facts not related to any event.
• Must be practiced or rehearsed for encoding.
• Must be consciously processed for retention.
• Teaching strategies for semantic information
  include mnemonics, acronyms, providing hooks,
  etc.
• Sources Sprenger, wikipedia

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The Mystery of Memory

• Keys to Memory
• Pay attention - intentionally stay focused
• Visualization - create a visual in your mind, the
  brain thinks in pictures and concepts, not words
• Association - find something to connect the
  information to (hooks)
• Imagination - get creative when visualizing or
  making associations
• Source www.world-mysteries.com/sci_memory1.htm

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The Mystery of Memory

• Implication for Teachers
• By adding a visual representation of a situation
  that is relevant to the student, greater meaning
  is obtained.

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The Mystery of Memory

• Enhance Memory and Increase Retention
• Rehearsal
• Rote Rehearsal -When something needs to be
  learned exactly, i.e. memorizing a poem, dates.
• More likely to remember if rehearsal is spaced
  out over extended periods of time.
• Chunking aids memory and recall.
• Elaborative Rehearsal - Information does not need
  to be exact, more important to associate new
  ideas with prior knowledge, make connections and
  assign meaning.
• Goal of learning is not just to acquire
  knowledge, but to use it in various settings that
  are relevant.
• Source Sousa Sprenger

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The Mystery of Memory

• Implication for Teachers
• Information is most likely to get stored if it
  makes sense and has meaning. The more we teach
  through declarative memory, involving
  understanding and meaning, the more students will
  succeed and enjoy learning.
• Source Sousa

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The Mystery of Memory

• Forgetting and Degree of Learning
• How well something was stored in memory to start
  with directly influences whether or not you can
  successfully remember when you need to.
• The rate of information loss over time appears is
  be the same for all groups, regardless of the
  amount of information learned
• We remember best that which comes first, second
  best that which comes last, and least that which
  is in the middle. (Primacy-Recency Effect)
• Distributed practice leads to better retention
  than does massed practice.
• Sources Sousa, Thompson and Madigan

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The Mystery of Memory

• Factors that Influence Memory
• Aerobic exercise - increases the oxygen to the
  brain
• A healthy heart - the brain needs a good supply
  of blood
• Healthy diet and plenty of water
• Sleep - the brain molds newly learned information
  into lasting memories most successfully while we
  rest.
• Stress or depression - anxiety or depression
  hampers memory
• Mental exercise - keeping your mind active
• Memory is enhanced by color, pleasant smells,
  space, movement, patterns, repetition,
  connections, fun
• Sources Sprenger, www.memoryzine.com ,
  www.world-mysteries.com/sci_memory1.htm

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References

• Chrapko, Tonia. Secrets of the Brain the
  Mystery of Memory. Science Mysteries. 20 July
  2007. http//www.world-mysteries.com/sci_memory1.h
  tm
• Hooper, Carolyn, Memory Principles. Study
  Skills Memory Principles. 2003. 24 July 2007.
  http//www.mtsu.edu/studskl/mem.html
• Sousa, D. (2008). How the Brain Learns
  Mathematics. California Corwin Press, Inc.
• Sprenger, M. (2003). Differentiation Through
  Learning Styles and Memory. California Corwin
  Press, Inc.
• Thompson, R., Madigan, S. (2005). Memory the
  Key to Consciousness. Washington, D.C. Joseph
  Henry Press.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory
• http//www.meriter.staywellsolutionsonline.com
• http//www.memoryzine.com
• http//www.eurekalert.org

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Students Assisting with Research in Conjunction
with APSU 1000Many Thanks!

• Andrew S. Adams
• Wendi R. Austin
• Caroline C. Boyd
• David G. Fiorino
• Paul M. Harrison
• Chelsey D. Hoard
• Omar Schrier
• Tristram Tuitele
• Donald D. Wenger

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• Thank You for Your Attention
• This presentation is available as a power point
  at www.apsu.edu/haralsonk