Working memory is commonly called "short term memory". Information here is being mentally processed for retention and placement into long-term memory. Working memory has a duration of between 5 to 20 seconds. The information can be processed automatically (if interesting) or by purposeful chunking.
Long term memory has a purportedly unlimited capacity. Information moved here has been encoded and connected with prior knowledge to anchor it. This is where the mind stores declarative knowledge like procedures and facts, and personal memories of emotional stimulations (like hiking the Grand Canyon). Retrieving the information is connected to how the information was stored. For instance, using a mnemonic device to learn the mathematical order of operations (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally) means that the operational order Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiply/Divide, Add/Subtract, [PEMDAS] can be called to use by reciting the device.
A student seeing PEMDAS for the first time is storing the visual (and possibly auditory) information in their sensory register. Being required to learn the information for class, they pay Attention and the information is moved to short term memory. The students know they need to be able to recall this info. One student tells themself they will "remember", and another student recites "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" three times and writes it down to repeat it in sets throughout the day. The student using the Mnemonic device and paying purposeful attention is storing the information in their long term memory and connecting the order with information they already know (as they know what parenthesis are, how to multiply/divide, and add/subtract). The student not using a mnemonic or paying further attention risks the information expiring from short term memory after 20 seconds and will be surprised and dismayed when he seems it on the exam.
This model of human memory was described by Dr. Richard Atkinson & Dr. Richard Shriffin. In their Model of Human Memory attention plays the key role in moving information from sensory memory to short term memory. Without attention the information does not make it past sensory memory at all.
Two strategies to rehearse information and encode it into long term memory are mnemonics and meaningful learning. In the high school science classroom students will learn a great number of cycles and hierarchies that will be difficult to relate to previously learned information. By creating mnemonics for these cycles the students are creating an easier framework to stitch the information into. For example: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, is the phylogenic hierarchy in biology. That is a LOT of words and some of them have probably never been heard before. A mnemonic, created with the first letters of each word and turned into a humorous or meaningful ditty, gives the student something catchy they can rehearse. Dear King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup! Encouraging students to make up their own helps them make the mnemonics meaningful, although some of the ditties they come up with may not be school appropriate, at least they will remember.
Making learning meaningful is a worthwhile strategy for turning short term memory into long term memory but can require more work. Encouraging the students to put things in their own words and connect new material to old material helps the student process the information on a level they are comfortable and familiar with. It is much easier to recall that urea breaks down and releases ammonia if the students can connect the words and concept with that unforgettable smell of cat urine.
References:
- Microsoft Free Clipart. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=memory&ex=2
- Santrock, John W. (2011) Educational Psychology. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Willems, Patricia. (2006) Educational Psychology Casebook. Pearson Education, Inc.
- Willems, Patricia. (2013) Information Processing (Slides). Retrieved from www.Blackboard.com.
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