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THE EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM MEMORY LOSS AND TOOLS THAT HELP BRIDGE THE GAP

Two resources used: Dr. Mel Levine's MIND AT A TIME and INTEGRATING DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION AND UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN, by Tomlinson and McTighe.

"Learning [should] happen within students, not to them." Tomlinson and McTighe (p.22) But what happens when a child can't remember what he is supposed to be learning? What happens when the information, the knowledge, the "learning experience" leaks out and can't be remembered either in part or as a whole? Memory provides the avenue through which learning transends from an "outside" experience to an "inside" experience. It is what allows learning to become personal and introspective.



According to Dr. Levine, "Approximately 30 trillion synapses or nerve linkages exist within the human brain. That crowded network allows for plenty of strong connections, disconnections, and misconnections. Any misconnections can cause negative results, bringing on a backlash of emotional and motivational complications. (p.30)

Chart of neurodevelopmental functions. Focus on the Memory System

Why is the memory system so important?

"Vastly more extensive and strenuous use of the memory is required for school success than is needed in virtually any career you can name. Students must store and retrieve mounds of facts, skills, and concepts across unrelated subject areas and topics. Math procedures, spelling words, dates in history, foreign language vocabulary, and chemical symbols and valences all get crammed into a young mind's crowded storage silos. In creating this demand, education imposes an ever-growing burden on the neurodevelopmental functions that together make up memory capacity." (p.91)

"Nothing is ever learned without tapping into some component of memory. A child may be able to understand a fact, process, or concept as it is being explained or demonstrated; but without memory, none of it can be retrieved and applied. Without the collaboration of the proper memory functions, learning fails." (p.91)

"During your child's school years the pressure on memory intensifies across curriculum without any letup. Plenty of students, who are astute in many other ways, just can't withstand memory strains. So often I see a child with reduced memory capacirty stigmatized as "dumb" or "slow" when, in reality, he or she possesses fine intellectual faculties but a flawed information filing system." (p.91)

How does the memory system work? (poster) short-term memory, active working memory, long-term memory

SHORT-TERM MEMORY: Short-term memory allows for very brief retention (usually about two seconds) of new information. Short-term memory can hold a mere seven numbers at a time. Older children and adults can hold up to eight, but early elementary students can only cope with four or five. The space in short-term memory is incredibly tight, unlike long-term memory that seems to have limitless capacity. Therefore, whatever a teacher says in the classroom is way too big to fit in short-term memory. Therefore, students use a process called recoding. Recoding is a function durinjg which incoming data gets "...collapsed into a tighter format so it can fit snugly within short-term memory." (p.95)

Short-term memory also serves as one of our mind's relay stations. As chunks of data enter our minds, we can send them to long-term memory for later use, use them right away and then forget them, or make use of them and then save them for future use. Or we can simply forget the information and do nothing with it. These options have to be decided at breakneck speed - in less than two seconds. (pp. 94-95)

ACTIVE WORKING MEMORY: Memory we operate when we temporarily hold in mind all the different components of what we are trying to do right now. For example, a child remembers the instructions a coach gives while he is carrying them out. Active memory would have failed if while striving to get a firm grip on the football, the child forgot what the play was. Active memory holds information longer than short-term memory, but not as long as long-term memory. (p.93) Active working memory is, "... where short-term memory and long-term memory work together." (p.101

LONG-TERM MEMORY: This is where we store information like our name, address, telephone number, common spelling words, math facts, state capitals. Long-term memory is like an extensive and intricate filing system. (p.93)

KEY QUESTIONS PARENTS OR TEACHERS CAN ASK THAT MIGHT GUIDE THEM IN INSPECTING A CHILD'S SHORT-TERM MEMORY:
 * How effective is the student in recoding information? Can he paraphrase and summarize? Can he make pictures in his mind to help with remembering?
 * Does the student make use of strategies (such as forming associations, visualizing things, or whispering under one's breath) to secure information in short-term memory a bit longer?
 * Is this student able to handle various kinds of information in short-term memory? Or is there a notable difference between sequences, spatial formation, or verbal material and perhaps other information formats?
 * Does this child get confused when information gets presented at a rapid rate?

TOOLS THAT HELP THE INDIVIDUAL: (These are known as rehearsal strategies.)
 * Extending the life of data by whispering it under your breath
 * Form pictures in your mind's eye. If you are trying to remember a visual, put it into words. This lengthens the amount of time the information stays in your short-term memory.
 * Recoding (also known as paraphrasing) Throughout the day, students are constantly recoding or paraphrasing in order to handle the huge amount of information given to them. The most competent students are the ones who are the best at paraphrasing. This tool can be used daily and included in the job list. Everyone takes a turn paraphrasing important information.(p.97-98)

MANAGEMENT OF THE MEMORY SYSTEM: This should include: -timeline for studying material -description of the choice of material to be studied -way of putting infoprmation in organized format that will make it easier to remember -methods of self-testing -practice makes perfect, work often
 * Writing, spelling, mathematics and test taking are memory's biggest customers in the school. Practicing these skills can increase memory capacity.
 * Nobody's memory works with total accuracy.
 * Studying for tests is a healthy exercise for mind development. This is also a skill that will be used throughout adult life.
 * When putting together tests, teachers should allow students to bring several pages of notes.
 * Long-term filing works best if you go right to sleep after studying. The minutes before bedtime are crucial.
 * Class length should be extended longer than 40 minutes, and students should be given about 12 minutes at the end of each class to consolidate, perhaps in small groups. Block scheduling of six weeks of one course is also something to consider.
 * Before studying for a test, students should submit a study plan to the teacher. Schools should teach students how to do this.
 * underlining or highlighting, then review
 * summarize into a tape recorder
 * Mental arithmetic actually exercises active working memory. (pp.117-118)

TOOLS INCORPORATED INTO THE CLASS CURRICULUM: Not all students are innately good at paraphrasing, so turn it into a class activity so everyone learns how to do this.
 * "Paraphraser of the day".
 * Break the class down into study groups. Have a new leader in each group each day.
 * Have teacher spend last 10 minutes of each class reviewing subject matter.

EMOTIONS: "Emotions and neurodevelopmental functions are like a two-way street: emotional problems may weaken the functions and weakened functions can cause emotional turmoil." (p.41)

HOW DOES MEMORY LOSS EFFECT A STUDENT'S CHANCES FOR A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN ADULTHOOD? "A well-documented finding that report cards are notoriously poor at predicting how your child will eventually do in a career...Adult life offers many more opportunities for infinitely more kinds of minds than are available during child life. Parents need to find things to praise in a struggling child and make sure he doesn't give up on himself and get depressed and distressed while waiting for his day to come." (p.37)

"There are countless intellectually competent kids who unravwel in school because they understand far better than they remember. Ironically, there are many students with superb rote memory who succeed with flying colors through their school years simply by regurgitating factual data. They may be far less successful during adult careers when memory plays much less of a starring role." (p.32)

"...when you get back to school on Monday, take a good look around your classroom and pick out a kid you really envy, someone who gets fantastic grades, is good-looking and is a super jock, too, you know, a kid who always seems to do everything right. And who is popular. Look closely at that kid, an seriously consider the possibility that this may well be his finest hour! There is a good chance he'll be working for you someday." (p.37)



CONCLUSION: Memories make life meaningful. Without a functioning memory, success in school, in the work place, and in life would be impossible.Therefore, it is important to learn how to use strategies and tools that will help our memories function more effectively. Half the battle for many students and adults is identifying the short-term memory problem in the first place.Then it becomes important to learn the skills needed to assist short-term memory loss. Ultimately, having short-term memory loss does not mean a student is stupid or dumb. Often it means that if a person has short-term memory loss, there is also a good chance that that person is strong in another neurodevelopmental system.

It is important to reach all students. That means becoming educated about many different learning styles and implementing teaching strategies that not only reach all learners, but also inspire them. For example, a progressive classroom may use differentiated instruction, group work, and complex instruction to meet the needs of all students. It is also a place where the teacher frequently becomes the student and the student becomes teacher. Ultimately, it is the place where it is possible for students to become independent learners, taking on ownership of their own education.