Teaching to remember

Five techniques to enhance retention in students
Preetika Chandna

A teacher is many things at once – an educator, an administrator, a counsellor, a task manager, and much more. A central aspect of the multiple roles a teacher plays in a student’s life is the delivery of education that positively affects a child’s life. As a child ascends in the education system, the level and extent of education increases and so does the burden of material to be remembered. Memory and retention of facts and figures are key to succeeding in higher education.

What is memory?
Memory is the storage and recall of information. The formation of memories involves three primary stages:
• Encoding
Encoding is the input of information into our memory system, very similar to taking a bite of food to make it enter our body. We encode words, sounds and sights automatically or through effort. For example, it’s easy to remember what you ate for lunch, but remembering how to draw a portrait after an art class requires more effort to encode.

• Storage
The information that enters our brain is stored for future recall. Anything we sense, see or hear codes as sensory memory. If the information holds value, it is shifted to short-term memory. Further, unlimited information is sealed into long-term memory – you never forget how to sing or play the piano, or how much fun your birthday party was last year.

• Recall or retrieval
The most important function for students and teachers is the recall of information stored in our brain. Is it possible that teachers can enhance the memorization of school work and ease the burden of school chapters to be committed to memory by the students? Yes, it is! A few teaching strategies are effective in increasing the retention and recall of schoolwork in students. Here are five techniques to enhance retention in students:

1. Elaboration for enhancement of memory

Elaboration is a strategy designed to make new memories by making them distinctive and linking old information with new. For example, ‘why’ questions may be asked if an educator wants to teach about the food chain process in science. For example, ‘Why do animals eat other animals? ‘Why do plants require sunlight?’ Questions that make students answer the ‘why’ of things help the learner to recall older information such as photosynthesis or carnivorous nature of animals to answer current questions. This process is called elaboration, and it helps in creating and cementing fresh information into memory. A few useful elaboration strategies include:

• Note-making
It is a skill that greatly enhances learning. Students may be guided on the importance of underlining important points, jotting down key points to the right of every paragraph, or creating flowcharts and tables to help remember lengthy chapters.

• Self-questioning
A learner asking questions directed to self helps clear doubts and clarify concepts: ‘Why does oil float on water?’ or ‘Why does a magnet orient a certain way?’

• Drawing comparisons
For example, comparing the stem of a plant to a drinking straw can help understand and remember new terms.

• Rewriting of lessons
Rewriting implies rephrasing the lesson learnt in the student’s own words or summarizing what has been learnt. This helps to check if a concept has been understood well or if it requires further learning.

2. M for Memory, M for Mnemonics

Mnemonics are a well-tested method of enhancing recall. Almost every educator is familiar with common mnemonics that help a student to remember a chain of facts effortlessly. A particular keyword or letter is included in the mnemonic to trigger the memory. Mnemonics are more successful if they include:

• Acronyms
For example, ROY G BIV sounds like a person’s name and helps remember the colours of a rainbow too.

• Humor
Learning the Group 1 elements of the Periodic Table is made easier with mnemonics such as ‘LiNaK Ruby Ce Friendship hai.’ Here, the expanded forms are: Li-Lithium, Na-Sodium, K-Potassium, Ru-Rubidium, Cs-Caesium, and Fr-Francium.

• Keywords
K.F.C. stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken but also helps remember the keywords of Knowledge, Faith and Conduct – the three principles of Jainism.

• Sequence
The sequence of a sentence can help remember the order of planets:
My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Noodles – the first letter of each word stands for a planet.

3. Making mental images

Sometimes when we want to relax, we imagine ourselves at a calm spot. We can almost see the entire scene in our mind’s eye. Similarly, creating a mental image can greatly help in committing a fact or scene to memory. Images linked to facts are recalled much faster than facts alone.

For example, if the Indus Valley Civilization needs to be remembered, it can help to visualize the kings and queens, their palaces, and their occupations to create a mental image which can be pulled to mind whenever recall of the facts is needed. Multiple formats of education such as e-presentations, charts, diagrams, and drawings can all help in making mental images that help a student remember a lesson.

4. Revise to rewind

The memory that is created but not rehearsed or revised is bound to slip out of the mind. Most often, we remember happy events because we constantly revisit the occasions in our mind. Similarly, important information needs to be revisited to ensure that it occupies a firm place in the learner’s mind. Most children remember the lyrics of favourite songs by singing them over and over again – a clear case of rehearsal and recall. Frequent revision of lessons taught earlier may help recall them easily and also ensure that old chapters are not forgotten by the time the examinations come around.

Studies have shown that rehearsal may be of two types: maintenance or elaborative
• Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating an item several times to keep it stored in the memory. An educator can make students repeat a math or sanskrit table several times to help them remember it.
• However, elaborative rehearsal is required for long-term memory. Elaborative revision involves making connections to solidify the memory. For example, if a student is taught about integers in math, it helps to compare and connect integers with whole numbers learnt previously.

5. Organize to memorize

Organization of memory helps determine how much of it will be remembered. If a large lesson is to be taught or learnt, it helps to divide it into smaller, organized bits. ‘Chunking’ is the term given to remembering ‘chunks’ or blocks of information rather than individual facts or numbers. Similar or connected information can be clumped together to help remember it. It is easier to remember five sections of a chapter on water bodies grouped as per geographic area rather than memorizing each river individually. The science behind chunking is merely grouping of similar elements to reduce the memory load.

For example, organization and chunking of chapters or lessons can be done by organizing the vast amount of information into:
o Tables
o Flowcharts
o Lists
o Headings and Subheadings
o Bullet points
o Diagrams and illustrations

In conclusion, it is possible for an educator to perform the dual role of teaching and promoting learning by providing students with the tools necessary to enhance memory. Comprehension of a lesson is the most essential goal when a student is taught. Memorization is a natural step to learning and the crucial pathway to performing well in examinations that test both understanding and recall. Why not give students the gift of easy recollection and educational success through strategies that will benefit them throughout life?

References
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5619303/
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238329033_Strategies_to_Enhance_Memory_Based_on_Brain_Research
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29698045/
• https://learning-tribes.com/en/memory-techniques-loci-chunking/
• http://www.ldonline.org/article/5736/

The author is a counsellor, freelance writer and ex-professor running her counselling centre in Meerut. She firmly believes that ‘The Best Day to Change is… Today!’ When she’s not counselling or writing, you will find her spending time with her daughter or at a movie theatre. She can be reached at drpreetikachandna@gmail.com and website: https://www.meerutdentalandpsychologyclinic.in/