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# 5.1 Different types of memory

There are different types of memory, and some knowledge of them is useful, because you can use the different characteristics of each type to help you remember more.

Table 2 introduces a number of types of memory. It’s not an exhaustive list – there are others besides these.

## Table 2 Types of memory

Type of memory | What it does | How it relates to learning
--- | --- | ---
Episodic memory | Memory of recent experiences personal to you, e.g. what you had for lunch, what you wore to work. | These associations are good for learning if you can link learning to place (where you heard it) and circumstance (who told you? what were they wearing? what happened?). They incorporate senses too. These memories are especially strong for people with dyslexia.
Semantic memory | A category of long-term memory that involves the recollection of ideas, concepts and facts commonly regarded as ‘general knowledge’. | This underpins learning. It has to do with the meaning of words and putting them into context based on what you already know.
Sequential memory | The ability to perceive and remember information in the right order, e.g. months of the year, the alphabet. | Can help with memorising, in terms of linking information. Sequential memory can be a problem for people with dyslexia.
Short-term memory | Involves repeating information over and over to help you remember. Short-term memory includes working memory. | You don’t do anything with the information (e.g. phone numbers, lists, rote learning).
Working memory | Requires you to apply or do something with the information that is sitting in your short-term memory, before it slips away or is stored. | Holding and manipulating information to make meaning of it, e.g. mental maths.
Verbal working memory | Used to remember oral instructions. | Learning of new words, performing comprehension tasks, writing essays (when free writing), taking notes.
Visuo-spatial working memory | Used to remember sequences of events, patterns and images. | Linked to maths skills, visual tasks and designs, creative thinking, problem-solving. This type of memory can be strong in people with dyslexia.

It might sound obvious, but paying attention, concentrating and being interested are key to the learning process. Try to maintain concentration throughout tasks, however that works best for you.

We tend to remember:

- Information at the beginnings and ends of learning, more so than the middle.
- Situations, names, people, places and other bits of information that stand out to us. The more memorable something is, the more you will remember it. More extraordinary = more memorable.
- When we use our existing knowledge to chunk familiar information together: finger and nail, table and chair. New learning or new memories link onto old learning.
- When we make associations and links to remember. Where did you eat your lunch? What room was the lecture in? What was the tutor wearing?
- Words personal to us: mother, cake.
- Repeated words are more memorable: the, and.
- Words related to our senses: love, soft. A multisensory approach helps: smell, sound and touch can bring back a memory. Reading something yourself, hearing it read to you, repeating it out loud and writing notes helps to embed a memory.

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