Unit 3, Activity 3.1 Memory at Work in the Classroom
Memory at Work in the Classroom (Bailey, F. and Pransky, K.,2014)
1. Learning Means the Efficient Functioning of the Memory System.
Without memory, learning would be impossible. The very act of thinking cannot happen without engaging our brain's memory system. To a large degree, the process of learning means
- Creating a representation of some type of information;
- Storing that representation in long-term memory;
- Being able to retrieve that representation to interpret reality and solve new problems […]
2. Memory Is a Physical Process
The brain is continually being shaped through experience. When we learn, a physical change takes place in our brain. Our ability to be lifelong learners, to continue to update our memory systems, is termed "neuroplasticity."3 Anyone can learn at any time. […]
Our brain does periodic "desktop cleanups" with neural networks. It does a lot of [cleaning] when children are very young, and as we get older, it prunes away some neural connections. […]
3. Our Brain Learns Best Through Multiple Pathways
Throughout most of human history, we learned through direct experience, when almost all our senses were engaged. Our brains evolved to prefer multisensory experiences for learning. Now, with schooling and literacy having taken on an increasingly important role in our cultural learning practices, we have forgotten how our brain is built, and we create learning experiences that do not build on the brain's preferred ways to learn. But we have all experienced how hands-on learning usually sticks best, and how students typically enjoy it more.
Each part of the brain is dedicated to a specific set of tasks: sensory processing, motor activity, and verbal and mathematical processing centers. For example, the brain's web of neural interconnections allows us to take visual information and integrate it with our language system so that we can talk about what we see, and so that we can reach into our long-term memory to recall a vacation we took to the mountains in Idaho in July and tell our family and friends about it when we get back to New England in August—or write in response to the prompt "What did you do during your summer break? Be sure to be as descriptive as you can."
Networks of Representations
The way our brains prefer to learn explains how information is stored once it gets into our memory system. Information is stored in diffuse networks linked to multiple regions of the brain, as language, nonverbal images, feelings, sounds, sensations, and smells. […]
Teaching with a Multisensory Perspective
As Judy Willis, a neurologist and classroom teacher, notes, "By stimulating several senses with the information, more brain connections are available when students need to recall that memory later on. This means that the memory can be retrieved by more than one type of cue" (2006, p. 10). For example, having students listen to a video of a scientist talking about a concept, and then having them read about the same topic along with visual representations (such as pictures, graphic organizers, or charts), provides three pathways to learning the new concept and helps to build networks that facilitate long-term storage and retrieval. Then if we engage students in actively manipulating that information (sorting and categorizing the information, problem solving, experiments, projects), we add new possibilities of sense connections. Visuals, role-plays, manipulatives, and realia not only are more fun for students to engage with than verbal lessons but also allow them to grab onto learning in many different ways. All our lessons should involve at least two learning channels.
References
Bailey, F. and Pransky, K. (2014) Memory at Work in the Classroom [Online]. Available at https://ascd.org/books/memory-at-work-in-the-classroom?chapter=five-core-memory-and-learning-concepts (Accessed 25 February 2025)
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