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Sensory memory

Sensory memory is contained in the thalamus and the brain stem (Sousa, 2022). Sensory memory takes all incoming information and screens out what is important to let in and what is not important. To determine if the information is important, the thalamus uses past experiences to gauge whether the information is kept or not (Sousa, 2022). The information held in sensory memory does not get held for very long. Information either gets discarded or sent to short term memory (Sousa, 2022). For the classroom, it is important for new information coming in to be linked to something that a student has already experienced, learned or had exposure to. The sensory memory won’t typically let new information in.

Short term memory

Short term memory is also considered working memory or immediate memory (Sousa, 2022). Information stored here is also stored for a short time, just like the sensory memory. If information is not discarded from the sensory memory, it moves to working memory (Sousa, 2022). When in short term memory, the brain decides if the information needs to be used or not. If it is useful, the brain will hold onto the information (Sousa, 2022). If the brain decides the information is not useful at the time, it will be discarded (Sousa, 2022). Once the information is used and not useful anymore, it will also be discarded (Sousa, 2022). It’s important to note that when information coming in, the brain is assessing whether the information is important to survival (Sousa, 2022). Emotions are also important for the brain to hold onto information. If the incoming information is tied to emotions already held within the brain, the brain acts accordingly (Sousa, 2022). The brain needs to feel free of threats when learning, so making sure

students feel secure in their learning environment helps students’ brains associate learning with positive feelings (Sousa, 2022).

Long term memory

Long term memory mostly takes place in the frontal lobe (Sousa, 2022). This part of the memory is also called working memory (Sousa, 2022). The information in this part of the brain can be new information that made it past the sensory memory and short term memory or can be recalled from long term storage (Sousa, 2022). Working memory can handle a few items at once, so to make sure that we don’t overload this part of the brain, making sure steps in the classroom are done a few at a time would be helpful (Sousa, 2022). Information in working memory can either be stored in long term storage or can be dropped off (Sousa, 2022). The brain decides if the information makes sense and can connect to other information stored in the brain (Sousa, 2022). If the information fits either of these criteria, the brain will store the information in the long term storage (Sousa, 2022). Making sure that what is being taught can fit in the students’ brain as either making sense (connecting to other information stored in the brain) or does the information have meaning (connecting to experiences of the learner) (Sousa, 2022). To ensure students are able to move information into long term storage is very important; teachers should strive to make sure they are relating material taught to either past experiences or making sure the information can be connected to something they have already stored.

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Retention- the ability to recall information stored in long term memory.

Ways to help retention:

Rehearsal- repetition of information. Located in the frontal lobe of the brain. The brain must assess meaning to the skill before it can be stored in long term memory. Rehearsal can be for information that is specific (song lyrics, poetry) or non-specific (relating information to something already learned to create a new relationship). Making connections to past learning is crucial to add meaning to the information being stored.

Timing in learning- students learn best what is taught first in the lesson and what is taught last. At the beginning of learning, the brain is open to new information but as it processes the information, the storage gets full and the brain can't process more new information. By the time the lesson is ending, the brain has sorted the information in the brain to its various locations, freeing up space to let new information in.

Implications for teaching- Teach new skills first- when the brain is ready to let in new information in. Students should then practice the skill for rehearsal and to move the information into long term storage. End the lesson by connecting the newly learned skill to prior knowledge to deepen the understanding of the skill. Try hitting on all the learning styles within the lesson to connect to the way the differences of students varies in a classroom. By adding visual aids, verbal and visual aspects, have students do the work and have students teach each other the skill. By using the different learning structures helps students make connections within their brain helping the information get stored in long term memory.

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The brain houses a lot of information and under ideal conditions will retrieve the memory easily. However, when the brain is stressed or under trauma conditions, the brain has a difficult time accessing the information. When put in stressful or perceived stressful environments, the ability of the brain diminishes- not because it doesn't have the information or memory but because their ability to function has decreased. Students who feel stress from not belonging, poverty, food insecurity, etc will have their stress response activated which shuts down the frontal cortex dealing with stored information.

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Strategies to improve retention in the classroom 

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Strategies to improve retention in the classroom 

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practice rehearsal for retention of learning by using exit tickets at the end of class, have students summarize what they learned at the end of the lesson, have students play kahoot or a game with the information taught.

Think about retention length when teaching. Teach the most important part at the beginning of the lesson, have students practice in the middle of the lesson and close the lesson with the information again. Have students turn and talk in the middle of the lesson, teach the skill to their neighbor, draw a picture of the skill learned.

Make connections in their learning. Collaborate with other subjects to increase connections to what is being taught. Teachers can collaborate with each other to cover similar material ideas that connect- like the ELA teacher can use a novel study about the Titanic when the social studies is covering the time period of the Titanic. The math teacher can have students calculate area of the science project creating an economical home using recycled materials. By connecting information in various classes helps students store the information in long term memory.

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Ditullio, Gina. (2021). How to engage students' memory processes to improve learning. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-engage-students-memory-processes-improve-learning

PBS. (n.d). How stress impacts the brain. https://vegas.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/how-stress-impacts-the-brain-video/stress-trauma-and-the-brain-insights-for-educators-thinktv-cet/

Sousa, David. (2022). How the brain learns. 6th edition. Corwin.

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Strategies like connecting new information to students' prior knowledge guide them to store what they're learning in long-term memory.

We've all been there. Weeks of carefully planned lessons, and at the end of the unit, the students take the test, and the results are disappointing. How can that be? How is it possible that the students didn't learn the content after all that teaching? It's simple, really: They didn't transfer their learning to long-term memory.

Thanks to advances in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, we now know a lot about how memory works. Here are the basics: First, we engage different types of memory depending on the task. Second, being able to retrieve information stored in long-term memory is an essential part of learning. Third, forgetting is a natural process. Our brains regularly sort through information when we sleep (and while we're awake) to determine what's important to save and what isn't.

When it comes to instruction, it's helpful for teachers to understand the different types of memory, when and how to engage them, and how to instruct students in such a way that they can move new information from their working memory to long-term memory.

The Types of Memory Involved in Learning

The first type of memory engaged when learning is our short-term or working memory. Working memory is temporary storage with limited capacity. Generally speaking, the younger the student, the smaller the capacity. Children who are the same age can have widely varying capacities for working memory. We see this when we ask them to pay attention and follow directions.

In the book Uncommon Sense Teaching, the writers describe working memory as a juggling octopus: "Too many balls at once, and poof, everything falls away!" So, depending on the complexity of the direction or task, it's important to support students who have different capacities for working memory. We can do this by repeating directions, writing directions down, and supporting tasks with visuals.

The second type of memory engaged while learning is our long-term memory. It exists in the cortex and, unlike our working memory, has an unlimited storage capacity. Long-term memory is broken into two main categories: explicit and implicit. Explicit memory uses the conscious recollection of information, experiences, and concepts. Implicit memory is unconscious memory or performing activities without having to think about them, such as riding a bike. The trick is being able to retrieve the information once it's stored.

Research on memory shows that our rote memory is very limited, and it's easy to forget things. When presented with information in isolation or in random order, our brains have a very difficult time encoding it into our long-term memory. According to the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, we forget a lot of what we learn over time. The more time that passes, the more we forget. This happens relatively quickly, and it'll be lost forever unless we consciously review the information over time. So just because you taught it once doesn't mean your students are going to remember it.

How can educators enhance students' ability to remember? Several strategies supported by research can have a significant impact on a student's ability to remember new learning.

Research-Backed Strategies

Activating background knowledge: Background knowledge is super-important for learning-there may already be a neural pathway in the brain for the new information to connect to and strengthen. We need to activate those connections before we begin teaching the new content or skill. Concept mapping, word webs, KWL charts, think/pair/share activities, and videos are all strategies that awaken previous knowledge and enhance the process of encoding new information.

Having strong background knowledge can actually improve our working memory. Research on schema-based learning reveals that new learning can embed more easily in the neocortex.

Using retrieval practice: If we can't recall the information, we haven't learned it. Students can utilize helpful retrieval practice strategies such as using flash cards, writing down a summary of the day's learning, and reacting to the lesson by stating three main points and their importance. Try using entrance and exit tickets, giving frequent quizzes, and using programs like Kahoot and Quizlet.

Turn and talk to a partner

Do a demonstration

Incorporate active learning or hands-on learning intermittently

Summarize or draw a picture that encompasses the main points of the learning

Use concept mapping or story mapping strategies throughout a lesson

Contextualizing learning: Make learning relevant and interactive. Mix up lessons so that your students don't have to listen to you talk for more than 10 minutes at a time. They have to use their working memory, which has a very limited capacity, to follow a lecture, so stop and have them do the following:

Using interleaved practice: Make connections. When teachers use interleaved practice, they help students make connections to different topics while learning. For example, they may be learning about a particular historical event, but you then connect it to something else that was going on at the time that was also impacted. This term also describes mixed practice, so maybe your students are revisiting addition and subtraction facts when they practice new multiplication facts. Research shows that interleaving improves retention of new information and results in faster acquisition of the information.

Learning depends on our ability to store new information in our long-term memory and our ability to retrieve that information when we need it. Understanding and applying foundational research on memory can help teachers enhance student learning by improving students' ability to move new learning from working memory to long-term memory.

When students transfer information into long-term memory, their working memory doesn't have to work so hard, and they are able to grapple with novel, complex topics quicker and more efficiently. Learning becomes less of a struggle, and students may feel smarter and more confident. When students feel this way, they're more willing to stick with difficult concepts and problems-allowing them to learn deeply. Ultimately, teachers can see better learning outcomes on assessments, which makes them energized and confident too.

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How to Engage Students' Memory Processes to Improve Learning

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Strategies like connecting new information to students' prior knowledge guide them to store what they're learning in long-term memory.