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Long-term memory involves the storage and recall of information over a long period of time. Long-term memory is crucial in educational and professional settings as it enables individuals to retain and apply knowledge, over time, which facilitates a deeper understanding and the ability to build upon prior knowledge.

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Short-term memory involves the ability to recall information information for a relatively short time, such as a few seconds. Short-term memory is important to educators and professionals as it allows individuals to temporarily hold and manipulate information. Short-term memory is used while following directions, participating in discussions, and problem solving.

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Sensory memory explains the short-lived ability to retain and recall information within fractions of a second. Sensory memory affects educators, professionals, and students as it allows individuals to briefly retain and process incoming sensory information. This enables a quick recognition and response to sensory stimuli, which is essential for effective learning and decision-making.

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Retention and transfer are critical components of memory that directly affect the learning process. The relationship between retention and transfer is vital. Strong retention allows learners to more deeply connect their prior knowledge to new learnings and more skillfully use it in their future.

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Retention is the preservation of learning in long-term storage in such a way that it can be identified and recalled quickly and accurately. Retention is essential for students to effectively apply what they have learned in various contexts.

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Transfer is a two part process that explains the relationship between one's past learnings and new learnings and the application of this combined knowledge. Essentially, new learning and past learning come together in the working memory to process and make sense of the new information. It is then the learner's understanding of this combined learning and how it can be used in the future that is the second part of the process.

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Trauma significantly impacts the brain's memory systems, resulting in alterations in how memories are stored, formed, and retrieved.

During traumatic events some experience a hyperactive amygdala which heightens the emotion response to the event. As the brain prioritizes emotionally charged experiences, this heightened response can result in flashbacks or intrusive memories.

Opposingly, the hippocampus may become impaired during a traumatic event affecting the formation of accurate new memories. This can lead to fragmented memories or gaps in recollection.

The frontal lobe can also be damaged by trauma resulting in impairments to focus and attention and behavior difficulties.

As consequence to these occurrences in the brain, individuals who have experienced trauma may find difficulties with their overall cognitive functioning, emotional well being, and memory.

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To improve memory, retention, and transfer in educational settings, especially for learners who have experienced trauma, the following strategies can be effective.

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Incorporating multi-sensory techniques such as using visual aides, auditory materials, and hands-on experiences enhances students' engagement which directly effects their memory retention. This approach helps to reinforce memory by creating multiple neural pathways for information retrieval. This can be particularly beneficial to learners who have experienced trauma as it produces a supportive environment with numerous different ways to strengthen memory retention.

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Incorporating mindfulness activities such as deep breathing and meditation helps to create a calm learning environment that fosters focus and helps to improve memory capabilities. For learners who have experienced trauma, these practices can reduce anxiety and promote a sense of safety enabling them to better engage with their learning and enhance overall memory retention and transfer.

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Creating meaning for learning helps to enhance memory retention and transfer as it helps students connect new knowledge to existing learning and prior experiences. When learners can relate content to meaningful feelings and experiences they are more likely to deeply connect with the materials. For students who have experienced trauma, establishing relevance and personal significance can decrease anxiety and allow them to better focus while learning.

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Bart Mendel, & Mindworks Team. (2023, October 25). Does meditation improve memory? Mindworks. https://mindworks.org/blog/does-meditation-improve-memory/

Bremner, J. D., & Marmar, C. R. (1998). Trauma, memory, and dissociation. In American Psychiatric Association eBooks. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA35640691

Mateer, C. A., & Williams, D. (1991). Effects of frontal lobe injury in childhood. Developmental Neuropsychology, 7(3), 359–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565649109540498

Sousa, D. A. (2022). How the brain learns. (6th. ed.). SAGE Publications.

Tobin, K. (2018). Mindfulness in education. Learning: Research and Practice, 4(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2018.1433623

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Various types of memories, including long-term, short-term and sensory memory all play distinct roles in how we process, retain, and retrieve information throughout our lives.

When memories are established the brain creates connections between neurons, called synapses. These synapses create new circuits between nerve cells and get stronger or weaker depending on how often we're exposed to a correlating event.