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Sensory Memory is the initial stage of forming a memory in the brain. Stimuli from the five senses enter the brain as electrical impulses from neurons firing in sequence along a specific sensory pathway (Sousa, 2022). The sensory input is filtered by the thalamus to determine how important the information is based on previous experiences. If it is important the brain will move the memory to working memory, if it is not then it will be forgotten.

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Short term memory can be divided into two types of memory: immediate and working memory.

Immediate Memory: occurs when one of the five senses stimulates the thalamus to create two temporary memories as a way for the brain to process large amounts of information in milliseconds (Sousa, 2022). This data is quickly analyzed by the brain to determine its importance or meaning fulness to survival or future connections. During this analysis the brain either keeps the memory and moves it to working memory or discards the memory to forgetting. Sensations that elicit emotions are analyzed based on past experiences whether it could be life-threatening and prioritizes the need for the information to move to working memory.

Working Memory: occurs after the immediate memory is determined to be of importance. Based on age, the brain can hold three to five items in working memory before the memory is either moved to long-term or forgotten. In order for the memory to move to long-term the brain determines whether the information makes sense and whether it fits into what the learner knows about how the world works (Sousa, 2022). This is where the implications of teaching teaching strategies is essential to helping students develop a working memory that can store the information into long-term memory. An educator would want to be aware of the time limits of working memory, the engagement and emotional motivation of the student as well as whether the focus is on memorization or application (Sousa, 2022).

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Improving Memory When Trauma is Invovled

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Improving Memory When Trauma is Invovled

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Central to all trauma-informed approaches is the importance of strong, trusting, consistent and predictable relationships between an adult and a trauma-affected child (Hobbs, et al., 2019). Educators of all ages should consider how they connect with their students individually in order to best serve each student in their care. Building a secure and trusting relationship can mitigate most classroom management issues, increase attendance, and provide a safe working environment for all students in the classroom. Whether you have students with a traumatic background or not, being able to connect with students is essential before any learning can take place that will be lasting. In order for cognitive functioning to be optimal and memory to work, the individual must first "feel" safe, not just physically, but emotionally so that their brains are not in a fight or flight mode.

A student can learn to rewire their brain by making small changes over and over again until new neural networks are built (Greenberg, 2021).  These changes can begin in a classroom with a daily, predictable schedule, a dependent and caring adult that maintains clear boundaries for rules and regulations. Teachers who connect with families, trust students and treat them with respect and provide clear physical and emotional boundaries are already setting up their lessons for success regardless of the content or time frame. Students will learn and grow in envirnments where the instructor is safe.

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Greenberg, Melanie. (2021). Understanding the trauma brain: neuroplasticity provides hope if you suffer from trauma or PTSD. Psychology Today.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-mindful-self-express/202106/understanding-the-trauma-brain

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Long Term Memory when information is deemed significant or meaningful to the brain or individual and is stored for future recall. The hippocampus encodes information and send it to one or more long-term storages; sometimes only generic topics are stored, not the details. The encoding process to long-term memory happens during deep sleep (Sousa, 2022). Long term memory can have a direct impact on short term memory and the analyzing phase of short-term memory processing. The sensory registry and temporary memory systems use past experiences as the guides for determining the importance of incoming stimuli to the individual (Sousa, 2022). The implications for teaching deal with emotions around learning to help struggling students achieve success. How we feel about our own learning and how we feel about learning specific subject will be based on our past experience of success with these subjects. If teachers can encourage a growth mindset within their students, they can help information move into long term memory by encouraging student to accept mistakes and find success in their mistakes.

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Hobbs et al., (2019). Trauma-informed practice for pre-service teachers. Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1435

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Lebow, Hilary I. (2021). The science behind PTSD symptoms: how trauma changes the brain. PsychCentral. https://psychcentral.com/ptsd/the-science-behind-ptsd-symptoms-how-trauma-changes-the-brain

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If you experience a traumatic event your brain can be physically altered during the "fight or flight" response. Your amygdala is engaged and protection for survival becomes essential. For many, after the trauma passes, an individual's parasympatheic brain will come back online and they can process the experience. For some, that step doesn't occur and that memory can get stuck in a "fight or flight" response every time it is recalled. Research indicates that your amygdala doesn’t recognize the difference between a threat then and a threat now. So, when you’re reminded of a past experience, it responds exactly as it would if you were experiencing the traumatic event for the first time, sending out a rush of stress hormones, like cortisol (Lebow 2021). PTSD develops when a person does not process the memory and end up with an amygdala response that doesn't recognize the difference between memory and reality.

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Neuroscience News. (2022). How trauma changes the brain. Press Office-University of Rochester. https://neurosciencenews.com/salience-network-trauma-22026/

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Sousa, David A. (2022). How the brain learns. (2nd ed.). Corwin SAGE Publications.

https://bibliu.com/app/?bibliuMagicToken=iQat8Nv7zMq5N9t0FYpfa2euBy0l3v15#/view/books/9781071855348/epub/OEBPS/s9781071855324.i19.html#page_iii

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There are many ways to encourage retention of memory in students. One way would be through rehearsal. This refers to the continual reprocessing of information, or being exposed to information repetitively or in many different forms (Sousa, 2022). Another way teachers can encourage retention would be through the primacy recency effect. Teachers can be aware of how they develop their lessons to take advantage of how the brain process and retains information in a set time span. We remember best that which comes first and secondary that which comes last (Sousa, 2022). If teachers focus on teaching the new material first and end with a spiral review, then students are more likely to remember those two concepts and less likely to remember the middle portion of the lesson. Sometimes, teachers prefer to begin with a spiral review then the new material and students are already less engaged when the new material is presented.

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Transfer refers to the brains ability to take in new information while simultaneously using prior knowledge or experiences from long-term memory to build connections to the new information (Sousa, 2022). Teachers can take advantage of this by helping students to make the connections between prior knowledge or by helping students make connections between themselves or the world around them and the new information. This process will not only engage students in the learning, but also engage their brains in analyzing long term memories with the new information being presented.