The Human Brain, Memory, & Learning by Karen Hering

The Memory Process

karenhering — 2025-07-03 01:36:01 UTC

Sensory Intake
Sensory information comes into the brain and is filtered through the sensory register. The brain can hold this information for about a second in the sensory memory, but most is discarded.
Short-Term Memory
Information the brain deems important moves on to temporary memory. Short-term memory is has two components: immediate & working.
- Immediate Memory can be likened to a clipboard where the brain decides if and how to use the information. Immediate memory is stored for about 30 seconds. Personal experience dictates the importance of the information in the immediate memory. If deemed important, it moved to working memory.
- Working Memory is like a conscious work table where the brain can manipulate ideas for later storage in the long-term memory. While this may be sensory information the brain has been processing, it can also be information retrieved from long-term memory storage. Working memory requires the brain's attention and focus.
3. Information is encoded in long-term memory for future retrieval if it meets two essential criteria:
It makes sense. (Can be understood by the learner.)
It has meaning. (Is relevant to the learner.) Scientists divide long-term memory into two types:
Declarative or Explicit Memory involves facts and events (i.e., things that are straightforward).
Nondeclarative or Implicit Memory involves skill development or habit formation (i.e., things that cannot be explained in a straightforward manner). (Neuro Transmissions, 2017 and Sousa, 2022).

Reference
Neuro Transmissions. (2017, September 4). Where are memories stored? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0wbTR95VEs
Sousa, D. A. (2022). How the brain learns (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Importance of Memory in Learning

karenhering — 2025-07-03 02:10:52 UTC

"You cannot recall information that your brain does not retain" (Sousa, 2022).

Memory is reciprocal to learning. It is about more than recalling facts or formulas. Rather, it is about learning, adapting, and growing throughout one's lifetime. It involves the cognitive processes of attention, perception, and reasoning; they are linked like a bowl of spaghetti. While all memory is involved in the learning process, the primary types of memory involved in learning are working memory and long-term memory (DiTullio, 2021).

References

DiTullio, G. (2021, September 9). How to engage students’ memory processes to improve learning. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-engage-students-memory-processes-improve-learning

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

Biological Processes Involved in Memory Formation

karenhering — 2025-07-03 02:12:11 UTC

Included in this overview should be a description of what occurs in the brain when memories are established.

Retention and Transfer of Memory & Their Relationship to Learning

karenhering — 2025-07-03 02:13:33 UTC

Memory retention and transfer are interdependent and critical to the learning process. Retention is the brain's ability to recall information over time and ensures that new information is not lost. While memory transfer is the brain's ability to apply our existing knowledge to new contexts. It shows a that a deeper kind of learning has taken place.

Implications for Teachers

For optimum retention and transfer, should teach new information first (Prime Time 1). Practice should immediately follow the new material. Following practice, the teacher should use Prime Time 2 to help students make sense and meaning of the new learning (Sousa, 2021).

The quality of retention and transfer can be impacted by how well the teacher used prime learning time, how well they associated new learning with existing knowledge, helped the student make meaning, and the quality of repetition, practice and review.

Reference

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

A description of what occurs in the brain in relation to trauma and memory, including how trauma can affect memory.

karenhering — 2025-07-03 02:14:18 UTC

Classroom Strategies to Improve Memory, Retention, & Transfer

karenhering — 2025-07-03 02:15:33 UTC

Utilize Retrieval Practice

Using brain dumps, flash cards/quizlets , and exit tickets all can help the brain practice retrieving newly learned information. It helps ensure that the student can recall the newly learned information. For students with trauma, it can provide structure and a solid foundation for building new knowledge.

Conceptualize Learning

Structure lessons in such a way that students do not listen to you talk for more than ten minutes. Make learning relevant by doing a demonstration, hands-on or manipulative learning, or concept mapping. This allows the student to move from basic recall to deeper learning.

Use Interleaved Practice

Help students make connections by weaving more than one topic into a lesson. This teaches students to make connections and improves retrieval.

For students experiencing trauma, these strategies can provide structure, predictability, and opportunities to master concepts.

Reference

DiTullio, G. (2021, September 9). How to engage students’ memory processes to improve learning. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-engage-students-memory-processes-improve-learning

Physiological Processes Involved in Memory Formation & Storage

karenhering — 2025-07-03 03:56:03 UTC

Memory formation includes the encoding, storage, and recall of information in the brain (Mujawar, et al., 2021). Each involve intricate biological processes in the brain which physically transform the brain's structure. Throughout the process of memory formation, neural networks involving neurons, neurotransmitters, and synapses are the conduits for memory formation and storage in various parts of the brain (Mujawar, et al., 2021).

Scientists have shown that declarative and nondeclarative memories happen in different areas of the brain. The hippocampus is involved in the formation and storage of long-term declarative memories, although not all long-term memories are stored in the hippocampus. They can be stored in other areas of the brain depending on the type of memory. For example, emotional memories are stored in the amygdala, motor memory involves the cerebellum, and cerebellum, and memories of facts and events rely on the medial temporal lobe, thalamus, and hypothalamus (Neuro Transmissions, 2017).

References

Mujawar, S., Patil, J., Chaudhari, B., & Saldanha, D. (2021). Memory: Neurobiological mechanisms and assessment. Industrial psychiatry journal, 30(Suppl 1), S311–S314. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-6748.328839

Neuro Transmissions. (2017, September 4). Where are memories stored? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0wbTR95VEs

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

Impact of Trauma on Memory

karenhering — 2025-07-03 06:12:51 UTC

Trauma takes many forms and physiologically impacts the brain in various ways. Trauma could be as straight forward as traumatic brain injury, and acquired brain injury, or emotional trauma. Depending on which part of the brain has been impacted by trauma, the sufferer could experience:

cognitive deficits
motor deficits
perceptual or sensory deficits
communication or language deficits
functional deficits
regulatory deficits
social or personality changes (Johns Hopkins Medicine, n.d.)

What Happens When the Brain Experiences Emotional Trauma?

The amygdala becomes overactive, leading to higher levels of anxiety and increased fear responses, even in safe environments.
The hippocampus, vital for forming new memories and regulating stress, can shrink due to chronic stress from trauma, which in turn, impairs its ability to form and store memories effectively.
The pre-frontal cortex can become impaired, causing to difficulties in emotional regulation and impulse control.

How Trauma Affects Memory

Trauma can lead to problems with memory the brains ability to take in new information, memory consolidation and recall.

References

Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Traumatic brain injury.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/traumatic-brain-injury