Memory and Transfer Professional Resource by

Overview of Memory

kballester5 — 2024-10-13 15:51:48 UTC

The human memory is made up of names, facts, images, skills, feelings and so much more. Memory is basically the brain's ability to recall information. The brain is so amazing in that it stores our memories into short-term and long-term memories. Our brains can recall memories consciously (explicit memory) and recall memories without our conscious awareness (implicit memory) (Psychology Today, 2024).

Hayne, T. (2015). Memory [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/132832534@N03/18779150820

What is memory? (2024). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/memory

Types of Memories

kballester5 — 2024-10-13 16:24:31 UTC

Episodic Memory

An episodic memory is a particular event from the past that gets stored in the long-term memory (Psychology Today, 2024). An example would be the birth of a child.

Autobiographical Memory

A memory that helps to form a person's life story (Psychology Today, 2024).

Semantic Memory

Semantic memories are knowledge such as facts, dates, and concepts that are stored in a person's long-term memory (Psychology Today, 2024). Semantic memories consists of the knowledge that we learn in school.

Procedural Memory

Procedural memory is where skills that we've learned long ago are stored, such as riding a bike, tying our shoes, or playing piano (Psychology Today, 2024). These are the things that we may not have done for years but we can still do them years later.

Short-Term and Working Memory

Short-term and working memory refers to the storage of information for a short amount of time while using it (Psychology Today, 2024). Later this information is discarded to prevent an overload of information. Information in our short-term information are things like current temperature after looking it up, a math answer after you just calculated it, or what happened in a movie you just watched.

Sensory Memory

Sensory memories are usually short-term memories that appeal to our senses--such as the look of a car that drove by, the smell of restaurant, or the sound of the ocean (Psychology Today, 2024).

Prospective Memory

Prospective memory is essential for every day living. It involves remembering things from the past to do something for the future such as remembering to stop at the grocery story on the way home from work, or to pay the mortgage every month (Psychology Today, 2024).

Crash Course. (2014, May 5). How we make memories: Crash course #13 [Video]. YouTube.

https://youtu.be/bSycdIx-C48?si=9veTYyPYfnUPL1hR

What is memory? (2024). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/memory

Storing Memories

kballester5 — 2024-10-13 16:48:00 UTC

Memories are stored in different parts of the brain. The parts of a memory that involve senses are distributed to different parts of the brain (Marshall, 2022). When the brain recalls the memory, it puts the memory back together. Each time a memory is created, it's parts are sent to the hippocampus. The amygdala sits next to the hippocampus which is the brain's emotional center. The amygdala flags certain memories as being emotional memories (Marshall, 2022).

Marshall, M. (2022, March 21). Memory. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/memory

NIH Image Gallery. (2015). Illustration of brain regions [Image]. Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihgov/24024310606

Learning and Memory

kballester5 — 2024-10-13 17:21:53 UTC

Teachers are brain changers! Memories are formed when a group of neurons fire back and forth at each other as the brain takes in information (Sousa, 2022). The more understanding a learner can make of the information, making more neurons fire, the better the chance is that the information will be stored into long-term memory (Sousa, 2022).

Woodford, C. (2023). Explain that stuff [Image]. https://www.explainthatstuff.com/introduction-to-neural-networks.html

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

Retention and Transfer

kballester5 — 2024-10-13 18:06:35 UTC

Retention of information happens when a learner is capable of a deep understanding of the information they have been taught by being able to apply the concepts (Sousa, 2022). When information is retained, a student can recall, explain, and apply it at a later time (Sousa, 2022). According to an article written by Diane Halpern and Milton Hakel of Pepperdine University, the only way information will be retained and able to be transferred later is through practice (Halpern & Hakel, 2003).

Halpern, D.F. & Hakel, M.D. (2003). Teaching for long-term retention and transfer. Applying the science of teaching to the university and beyond, July/August 2003, 36-41 http://seaver-faculty.pepperdine.edu/thompson/projects/wasc/Applying%20the%20science%20of%20learning.pdf

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

Trauma and Memory

kballester5 — 2024-10-13 18:45:48 UTC

The hippocampus is affected by traumatic life experiences. Exposure to excessive amounts of trauma causes the hippocampus to decrease in volume and activity (Hobbs et al., 2019). The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is critical in memory and learning (Hobbs et al., 2019). In addition, cortisol, a stress hormone, is released into the brain which affects the prefrontal cortex, the area in the brain for decision making and executive function (Hobbs et al., 2019). Low standardized test scores, low attendance, poor academic performance, and school dropout is common in children with trauma (Hobbs et al., 2019).

Hobbs, C., Paulsen, D., & Thomas, J. (Ed.). (2019).Trauma-informed practice for pre-service teachers. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1435

Trauma Sensitive Schools. (2018, April 13). The impact of trauma on learning part 1: Academic performance [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/UPwdWLWYqBI?si=bnUQhwW2wZevdwbE

Tips for Teachers to Help Students Retain Information

kballester5 — 2024-10-13 19:45:02 UTC

Create a calm, positive classroom environment.
Establish positive relationships with your students.
Practice mindfulness.
Provide opportunities for movement.
Lecture for only about 10 minutes during the first part of the class.
Make lessons memorable--games, humor, interaction, positive experiences.
Help students make connections with background knowledge.
Allow students time to practice.