Memory and Transfer Professional Resource by

Overview of Memory

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 05:46:58 UTC

Memory is the brain's ability to recall information (Harvard Medical School, 2024). There are different types of memory based on how the information will be used and upon its content. Memory is not stored in only one part of the brain. The sensory parts of the memory are distributed to different areas of the brain. Remembering is the actual act of the brain piecing these parts back together. When a memory is created its parts are classified in the hippocampus. This part of the brain is located next to the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain. It marks memories as being emotionally powerful or important. The different elements of the memory are sent to the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain. Memories are retrieved by the frontal lobes, whose purpose is focus and attention. The memory is then taken from where it is stored in the cerebral cortex. The components of a memory form a neuronal pattern that is activated when remembered and dormant when not needed.

Different Types of Memory

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 05:52:33 UTC

The different types of memory are short-term, long-term, and sensory (Harvard Medical School, 2024).

Short-term memory- Contain information that only needs to be recalled for minutes or seconds and is quickly discarded when no longer needed (Harvard Medical School, 2024).
- Working memory- Working memory and short term memory are often used interchangeably, since working memory stores information for a short amount of time. Working memory is the temporary storage for mentally manipulated information (Psychology Today, 2024).
Long term memory- Contains information like facts, skills, and processes. It is lasting memories that can evolve and change based off of new information (Harvard Medical School, 2024).
- Episodic memory- Recall of a certain event from the past (episode) (Psychology Today, 2024).
- Semantic memory- Long term memory. Contains facts, related concepts, definitions, etc. (Psychology Today, 2024)
- Procedural memory- Long term memories of how to do things, involving both physical and mental, and the learnign of new skills (Psychology Today, 2024).

Sensory memory- These are short-term memories of sensory stimuli. When something is just seen it is an iconic memory, something just heard is echoic memory. These sensory memories can be saved long-term. Examples of these stored sensory memories are visual-spatial, auditory, olfactory, and haptic memory (Psychology Today, 2024).

Prospective memory- The act of “recalling an intention from the past in order to do something in the future” (Psychology Today, 2024). This helps people to meet obligations when they can not do them immediately.

Importance in educational learning environments

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 05:55:37 UTC

Memories that have emotional ties are easier to recall (Harvard Medical School, 2024). Information that has been retrieved in the brain multiple times has stronger connection in the brain and more defined pathways. The encoding specificity principle states that memories are easier to be recalled when there is a greater similarity between the retrieval cue (sound or image) and the condition where the memory was first formed.

Memory, an overview of retention and transfer including their relationship to learning

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 05:57:57 UTC

“Emotion drives attention, and attention drives learning and memory” (Sousa, 2022).
- Two ways emotion is tied to learning: learning climate and connect content to emotions
- When students feel positive endorphins are released giving good feelings and stimulating the frontal lobes.
- If students have stress within the learning environment cortisol is released and activates defense behaviors and reduces frontal lobe activity and focuses it on the cause of the stress and what to do about it instead of the actual learning.
- More likely to remember content that has an emotional tie.

Retention

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 06:00:54 UTC

Learning and retention are two separate things. Retention includes building conceptual frameworks that contain meaning and sense to be later consolidated into long term storage of memory (Sousa, 2022). Retention is the process of saving long term memory that can be identified, located, and retrieved in the future thinking. This depends on the amount of student focus, the type and length of rehearsal, important identified attributes, learning profile of the student, and prior learning. To apply this in teaching new material needs to be covered first, make sure to make use of primetime in your teaching “episode”. Retention depends on the length of time of your lesson. A twenty minute lesson is a good amount of time with only 2 minutes of downtime and increases your prime time of teaching to 18 minutes. This can also be accomplished with two twenty minute lessons. Retention is based on the delivery method of information. Adding these things to your lecture helps with retention: visual materials, verbal and visual information, learning by doing/practice, practice and teaching others, and using a variety of methods.

Transfer

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 06:02:23 UTC

Transfer does not automatically happen after stduents gain foundational information. Using positive transfer can help students learn faster. Transfer can happen from past to present or present to future. Past to present learning helps in learning new content by linking the students' past to make sense of the new learning. Present to future transfer is when the teacher makes the present learning as close to a future learning as possible where new learning can transfer. Transfer is more likely to occur when students have a chance to reflect on their new learning. Journal writing is a great way to achieve this. Transfer learning is especially important when teachin English Language Learners.

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

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 06:06:00 UTC

What occurs in the brain when there is trauma? It changes. The brain physical structure and electoral activity changes (Therapy in a Nutshell, 2022). With trauma and PTSD there are changes in memory. Trauma in the early stages of life creates change and disfunctions to every critical part of the brain (Hobbs et al., 2019). The young brain does not have the organzied neural pathways to handle this stress and they learn regulation from their caregiver. If the body's stress response is activated over prolonged time periods during developmental stages that are critical, it is toxic stress.

Over stimulation of the stress response leads to dysregualiton of body systems, especially the brain. Excessive stress can reduce the volume and activity of the hippocampus, responsible for learning and memory. Sustained high levels of cortisol can change the brain and lead to lower volume of brain tissue in the prefrontal cortex.

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 06:07:24 UTC

Traumatic memories are different in four different ways from regular memories (Therapy in a Nutshell, 2022). The first way is that normal memories will change over time, traumatic memories do not. Traumatic memories are much more vivid than other memories. When these memories are retrieved the stress response strengthens them and reinforces the memory in the brain's circuts. They will continue to be stronger. Your brain does this because it does not want these actions to happen again. The second way trauma changes memory is that they trigger the same physical sensations of the traumatic events, these are called flashbacks. The third way is that the passing of time is warped. The memory feels as if it's happening now in the present and the body goes back into fight, flight, freeze mode. The areas of the brain that processes emotions and fear get reactivated and the cognitive part of the brain shuts down. When the system is overwhelmed different parts of the brain shuts down, for example: makes words, tracks time, and sensations. The fourth way traumatic memories are different is when the emotional brain takes over traumatic memories get stored as pieces of sensations and emotions but not as a whole story. The memories will have large gaps and are disorganized. People who were sexually abused as a child experience memory loss (19%-38%). Memory loss is a way for your body to protect itself when it can currently handle the contents. Depending on the type of memory either explicit and implicit memories, there are different types of treatment.

Strategies that can be used to improve memory, retention, and/or transfer within children of possible trauma that are helpful within education and learning

krumpermanl — 2024-08-30 06:14:54 UTC

There are strategies that can be used to improve memory, retention, and transfer in teaching. The first one is to help repair the dysregulated stress response. This can be done by creating a predictable and consistent learning environment, using trauma-informed classroom management strategies, and helping students to heighten their self-regulatory capabilities (Hobbs et al., 2019). This will all add to repairing the dysregulated stress response and help put the child back into balance in the classroom allowing them to learn and maintain information better in the brain. The second strategy is unconditional positive regard. Children need to trust the teacher to care, value, and respect them regardless of their actions or performance in school. Building this with the student will build trust in teachers, relational skills, and engage in positive relationships. Each of these strategies will be helpful in both education and learning.