Forum 7 – Lesson 7
L7-Q2 Mnemonics
Instructor: Tom Anderson
Submitted by Kim Fitzer
According to Bruning,
Ronning and Schraw in Cognitive Psychology and Instruction, mnemonics are
memory strategies that assist in the retrieving of stored information. New, unfamiliar information is cognitively
linked to old, well-learned information, and then stored according to the
latter. In a kind of hierarchical filing
system, the mind stores the new information with the old, thus requiring that
the memory need only recall the old knowledge, and the new will appear by
association (Bruning, et. al. 1999).
Rhymes, sayings, images, gestures, seemingly non-sensical phrases, and
other “tricks” are often used to build associations. Most of us can remember a number of mnemonic
devices from our grammar and high school years.
Some of my personal favorites were:
·
Every
Good Boy Does Fine, to help me to remember the lines of the treble clef . . .
·
King
Phillip Came Over From Granada, Spain , to assist in remembering the hierarchy
of zoological and botanical classifications (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order,
Family, Genus, Species) . . .
·
Everyone’s
favorite colorful character, Roy G. Biv, to recall the seven colors of the
visible spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet).
Mnemonics can be
helpful if there are lists of items that may be difficult to remember without
associations. Particularly in the case
of the treble clef, the lines of the clef must be learned first, before any new
information can be built upon this foundation.
Every concept that follows is dependent on remembering the clef. It must become automatic. The use of mnemonics can be taught to
learners, and the ones I remember best were supplied by past
instructors. However, I have
found that I develop my own system for remembering, and because I tend to be visual,
most of the associations I make are image-oriented. This may be difficult to teach, as not all
learners are visually oriented. However,
there are several methods for teaching mnemonics, and each one seems to appeal
to different styles of learning.
There are various different
methods used to teach mnemonics. The
first of these is the “peg”
method. New information is “hung” on
each item in a list that may be a rhyme.
Bruning, Ronning and Schraw provide a simple rhyme based on the numbers
one through ten, and simple nouns that rhyme with the numbers, such as “one is
a bun, two is a shoe, . . .” and so on.
The list that is to be remembered would then be associated with each
entry in the list, as a number in the list and a partner with the rhymed
word. This method works particularly
well with procedural information, and oral directions that require a numbered list
of steps (Bruning, et. al 1999).
Another procedure used by many people is the method of loci. The method of loci allows an individual to link information
according to location. I
seating chart, and then mentally
can recall every student simply by remembering
where
that have strengths in kinesthetic and spatial organization.
The link method is similar to the first two, in that associations are used, but this procedure requires both a visual image and
an interaction with
next, that item with the next item and so on.
all (Bruning, et.al.,1999).
Using stories to link information can also be effective, but perhaps one of the most popular methods is the first-letter
method. It can also be called
word to be remembered.
One of the examples I use
may be successful with the linear thinker.
Finally, the keyword method, which requires the learner to associate the most recognizable word component of the word or
information to be
learned the word extinguish as a second
out. To
this day, I have never forgotten this. Learners that have
this method to be the most powerful. Additionally, evidence shows that very little
young children generate the associations on their own (Bruning, et. al.,
1999).
References
Bruning, Roger H., Schraw, Gregory J. and Ronning, Royce R. 1999. Cognitive Psychology and Instruction: ThirdEdition.
Upper
Saddle