Child Memory and Learning Part V

This week, we continuing with strategies to help your child remember.  These strategies include: gaining a child’s attention, activating  prior knowledge and experiences, active involving learning, and  constructing meaning for information.

Being actively engaged in learning, enhances memory.  Bloom (1987) offered the following percentages of retention of information as it is presented. A child will retain:

10% of what they READ

20% of what they HEAR

30% of what they SEE

50% of what they SEE & HEAR

70% of what they SAY

90% of what they SAY & DO.

• EPR (Every pupil response) is a classroom technique that allows all children to be involved, in contrast to calling on one student at a time.  EPR techniques allow learners to participate through finger signals, individual chalkboards or white erase boards, and cards (such as true/false, yes/no, add/subtract).
• Cooperative learning is one of the most research-based techniques for actively involving a child in the learning process, allowing for equal interaction.
• Reciprocal teaching uses four additional strategies: summarizing, asking questions, making predictions, and clarifying. The teacher and child takes turns being the teacher.
• “Hands-on” experiences through simulations/role playing/debates/projects give students the opportunity to engage in “real life” experiences which motivates the learner, as well as integrating across disciplines and skills.
• “Hands-on” learning with models and/or manipulatives are perfect for learning science and mathematics.

To construct meaning from information, a child needs to structure the information. We remember content that is meaningful, as well as structured. 

• Strategies used for prior-knowledge apply to constructing meaning.
• Reciprocal teaching/learning is also an excellent strategy for constructing meaning.
• Graphic organizers concretely represent abstract or implicit information, show relationships, help to organize ideas, help to relate new information with prior knowledge, and assist in the storage and retrieval of information.  Many types of graphic organizers are available and include semantic maps, story maps, Venn diagrams, character description maps, and cause/effect diagrams.  Graphic organizers  help students visually construct meaning from information.
• Structure an outline of information to be stored into long term memory and study from the outline.

While these strategies are used in the classroom to enhance the learning process, you can adapt them for help with homework.  They can be applied to memorizing information for school.  Remember that rote information will not be placed into long term memory to be retrieved later. Make the information meaningful for long term storage.