Unit 4 Memory and Performance

So… How good is your memory? Let’s try a simple test of it. Without writing anything down, see if you can memorize the following list of words in their correct order.

Remember the following 10 items in the correct order so that If I ask you what was word three, you would remember it.

Watch

Missile

Muffler

Candy

Tomato

Fingernail

Scarf

Disease

Elephant

pillar

What is memory? Raise your hand as soon as you recognize the music

and can identify how it is connected to you.

How do you remember this?

What is the name of the actual song?

Do you remember any Peanuts Trivia?

A collection of neural networks formed through repetition from past experiences or events in one’s life.

What are some of your earliest memories?

The ability to access the neural networks in order to perform a task or skill. Example recalling multiplication facts such as 6x7, or the muscle memory of how to hit a backhand tennis shot.

Peg method A mnemonic device used to recall words or events in

their correct order.

First memorize the peg words that rhyme with the numbers 1-10

1-bun, 2-shoe, 3-tree, 4-door, 5-hive, 6-sticks, 7-heaven, 8-gate, 9-vine, 10-hen

One Bun

2-shoe

3 tree

4 door

5-hive

6- sticks

7- Heaven

8-gate

9-Vine

10-Hen

Peg method: peg the word to the peg word: example if word number one was motorcycle, you could peg the bun to the motorcycle with a visual like this:

Let’s try it. Memorize the following items in their correct order using the peg method. Any questions? Motorcycle

Cricket

Silver dollars

Dart

Baseball Bat

Doughnut

Helmet

Emeralds

Soap Bubbles

Lawn mower

Peg: It will come back to you! I've seen your picture Your name in lights above it This is your big debut It's like a dream come true And when you smile for the

camera I know they're gonna love it

Peg It will come back to you Peg It will come back to you Then the shutter falls You see it all in 3-D It's your favorite foreign movie

I like your pin shot I keep it with your letter Done up in blueprint blue It sure looks good on you So won't you smile for the camera I know I'll love you better

So… did it come back to you? Can you not only recall the peg words but the words we

learned with them? What were your images? 1-bun- motorcycle 2-shoe-cricket 3-tree- silver dollars 4-door-dart 5-hive-baseball bat 6-sticks- doughnut 7-heaven-helmet 8-gate-emeralds 9-vine-soap bubbles 10-hen-lawnmower

Remember the more crazy outrageous and wild they are, the more likely you can recall them. C.O.W.M.= recall.

Peg is great for up to 10 items, what about more? The Loci Method. Another mnemonic device.

Loci- for location. Using a template of known locations to place words on.

Again, use visualization to see the “item” to memorize on that particular location. Don’t be afraid to C.O.W.M.

5 rooms, 5 locations is enough to remember 25 words.

10 rooms, 10 locations = 100 words!!!!

Lets try it.

You may look at the locations you wrote in your journal.

Example: word #1 is diaper I put a diaper on my pillow

Let’s try it. Visualize the word in the location. You may look at your room locations but you may not write anything down.

1. diaper

2. mustard

3. oar

4. meatball

5. basketball

6. pliers

7. paperclip

8. magazine

9. ring

10. grease

11. dog catcher

12. swimsuit

13. buffalo

14. ship

15. grapefruit

16. bucket

17. Tire

18. marathon

19. icecube

20. candle

21. cloud

22. corn

23. dancer

24. windmill

25. turtle

I like turtles

Video: 26:43

Short term memory

As incoming information is processed it travels from the cerebrum to the limbic system for an emotional response. Here is where the hippocampus comes into play.

If the information is emotionally relevant the information may be stored in the hippocampus. This is the short term memory holding area. It may remain there for a few seconds or for over a year.

If the memory is rehearsed (repetition) it becomes part of your life it can be moved from the hippocampus back to the cerebrum as part of a functional long term memory.

Primacy and Recency Effects

Emotion aids a memory.

Since there can be a lot of emotion with something that has never been experienced before, firsts become more easily recalled. This is called the primacy effect.

Example: I remember my first bass tournament more easily than many of the other tournaments, the first time I rode a bike, the first time I ate lobster, etc.

Due to the fact that something has just happened we also tend to remember our lasts if it has emotional value. The last tournament I fished, the last class I taught. This is called the recency effect. The most recent event.

Recall and the primacy/recency effects. Can you recall the first and last words from our peg

method?

One-bun-motorcycle

Ten-hen-lawnmower

What about the loci method?

What was in location one?

What was in location 25?

Implications for learning By breaking study sessions into several smaller units

rather than one long session what are we doing?

More beginnings and endings create more primacy and recency.

Remember on day one of brain studies? It is difficult to eat a burrito in one bite? Consider the metaphor!

Long Term memories Long term memories are delivered from the

hippocampus to the cerebrum. This process can take a while as neurons and their networks need to initiate and turn on genes in the cell to manufacture proteins that change the response of the cell to other neurons.

This is called long term potentiation.

The memories are broken up into varies elements associated with the information such as visual, auditory, and other senses and delivered around the cerebrum. This creates multiple pathways to the information.

Recall Because long term memories are stored throughout

the cerebrum this is why a smell or sound or visual clue can stimulate and initiate the recall of a memory.

There are virtually many access points throughout the brain to recall an event or information needed to process something.

So you smell cookies and it triggers a host of memories about going to grandma’s house.

I say apple and you have a working/functional memory about what apples look like, taste, where they grow, how good they are for you, etc.

More pathways, stronger memories. If you can create more neural networks of information

through active processing and orchestrated immersion into a topic.

Practice and repetition then strengthens the pathways and makes access (recall) easier.

This is why writing something down makes it easier to remember than just reading something, or watching something. Some students highlight information in their textbooks which is less effective than physically taking notes.

Mnemonic devices aid recall Mnemonic device: any technique that aids the ability

to recall past information or events.

Examples, peg, link, and loci methods, initialization: remember acronyms? S.C.U.B.A., M.A.D.D., S.A.D.D.?

What about this one? Please excuse my dear aunt Sally? Or this one, My very excellent mother just served us nachos (used to be nine pizzas.)

Who could ever forget, Never Eat Soggy Waffles?

Songs can be mnemonic devices.

Substitution Memory Method Substitute a word or phrase that

sounds like the word or term you want to memorize.

Use the substitution word to create a visual that helps to remember the definition of the term.

You can use the substitution method for many different terms or concepts that you want to remember.

Example of old English vocabulary words.

Turlough means a winter pond.

Turlough sounds like Turtle: I see a turtle frozen in the ice of a pond during winter.

Piet means chatterbox. I see a person putting a piece of pie into a person’s mouth who won’t shut up.

Griffonage means illegible handwriting. I substitute graffiti as an example of illegible handwriting.

Others:

Example: Palmary = outstanding

I see two people slapping palms when they accomplish something outstanding.

Try it! In your journal write the word.

Then write the definition.

Then write your substitution word and the visual it creates.

Make it yours!

Make it C.O.W.M.

It’s time for orchestrated immersion!

Please get out your journals and study your new vocabulary words using the

substitution method.

Begin by reading the word, then looking at your substitution you wrote down for it.

In your minds eye, recall the visual you attached to the word, that should trigger the definition if you made a good substitution and perhaps a crazy, outrageous, and wild image.

Palmary=Outstanding

Make sure to visualize the substitution and definition You have 5 minutes to concentrate on 25 words.

Focus and use repetition of the substitution method.

You may only use your journal and not the sheet with the words on it.

At the end of class there will be a quiz. 10 words will be chosen from the list and you will be given the word and have to write the definition.

Memory Loss

Memory Loss Memory loss can occur for a variety of reasons.

Most of us forget things, especially if we don’t attend to them or use mnemonic devices. Perhaps they aren’t all that important to us in the first place.

What is chronic memory loss called?

Amnesia or dementia.

Retrograde Amnesia Loss of past (retro) memories

Very uncommon with the exception of older people experiencing amnesia associated with aging diseases like Alzheimer’s or senile dementia.

Getting hit on the head and forgetting who you are but functioning normally in every other way is mainly the stuff of movies and fiction novels.

Some people experience isolated retrograde dementia when subject to severe physical or emotional trauma.

Anterograde amnesia Anterograde amnesia (anterior = out in front)is a

loss of the ability to create new memories after the event that caused the amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact.

This is typically caused by stroke or damage to the hippocampus.

Ten second Tom from 50 first dates.

Memory movie

Let’s go to college.

In order to graduate with a degree. You need to accumulate credits, most

colleges/universities use semester hours.

128 semester hours in the proper courses will get you an undergraduate degree.

What the heck is a semester hour?

Semester Hours! Semester hours are the way credits towards graduation

are counted.

1 semester hour roughly equals one hour per week in class for an entire semester.

So… if you sign up for a class that is worth 3 semester hours that class would probably meet three times for approximately 1 hour each time, per week. Or say, 90 minutes twice a week.

A typical full time schedule would have between 15-17 semester hours.

Semester hours continued. 16 s.h. x 8 semesters =128 semester hours of

credit. 4 year degree! ~31% of students graduate with a degree in 4 years from state schools, 53% private school.

12 s.h. to have full time status.

20 s.h. is the maximum. Why?

Lots of outside of class studying. Especially reading.

How much studying? ~1 to 1.5 actual hours per semester hour of

homework reading/writing/problem solving/studying for most classes. (plan on a 40 h0ur work week for classes and studying to be successful.) Depending on your major and the classes you take it may be more or less.

How efficient/disciplined are you with your time?

I’m talkin’ bout study habits, skills and strategies. You’re a big boy/girl now. Locus of control.

The world is your oyster.

The world is competitive.

How will you play the game of life?

ASK YOURSELF, “WHAT DO YOU WANT OUT OF YOUR LIFE?” Consider if you are working hard/smart/or not at all.

What do you want from your advanced educational experience, what are your goals?

Organize yourself with a schedule that is true to yourself and your goals.

Use study strategies to work smart.

Pick a schedule and use the chart at the back of the packet to see what it would look like each week.

Consider when you might study during each day. Don’t forget to eat, exercise , work? play?

Study Strategies. Go to class!

S.L.A.N.T.

Stay current with syllabus. Schedule your time and follow your schedule.

Limit distractions (environment/phone/computer.)

Study in the same environment as the test! State bound learning.

Study for max. 30 minutes then take a break. This creates many beginnings and endings makes for more primacy and recency effects.

Chunk material. Study by class/section/topic.

Stay active when reading: notes vs. highlighter.

Study strategies continued… Don’t cram before a test. Little bites.

Stress/wellness management, diet, exercise, sleep, rewards.

Attend discussion sessions, find support services, see your prof. or their website when you have questions.

Form a study group.

Get into the class and what you are learning.

If you are majoring in something and you hate it, that might mean you need to change what you are studying.

Undecided? Who isn’t? It is the majority.

Test taking strategies: Wake up early if you have a morning test. Eat some

protein. Get to the test early with the materials you need.

Objective test. Cover up answers and visualize what you believe to be appropriate answers to the questions. Then reveal the choices.

Essay: Use key words and concepts from lectures and notes/text.

Manage your time and stay relaxed.

Don’t cheat.

Study groups-2 brains are better than one. One way to remain active as a studier is to form a study

group.

We are creatures of habit. Meet people in class and ask if they would like to study together.(3 is a good number for a study group.)

Study on your own but come together to prep for tests or discuss a lecture over coffee after a class. Help each other with predicting test questions over the material (remember predict a quiz?)Professor’s web site. Discussion sessions are another way to interact with the material. Remember T from SLANT?

Talk about the class and the material.

Case study-active processing of study groups-Face Substitution Today we will model forming a study group with a

specific task.

You will be given 20 names and faces to remember. Your group will use the substitution method to learn the names.

You will have 12 minutes to study the names and come up with substitutions for them.

You must study as a group and work as a team on each name.

End of class a chance for extra credit.

You can also use the substitution method to remember names with faces. So how could we remember Mr. Piskel? Pick out a prominent feature to key in with his name. So…

Example: Mr. Piskel- substitute Skull for Pi(skel) then remember his name

because you can see his “skull” through his bald head.

You try it. Your groups creates the substitutions.

Let’s try it!