MNEMONICS

HUMAN GROWTH, LEARNING AND DEVELOMENT//DR. DEL MUNDO

BY: MARIA ANGELICA S. MACABEO, RN

MNEMONICS are memory devices that help learners recall

larger pieces of information, especially in the form of lists like characteristics, steps, stages, parts, phases, etc.

1. Loci Method2. Pegword Technique3. Rhymes and Acronyms4. The Link System5. A time-teted Approach for Learning

Enhancement

1. METHOD OF LOCI is a method of memorizing information by placing each item to be

remembered at a point along an imaginary journey.

The information can then be recalled in a specific order by retracing the same route through the imaginary journey.

Loci is the plural for of the Latin word, locus, meaning place or location.

The method of loci is also called the Journey Method by Dominic O'Brien, and the imaginary journeys are often referred to as Memory Palaces or Memory Journeys.

Example Usage:

Create a mental journey along a well-known route, for example, through your house. The first 10 loci, or locations, of the journey might be:

CREATE THE MEMORY PALACE

1. your bedroom, on your bed2. your bedroom, in your closet3. Bathroom4. Hallway5. other bedroom

6. Stairs7. living room8. dining room9. Kitchen10. front porch

These 10 locations are your first "memory palace". You will always travel through your memory palace in the same order.

Then, take a list of ten items that you want to memorize, and imagine each item in one locus, or location, of your memory palace. For example, you could try memorizing the following shopping list:

MEMORIZE THE ITEMS

1. Corn2. Milk3. Carrots4. Chicken5. Garlic

Using the sample memory palace above, you would place the corn in the first locus of the memory palace, which is in your bedroom on your bed. You could exaggerate the

corn cob by making it a large corn cob sleeping in your bed.

6. bar of soap7. Beans8. dish soap9. Mayonnaise10. hot sauce

1. your bedroom, on your bed2. your bedroom, in your closet3. Bathroom4. Hallway5. other bedroom6. Stairs7. living room8. dining room9. Kitchen10. front porch

----Corn----Milk----Carrots----Chicken----Garlic----bar of soap----Beans----dish soap----Mayonnaise----hot sauce

MEMORIZE THE ITEMS

Loci or Locations

Items

To recall the items, just mentally retrace your route through the memory palace and you should be able to retrieve the data.

If you want to store the memorized information for a longer period of time, use repetition and go through the memory palace a few times per day until it sticks.

After you try it with 10 items and can recite them forwards and backwards in order, try expanding your memory palace to 30 locations and see if you can do the same with 30 items.

RECALL THE ITEMS

2. PEGWORD TECHNQUE

Imagery and association are involved in many mnemonic devices. In the pegword mnemonic technique, you first memorize the short rhyme. Then, using these words as pegs, you create a visual image of each of the words you wish to remember.

Rhyme with Pegwords Words to Memorize Pegwords Visual Image

One is a bun 1. Steak Bun

Two is a shoe 2. Milk Shoe

Three is a tree 3. Eggs Tree

Four is a door 4. Bread Door

3. Rhymes and Acronymns

Rhyme, rhythm, repetition and melody can all act as an aid to forming memories. Becasuece our brains have an amazing auditory capacity.

Here is an example for remembering Roman Numerals:

i am a Roman soldier 15 Victories I have wonX marks the spot where 10 comrades fellonly 50 Lived to tell100 more were Captured in warnow we fight 500 Days more1000 soldiers Marching on tour

ACRONYMS are everywhere! They are used in ordinary language, government, industry, and in almost every field of study.

An acronym is a word formed from the initial letter or letters of a series of words or compound term.

HOMES ---- For the names of the Great Lakes, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

DR. ABC ----For remembering the key elements of administering first aid which are Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing, and Circulation.

STAB -----Students of music can create an association with this acronym to remember the names of the four voices in a quartet, the Soprano, Tenor, Alto, and Bass.

4. The Link System

The Link Method is one of the easiest mnemonic techniques available. You use it by making simple associations between items in a list, linking them with a vivid image containing the items.

Example:

You may want to remember this list of counties in the South of England: Avon, Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall, Wiltshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and Surrey.

REMEMBERING WITH THE LINK METHOD

This would rely on a series of images coding information:

An AVON (Avon) lady knocking on a heavy oak DOoR (Dorset).The DOoR opening to show a beautiful SuMmER landscape with a SETting sun (Somerset).The setting sun shines down onto a field of CORN (Cornwall).The CORN is so dry it is beginning to WILT (Wiltshire).The WILTing stalks slowly droop onto the tail of the sleeping DEVil (Devon).On the DEVil's horn a woman has impaled a GLOSsy (Gloucestershire) HAM (Hampshire) when she hit him over the head with it.Now the Devil feels SoRRY (Surrey) he bothered her.

5. A Time-Tested Approach for Learning Enhancement

One of the most practical and widely used approaches to learning enhancement is F.B. Robinson’s SQ 3R system – survey, question, read, recite and review.

A slight variation made on that system by E.L. Thomas and H.A. Robinson called PQ4R tacked on an additional R for reflection. The P stands for preview, which means basically the same as the S in Robinson’s first step, survey.

SIX Steps Of The PQ4R:

1. PREVIEWBefore reading the text, try to get a genearl idea of the subject

matter you are about to read.  Ways to do this would be to thumb quickly through the pages, or use given texts such as Main Ideas, Reading Focus questions, Vocabulary terms and anything else in the beginning of the chapter to get a feel for what you are going to read.  This should help give your brain a cognitive map.

2. QUESTION    The purpose of questioning is to create goals before reading.  You can do this by phrasing questions from reading headings or starter sentences (the first sentence in a paragraph usually gives the reader a good idea of what's in the rest of the paragraph.

3. READ Read with the purpose of answering your questions. You can jot down key words to help. It may even be helpful to keep two columns of notes (one column for your questions and the second column for answers.)

4. REFLECT Try thinking of mental images of the subject matter and think of how and where it applies in the real world. Relation new information to old information, relating new info to events in your life, and relating new info to other people are all helpful ways to reflect. This step is important for understanding and remembering subject matter.

5. RECITE Recite information aloud or to yourself to help remember the subject matter later. Many people find it helpful to have study groups because you can quiz each other, and people may have different ways of elaborating information. on a student to learn in less time.

6. REVIEW Repeating or re-reading will help you retain information. There are two ways to study information:

-Disturbed Learning

Studying regularly over several days or weeks. While you'll probably need to plan ahead, this method can help reduce anxiety on the day of a quiz, and keep you prepared for pop quizzes.

-Massed Learning (cramming)

This involves studying as much as possible in a shorter amount of time. It is not as successful as disturbed learning, and may put more pressure on a student to learn in less time.