Right now, try to recall the fake phone number I gave you that allegedly provided tutoring for educational psychology. Assuming you have been reading the rest of this chapter since I introduced that number, it has not been in your working memory; and so if you can recall it, you'll have to get it from your long-term memory. If you cannot yet remember the number, let me remind you that it was a "900" long-distance number. The final seven digits were an abbreviation for educational psychology, beginning with ED. If you haven't figured it out by now, you might as well look it up. If you were able to recall this number without my help, you probably generated a retrieval strategy much like mine by yourself. If you could not recall the number, chances are that you didn't get it into your short-term memory (You may have skimmed the sentence because you weren't very interested in it.) or you failed to transfer it to long-term memory (You may not have noticed the interesting fact that it was a "900" long-distance number or that the final seven digits spelled ED PSYCH). After the detailed elaboration in this paragraph, you should easily be able to retrieve this number a week from now. (Again, I remind you, this is a fake number. If you need help with this textbook, read the Workbook that accompanies it.)
There are two problems that can occur with regard to making use of previously learned information:
What to Do to Help the Learner Retrieve Information Accurately From Long-Term Memory to Working Memory.
- Review or use the information frequently.
- Look for differences between current and past information.
- Restore the information as actively as possible.
- Use mnemonic strategies.
Note that repeated practice is an effective technique for enhancing both short-term and long-term memory, and if the information coming from working memory is more coherent, it is likely to fit in more smoothly with what's already in long-term memory. Repeated practice is likely to result in overlearning, which makes the working memory more efficient, since less attention needs to be devoted to individual components of tasks that have become automatic. In addition, practice helps long-term memory by integrating information more effectively with other information and by minimizing the chances that it will fade from memory. Remember that the term practice does not refer merely to rote recitation. Using information in order to understand other concepts or to solve problems constitutes practice; and such practical applications make it more likely that useful information can be retrieved later, when it is needed. Practice while learning is part of phases 6 and 7 of learning (responding and reinforcement and the related feedback loops). Practice after learning is the major role of phase 8 (cueing retrieval).
An element common to all five of the preceding sets of guidelines is frequent review or repetition. Repeating the various steps in the transfer of information serves two major purposes: (1) inaccuracies can be noted and corrected, and (2) information can be overlearned and connections can be solidified. While repetition is important, the repeated practice need not consist of the boring duplication of identical activities. In fact, varying the context or the wider picture not only increases interest, it also makes possible a greater degree of meaningfulness and transfer of learning.
For example, a history student may be expected to learn some basic facts about westward expansion in the United States during the nineteenth century and to understand the complexities of pioneer life. The student could engage in the following activities:
- Read and discuss the chapter in the textbook that covers these topics.
- Watch an exciting movie during class that covers these same topics. The movie can be preceded by a set of orienting questions or advance organizers, advising the students to watch for pertinent information while they enjoy the movie.
- Watch Little House on the Prairie for two weeks and report on the degree of realism shown by that TV series.
- Run the computer program OREGON TRAIL or WAGON TRAIN 1849 in cooperative groups of five students. Repeat this experience until the group reaches Oregon by using at least two different strategies.
- Play a JEOPARDY! game with topics and questions selected from the instructional unit.
These activities could be presented and combined in such a way that students would not even realize that the teacher has arranged for repetition of key concepts and information. One important feature of pioneer life was the need for proper planning with regard to food and medicine. This feature could appear in all five of the designated activities. By the second or third presentation of this information, students should be aware of what this feature means. In other words, it would be extremely probable that the students would be getting the information accurately in their sensory registers and transferring it accurately to their working memories. In addition, the activities would each elaborate on the information in different ways, increasing the meaningfulness of the information by making more connections with information already in long-term memory. Finally, the activities would provide practice at retrieving the information from long-term to working memory in order to think about what is happening during each of the activities. In addition, the higher-order thinking skills described in the next chapter could be brought into play. By following the guidelines described in this chapter, a skillful teacher could help students maximize the effectiveness of their processing of information about the basic facts regarding westward expansion and the complexities of pioneer life in America.
Failure to Remember - A Personal Example
One Sunday, while I was working on this chapter, I was seated in church with my family. I heard the scripture readings, but I had no idea what was said, because I was thinking about something else. Suddenly, as a good educational psychologist, I realized that I had a perfect example of the failure of information to get beyond the sensory register. The readings were coming clearly through the loudspeaker, but I had been daydreaming; and so I wasn't really able to remember anything, because it hadn't registered in my working memory.
I knew this was a good example, because all but the most saintly of my readers would have had a similar experience - whether it be a reading in church or a lecture from a parent or spouse or a chapter in this book. I quickly decided to use this as an example, but almost equally quickly my conscience got the best of me. I realized I was supposed to be attending a church service, and so I redirected my focus and started registering the readings in my working memory. However, because I had switched my attention from my educational psychology book to the biblical reading this idea disappeared completely from my mind. I had nothing to trigger its recall from my long-term memory.
Fortunately, a few weeks later I was seated in a faculty convocation in which I realized that my chancellor was talking and I was daydreaming. This triggered in my brain the previous experience in church. Since my conscience reacts differently to the chancellor than to the church, I stopped listening to him and made a note to put this anecdote in this chapter.
Questions:
- After I left the church that first day, why didn't I remember anything about the reading I had just heard in church?
- After my conscience got to me and I began paying attention in church, why was I able to remember the rest of the readings?
- When I realized in church that this was an interesting anecdote but also realized that I should listen to the rest of the readings, I told myself I would write the anecdote down as soon as I got home? Why didn't I do so?
- At the convocation, all the ideas from the church came back to me, and I was easily able to write this anecdote. Why was I able to remember so much without seeming to have to rethink any of it?
Answers to Questions:
- I couldn't remember anything about the first reading because it never even got past my sensory register. Therefore, it couldn't get into my working memory, and it had no chance of getting into my long-term memory.
- I could remember the later readings because I focused my attention on them, which not only let them into my sensory register but also kept them active in my working memory. Since they made sense to me, I was easily able to remember them - at least long enough to be able to talk about them after the service, had I been asked to do so.
- I could have remembered to write the anecdote later that day if I would have made a more deliberate effort to do so. I needed something to trigger the idea later in the day. All I needed was an inner voice to ask me, "What was that idea about educational psychology you had in church today?" However, my inner voice (that is, my conscience or sense of propriety) had already given me different instructions: to stop daydreaming and start listening. When I related this anecdote to one of my students, she told me I should have simply switched my car keys to my back pocket. When I tried to start my car, I would have been surprised to find my car keys in an unusual place, and this would have forced me to ask myself why they were there. That would have probably served the purpose; but my inner voice was pretty emphatic about getting me back on task.
- At the convocation I was easily able to write the anecdote without seeming to have to rethink any of it. I had already done the basic thinking; all I needed was a way to recall it. The chancellor's convocation was the moral equivalent of the old keys in the back pocket trick.
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