Memory Matters!

       "If we want our students to remember things and be able to talk about them then we need to help students form declarative, relational memories. Perhaps one way to begin to do this is to model out loud the processes taking place in own brains as we explain a concept. In other words, put our own thinking out there on the table to be examined. That way students might have a better chance of knowing what to focus on, and so begin to be able to develop relational memories, instead of simply memories of isolated episodes, or memories of carrying out activities. A critical capacity of the hippocampus, and one vital to the formation of declarative, relational memories, is linking. The hippocampus works to establish relationships – links – between things, particularly between episodes. So, explicitly focusing on links and connections might be a better way to establish long-term relational memories than simply giving clear explanations."

Check out "What math teachers should know about memory"

by GARY ERNEST DAVIS

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