Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire , store, retain and later retrieve information. There are three major processes involved in memory: Encoding, storage and retrieval.Encoding or registration(receiving, processing and combining of received information) Storage(creation of a permanent record of the encoded information) Retrieval, recall or recollection (calling back the stored information in response to some cue for use in a process or activity) Memory is central to common sense behaviour and also the basis for learning. Stage Model of Information Processing One of the major issues in cognitive psychology is the study of memory. The dominant view is labeled the "stage theory" and is based on the work of Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968).This model proposes that information is processed and stored in 3 stages.
Sensory memory (STSS). Sensory memory is affiliated with the transduction of energy (change from one energy from to another). The environment makes available a variety of sources of information (light, sound, smell, heat, cold, etc. ), but the brain only understands electrical energy. The body has special sensory receptor cells that transduce (change from one form of energy to another) this external energy to something the brain can understand. In the process of transduction, a memory is created.
This memory is very short (less than 1/2 second for vision; about 3 seconds for hearing). It is absolutely critical that the learner attend to the information at this initial stage in order to transfer it to the next one. There are two major concepts for getting information into STM: First, individuals are more likely to pay attention to a stimulus if it has an interesting feature. We are more likely to get an orienting response if this is present. Second, individuals are more likely to pay attention if the stimulus activates a known pattern.
To the extent we have students call to mind relevant prior learning before we begin our presentations, we can take advantage of this principle. Short-term memory (STM). Short-term memory is also called working memory and relates to what we are thinking about at any given moment in time. In Freudian terms, this is conscious memory. It is created by our paying attention to an external stimulus, an internal thought, or both.
It will initially last somewhere around 15 to 20 seconds unless it is repeated (called maintenance rehearsal) at which point it may be available for up to 20 minutes.The hypothalamus is a brain structure thought to be involved in this shallow processing of information. The frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex is the structure associated with working memory. For example, you are processing the words you read on the screen in your frontal lobes.
However, if I ask, "What is your telephone number? " your brain immediately calls that from long-term memory and replaces what was previously there. Another major limit on information processing in STM is in terms of the number of units that can be processed an any one time.Miller (1956) gave the number as 7 + 2, but more recent research suggests the number may be more like 5 + 2 for most things we are trying to remember. Because of the variability in how much individuals can work with (for some it may be three, for others seven) it is necessary to point out important information. If some students can only process three units of information at a time, let us make certain it is the most important three.
There are two major concepts for retaining information in STM: organization and repetition.There are four major types of organization that are most often used in instructional design: •Component (part/whole)--classification by category or concept (e. g. , the components of the teaching/learning model); •Sequential -- chronological; cause/effect; building to climax (e.
g. , baking a cake, reporting on a research study); •Relevance -- central unifying idea or criteria (e. g. , most important principles of learning for boys and girls, appropriate management strategies for middle school and high school students);•Transitional (connective) -- relational words or phrases used to indicate qualitative change over time (e.
. , stages in Piaget's theory of cognitive development or Erikson's stages of socioemotional development) A related issue to organization is the concept of chunking or grouping pieces of data into units. For example, the letters "b d e" constitute three units of information while the word "bed" represents one unit even though it is composed of the same number of letters. Chunking is a major technique for getting and keeping information in short-term memory; it is also a type of elaboration that will help get information into long-term memory.Repetition or rote rehearsal is a technique we all use to try to "learn" something.
However, in order to be effective this must be done after forgetting begins. Researchers advise that the learner should not repeat immediately the content (or skill), but wait a few minutes and then repeat. For the most part, simply memorizing something does not lead to learning (i. e. , relatively permanent change).
We all have anecdotal evidence that we can remember something we memorized (a poem for example), but just think about all the material we tried to learn this way and the little we are able to remember after six months or a year.Long-term memory (LTM). Long-term memory is also called preconscious and unconscious memory in Freudian terms. Preconscious means that the information is relatively easily recalled (although it may take several minutes or even hours) while unconscious refers to data that is not available during normal consciousness. It is preconscious memory that is the focus of cognitive psychology as it relates to long-term memory. The levels-of-processing theory, however, has provided some research that attests to the fact that we "know" more than we can easily recall.
The two processes most likely to move information into long-term memory are elaboration and distributed practice (referred to as periodic review in the direct instruction model). There are several examples of elaboration that are commonly used in the teaching/learning process: •imaging -- creating a mental picture; •method of loci (locations)--ideas or things to be remembered are connected to objects located in a familiar location; •pegword method (number, rhyming schemes)--ideas or things to be remembered are connected to specific words (e. . , one-bun, two-shoe, three-tree, etc. )•Rhyming (songs, phrases)--information to be remembered is arranged in a rhyme (e.
g. , 30 days hath September, April, June, and November, etc. ) •Initial letter--the first letter of each word in a list is used to make a sentence (the sillier, the better). The Organization of Memory The ability to access and retrieve information from long-term memory allows us to actually use these memories to make decisions, interact with others, and solve problems. But how is information organized in memory?The specific way information is organized in long-term memory is not well understood, but researchers do know that these memories are arranged in groups.
Clustering is used to organize related information into groups. Information that is categorized becomes easier to remember and recall. For example, consider the following group of words: Desk, apple, bookshelf, red, plum, table, green, pineapple, purple, chair, peach, yellow Spend a few seconds reading them, then look away and try to recall and list these words.How did you group the words when you listed them? Most people will list using three different categories: color, furniture and fruit.
One way of thinking about memory organization is known as the semantic network model. This model suggests that certain triggers activate associated memories. A memory of a specific place might activate memories about related things that have occurred in that place. For example, thinking about a certain campus building might trigger memories of attending classes, studying and socializing with peers.
