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CHAPTER - I
THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER-I
THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1.1. INTRODUCTION
In teaching and learning process we can teach the subject very
effectively in schools by using Perceptual learning, and Mnemonic
approaches in Mind mapping. Mind Map is a powerful approach to
note taking and it is a useful technique that improves the way we take
notes, and supports and enhances our critical problem solving.
Similarly, Mnemonics is a very useful technique in education at higher
secondary school level.
Mind Mapping is a pictorial way of
transferring concepts from our brains onto paper very quickly and
easily. With practice we will find that our brain can produce ideas
faster that our pencil can write them on the paper. Ideas are normally
produced by our brain in a random sequence - certain things tend to
trigger off other ideas that lead to suggestions, images and concepts.
National Curriculum Framework for School Education brought
out by NCERT (2000) underlines the following: Stress on value
education; reducing curriculum load; bringing out reform in
evaluation system; strengthening national unity; preparing children to
respond to challenges of globalization and information technology;
relating education to work; linking education with life skills; education
of special groups; integrating science and technology; and adopting an
integrated approach to teaching social studies. Teaching is a process
which is aimed at bringing out full potential among learners related to
competency.
Towards that end, teaching should be scientific,
effective, and meaningful in teaching learning process. To make
teaching and learning process more effective in classroom situation,
the teacher should understand the concept of the related
competencies and also the appropriate instructional strategies to
improve learning in Higher Secondary Schools level students
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especially in Biology subject. So the investigator is also interested to
follow Perceptual learning and Mnemonic approach to developing
learning skills among Higher Secondary students in Biology subject so
as to enable them to grasp information in Biology and also to enhance
the development of learning process. Hence the study is titled as
"Effect of Perceptual learning and Mnemonic approaches in Mind
mapping of Biology at Higher Secondary School level."
The
investigator intends to explain the definition and identify the
technique of instruction for effective learning in Biology subject with
the help of Perceptual learning and Mnemonics, types of memory,
memorizing techniques. The different components or strategies used
in Perceptual learning, Mnemonic approach, the extend of research
already done with normal students by using this approach to enhance
the memory skills, specific memories, research gaps, and means of
filling in the gaps through our study. A Mind Map replaces the
insufficient method of linear note-taking with a method based on the
understanding of how the brain works at its best. For note making it
opens up the creative processes and provides a gestalt of the whole
subject which can not easily be obtained by any other method. We
can use any combination of words, pictures, icons or symbols,
sounds, colors and any other imagery which we see fit into structuring
and organizing our ideas together.
Learning of Biology at Higher Secondary School level involves a
number of concepts and basics, which are presented in the simplest
form at lower grades and are presented at a greater detail and
complexity with the movement to higher grades. So there is a need for
giving Higher Secondary Students a feel in the process of learning.
Biology occupies an important position in teaching as well as research
activities in India. There is enormous diversity, not only in the
research areas pursued, but also in the pattern and contents of
various teaching programs.
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1.2. LEARNING
"In its broadest sense, learning can be defined as a process of
progressive change from ignorance to knowledge, from inability to
competence, and from indifference to understanding. In much the
same manner, instruction-or education-can be defined as the means
by which we systematize situations, conditions, tasks materials, and
opportunities by which learners acquire new or different ways of
thinking, feeling, and doing."
"Most models of learning assume that the purpose of learning is
to incorporate new information or skills into the learner's existing
knowledge structure and to make that knowledge accessible.
Learning begins with the need for some motivation, an intention to
learn. The learner must then concentrate his attention on the
important aspects of what is to be learned and differentiate them from
noise in the environment. While those important aspects are being
identified, the learner accesses prior knowledge that already exists in
memory, because a key to learning is connecting what is known to
what is being learned. New information must be processed,
structured, and connected in such a way as to be accessible in the
future; this process is known as encoding.
It requires active
involvement. The learner must verify an understanding of the
structure by receiving feedback, from the internal and external
environments, on the encoding choices made. "Learning is a social
process that occurs through interpersonal interaction within a
cooperative context. Individuals, working together, construct shared
understanding and knowledge."
1.3. TYPES OF LEARNERS AND THEIR LEARNING STYLES
Learners can be categorized into: visual learners, auditory
learners, and kinesthetic learners.
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1.3.1. VISUAL LEARNERS (Learn through seeing)
Visual learners need to observe the teacher's body language and
facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They
tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual
obstructions (e.g. people's heads). They may think in terms of pictures
and learn best from visual displays including diagrams, illustrated
text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and handouts. During a lecture or classroom discussion, visual learners often
prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information.
1.3.2. AUDITORY LEARNERS (Learn through listening)
They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking
things through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory
learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through
listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written
information may have little meaning until it is heard. These learners
often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape recorder.
1.3.3. TACTILE OR KINESTHETIC LEARNERS (Learn through
moving, doing and touching)
Tactile/Kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on
approach, actively exploring the physical world around them. They
may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted
by their need for activity and exploration.
1.4. MV LEARNING
The MV stands for "Mnemonic visual 'learning'. This describes
the practice of helping our memory remember items by associating
them with a visual, audio, graphic image that is easier to remember.
Most often, the more unique and bizarre the associated image is, the
easier it is to remember.
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We currently have soft-ware products that use this method to
teach signal flags and morse code. Other products are on the way.
We have products for the palm pilot platform and soon for windows.
We have used this learning technique to successfully teach signal
flags and morse code to look outs in the Navy as well as Boy scouts
and sailors. It is a matter of surprise to observe how well one can
remember these new items.
1.5. USE OF MNEMONIC VISUAL LEARNING
The software provides a hint for each item to be learned. This
hint is nothing but Mnemonic aid. Many of them seem almost silly
but that helps lodge the image in long term memory. To associate the
hint with the item (whether signal flag or morse code sequence), form
in mind as graphic a picture as possible. Make it funny, silly or
stupid.... It does not have to make any sense. We want it to stand out
in our memory. One should focus on the part of the hint that
contains the letter in question. As we use the software, we can use
the hints to reinforce the images and ensure that they are imprinted
in our mind.
1.6. MEMORIZING AND REMEMBERING
Indispensable mental capacity is called memory. Memory
allows people to learn and survive. Without memory, we would not
know how to shut off the alarm, take a shower, get dressed or find our
way home. Like Perception memory is selective. People retain some
information and lose some. What people recall can be shaped by a
surprisingly large number of factors, including the tendency to
embellish or simplify what they report. No one is sure, about how
many types of memory there are but most research suggests that they
are at least three basic types. Each is named for the kind of
information it handles: episodic, semantic, and procedural (Tulving,
1985). Any memory of a specific event that happened while we were
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present is an EPISODIC MEMORY - what we had for dinner yesterday
or where we were last Friday night. More research has been devoted
to episodic memory than to any other type.
Semantic memory
contains generalized knowledge of the world that does not involve
memory of a specific event, or episode for example, who was the first
president of the United States?
Procedural memory is also called
Skill memory, which involves how to do things - for example,
knowing how to ride a bicycle and swim. Many activities require all
three types of memory. Consider a game of tennis. Knowing the rules
of the game or the number of sets is needed to win a match that
involves semantic memory. Remembering the score is episodic
memory.
1.6.1. BASIC MEMORY PROCESS
Remembering the contents of episodic, semantic, or procedural
memory requires flawless operation of three fundamental processes encoding, storage, and retrieval. A break down of any one of this
processor will produce some degree of forgetting (Melton, 1963).
First, information must be put into memory - a step that requires
encoding. For example, people sometimes put information into
acoustic codes, which represent information as sequences of sounds.
Visual codes represent stimuli as pictures. Semantic codes represent
an experience by its general meaning. The second basic memory
process is storage, which simply means maintaining information in
the system over time. Episodic, semantic, and procedural memories
can be stored for a very long time. Retrieval is the process of finding
information stored in memory and bringing it into consciousness.
Retrieving stored information like our address or telephone number is
usually fast and effortless, which would seem automatic. Encoding,
storage and retrieval are all vital links in the memory chain. Reasons
for forgetfulness are never stored or information stored will never be
retrieved.
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1.7. THREE STAGES OF MEMORY
The most influential theories of memory suggest that, in order
for information to become firmly embedded in memory, it must pass
through three stages of processing. They are sensory memory, short
term memory, and long term memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968).
In the first sensory memory stage, sensory registers hold
information from the senses — sights or sounds, for example — for a
fraction of second. Information in the sensory registers may be
attended to, analyzed, and encoded as a meaningful pattern. This
process is known as perception. If the information in sensory memory
is perceived, it can enter the second or short-term memory stage
where, if nothing further is done, it will disappear in twenty seconds
or so. If information is processed in short-term memory, it may be
encoded into long-term memory, where it may remain indefinitely.
In order to recognize incoming stimuli, the brain must analyze
them and compare them to what is already stored in long-term
memory. This process is nearly, but not quite, instantaneous. As a
result, the impression that stimuli make on the senses must be
maintained for a short time. This is the job of the sensory registers.
The sensory registers hold incoming information long enough for it to
be processed further. Sensory memory is very primitive and very
brief, but it lasts long enough to connect one impression to the next,
so that one can experience a smooth flow of information.
Experiments like Sperling's helped establish the fact that the
sensory registers retain mental representations of visual images only
for a brief time. These representations are called icons, and the
sensory register for them is called iconic memory. Psychologists
believe that each of the other senses has its own type of sensory
register; among them, only echoic memory has received much study
so far. Echoic memory is the sensory register for auditory sensations;
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an echo in this context is the mental representation of a sound in
sensory memory. Experiments like Sperling's indicate that iconic and
echoic memory have essentially the same properties, with one
exception. Unlike an icon, an echo characteristically lasts up to
several seconds, probably because of the physiology of the ear. For
both the echo and the icon, research suggests that encoding is
minimal. Both icons and echoes are very faithful reproductions of the
physical stimulus, and virtual copies of the information provided by
the senses (Sakitt & Long, 1979) without further processing, icons,
echoes, and other sensory memories simply fade away. The process of
controlling the kinds of information to be captured in sensory memory
is called selective attention.
1.8. IMPROVING OUR MEMORY
Students can improve their memories by Meta memory and
Mnemonics.
1.8.1. METAMEMORY
Meta memory is the name for knowledge about how our own
memory works. It consists of three types of knowledge (Flavell, 1985.
Flavell & Well man, 1977).
First Meta memory is the name for knowledge about how our
own memory works. Pre school children are notoriously weak in this
kind of understanding. They know that the way students look does
not affect their memory, that noise interferes with remembering, and
that it is harder to remember many items than a few. But they deny
that they ever forget anything and claim that they can remember
quantities of information beyond their own (or anyone else's) capacity
(Flavel, Friedrichs & Hoyt, 1970).
Only in the school years do
children learn the limits and the strengths of their memories.
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Second, Meta memory involves knowledge of different types of
tasks. For example, children learn to use different strategies for
memorization, when they know they will have to face a short answer
test, which requires recall, rather than a multiple choice test, which
for the most part requires only recognition (Horowitz & Horowitz,
1975).
Third, Meta memory involves knowledge of what types of
strategies are most effective in remembering new information. This
aspect of Meta memory is most likely to change dramatically with age
and experience (Fabricius & Wellman, 1983).
This is quite
discernible in the case of the use of rehearsal.
For example, suppose two groups of children, one consisting of
five - year - olds and another of ten - year - olds, are asked to
memorize a list of words. The groups will probably do equally well if
the word list is short, but the older group will do much better than the
younger on a long list. Why? Rote rehearsal the younger children's
main strategy is very effective for recalling short lists. But when the
older children are given a long list, they tend to combine rote
rehearsal with more elaborate strategies, such as stringing the words
into meaningful sentences or fitting them into different categories.
Younger children's Meta memory is not as good as that of older
children; as a result, their performance is much poorer. This
difference can be largely eliminated by teaching younger children to
use a different strategy. We 'therefore know that difference in
performance is not due, to ability, but to the strategy used (Brown,
1975).
Memory increases our efficiency. Memory enables us to
remember important facts, ideas, names etc., and other items of
information. Memory, infact is one of the best friends, guides and
philosophers of an individual. Without memory an individual
becomes inaccurate and inefficient. Memory is the function of the
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mind by virtue of which it records, retains and produces ideas gained
by its own activity.
One of the important aims of school instruction is to encourage
the learners to acquire and to retain the knowledge imparted in school
for future use in school life (examination, evaluation, etc) and in
meeting out-of-school life problems of the present as well as of the
future. It is, therefore, very essential to take proper steps so that
students are able to retain and recall easily, the information acquired,
after a time gap. Learning is the process of establishing association of
ideas in mind.
Retention is the process of relegation of the past experience in
the sub-conscious mind of the individual in the form of a mental
experience.
Recall is bringing again to mind the past experience on the basis
of association of ideas.
Recall is of two types: Spontaneous and Deliberate.
In
Spontaneous recall we make no effort to recall but the experiences or
ideas just flow. In Deliberate recall, we make an effort to recall
something. Recall is dependent on association of ideas. The
association of ideas is dependent on many laws.
Recognition is the capacity to recognize or express knowledge of
all-seeing a thing that has been seen earlier.
1.9. KINDS OF MEMORY
1. Habit memory and true memory.
2. Rote memory and logical memory.
3. Passive memory and active memory.
4. Personal and impersonal memory.
5. Immediate memory and permanent memory.
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1.9.1. HABIT MEMORY AND TRUE MEMORY
Bergson holds that habit memory is dependent upon mere
motor mechanism where true memory depends on independent
recollections. According to him "the past survives under two distinct
forms firstly in motor mechanism, secondly in independent
recollections. Learning of mathematical tables by mere repetition is a
type of habit memory. True memory depends upon association and
interest and therefore it is linked by educators.
1.9.2. ROTE MEMORY AND LOGICAL MEMORY
Rote memory is mechanical repetition of experience without
understanding. It is also termed as habit memory. Logical memory
depends on understanding. A child understands the tables and then
commits them to memory by repeating them a number of times and
applies them on later occasions — this is an example of logical
memory".
1.9.3. PASSIVE MEMORY AND ACTIVE MEMORY
In passive memory, the past experiences come to our
consciousness without making any effort on our past. In active
memory, we make deliberate efforts to recall some forgotten
experience.
1.9.4. PERSONAL AND IMPERSONAL MEMORY
In personal memory, we remember our past experiences. In
impersonal memory facts are remembered without any reference to
oneself.
1.9.5. IMMEDIATE MEMORY AND PERMANENT MEMORY
Other things being equal (motivation, interest etc), the more
intelligent the child, the better he usually does in his school work. A
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large number of research reports support this generalization. Bryan
has conducted an investigation that throws some interesting light on
the obtained relationship between memory and intelligence during
childhood.
1.10. A MULTISTORE MODEL OF MEMORY
Several psychologists find it useful to distinguish at least three
components of the memory system. A typical division as suggested by
Atkinson and Shiffrin includes a sensory memory, short-term store,
temporary working memory and a long term store, and permanent
store house of information.
1.11. SIGNS OF GOOD MEMORY
Psychologists identify five signs of good memory.
1.11.1. RAPIDITY:
experiences.
i.e. how quickly the learners recall his
How little time the learner takes in recalling his
experience is denoted by rapidity.
1.11.2. ACCURACY: This implies the exactness with which a past
experience is recalled. There may be rapidity in memory but accuracy
may be missing. A good memory possesses these elements
simultaneously.
1.11.3. LENGTH OF TIME: This element denotes the time for which
one can retain the past experiences and recalls it accurately. One
individual may be able to retain and recall only a small quantity of
experience while another is able to retain and recall a large quantity of
experience. The latter has relatively a good memory.
1.11.4. QUANTITY OF EXPERIENCE:
Some persons are able to
recall whatever they learn while others can recall only a little.
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1.11.5. PROMPTNESS: It refers to the recall of right experience at the
right time at the right place and in the right manner.
1.12. MEMORY DEVELOPMENT / IMPROVEMENT
FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR MEMORIZATION:
By following
appropriate methods of teaching and learning, improvement of
memory at an appreciable level is possible.
1.12.1. INTEREST:
For proper memorizing, interest in the topic or
subject is essential. There is a popular saying "we can take the horse
to water for drinking but we can not make him drink unless he is
interested in drinking." Similar is the case with the children.
1.12.2. MOTIVATION IN LEARNING: Motivation creates interest and
produces the right condition for memorization.
1.12.3. WILL: Will to learn a topic or subject enhances interest and
motivation, and thereby it leads to better retention.
1.12.4. ASSOCIATION:
The law of association is very helpful in
memorization.
1.12.5. REPETITION:
Repetition and its quality affect memorizing.
Several psychological experiments have shown that the items repeated
more often are remembered longer than those repeated less. However,
repetition should be with understanding.
1.12.6. SPACED REPETITION:
The material to be committed to
memory should be repeated at intervals with period of rest. This will
save the learner from fatigue. Effort - rest - effort will lead to better
memorization.
1.12.7. USE THE PROGRESSIVE METHODS OF TEACHING LEARNING: The project method and the problem methods are very
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helpful in making the matter interesting. Students assimilate easily
and retain for a longer period.
1.12.8. USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY: A variety of aids should
be used in teaching — learning process to make the students motivated
in the lesson. They help in enhancing concentration of the students.
1.12.9. WHOLE OR PART METHOD:
Experiments by Payne and
Synder show that the whole method is better for poems containing up
to 240 lines and for longer poems. In certain cases, the part method
is better.
They are two methods of memorizing. They are whole method
and part method. For example, take the case of a poem we may read
the poem again and again from beginning to end as a whole. This is
known as the whole method of memorizing. We may divide the poem
into parts and sub-parts and memorize each party separately. This is
part method. Both of these methods have merits as well as demerits.
1.12.10. RECITATION: In this method, the learner tries to recite and
recall the subject matter without looking at the paper. In this method,
the learner checks up from time to time. According to A.I.Gates
(1942), in this method, weak connections are easily discovered and
more attention is paid to them.
The sense of accomplishment
encourages the learner to make greater effort. Errors are easily
detected and are soon eliminated.
1.12.11. OVER-LEARNING:
Over - Learning implies practice that
continues after a perfect recall has been established. Over-learning
leads to better retention. However, over-learning should be moderate.
Excessive over-learning will lead to boredom. Under - learning
hinders retention.
1.12.12. USE MNEMONICS:
Mnemonic devices are useful in
retaining several types of material. Through this device, information
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in the brain is deliberately transformed into meaningful system to
improve memory. For instance, aims of education may be
memorized with the aid of 7R's. 7R's denote Reading, Studying,
Writing, Arithmetic, Rights, Responsibilities and Recreation.
3A's represent Age, Ability and Aptitude of students while referring
to individual differences. 4H's denote aims of education for the
development of Head, Hand, Heart and Health.
1.12.13. MEANINGFUL ORGANIZATION OF THE SUBJECTMATTER:
One of the most effective methods to improve memory or
retention which teachers can use is meaningful organization of the
subject - matter. Approach should be logical - cum-psychological.
1.12.14. FORMATION OF CLEAR CONCEPTS:
Efforts should be
made to improve memory with the help of illustration and various
types of audio-visual aids.
1.12.15. PRINCIPLE OF LEARNING BY DOING:
Learning
experiences acquired through doing are remembered for a longer
period.
1.12.16. OVERALL CLASS ROOM ENVIRONMENT:
It includes
proper physical conditions and the attitude of the teacher.
1.13. MORE SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING MEMORY
AND REDUCING MEMORY PROBLEMS:
All students need to understand how their memory works and
identify their particular profiles of memory strengths and weaknesses
(Meta memory).
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Information on any topic should be presented to students in a
variety of formats including spatial, linguistic and sequential.
For example, if students are presented with an outline, it may
be given in the traditional sequential way as well as with using a
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strategy called "Mind Mapping". Mind Mapping is a
spatial/configurational format while the traditional way in
which students are instructed is a linear/ sequential format.
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Students who have difficulty with short-term memory
registration and/or working memory may need directions
repeated to them. As they get older, they will need to write
directions down to help them remember them.
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When students have difficulty remembering what they have
read, they should be taught to paraphrase (recode information)
as they read and to take notes in the margins, underline,
highlight and/or make notes on a Post - It. If they made notes
on a Post - It, they can place the Post - It on paper and have a
summary of what they have read.
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Note taking is an activity that may help students register
information in memory as well as consolidate it. Note taking is a
skill that should be taught to all students. Students with
handwriting problems may have a difficult time with this task,
however, and may need alternative strategies.
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Students who have working memory problems may need to use
a calculator to solve multiple-step math problems. Also when
completing a writing assignment, they should use a "staging"
procedure that allows them to focus on one aspect of writing at
a time. With this procedure, they would first generate ideas,
then organize them and finally attend to spelling and
mechanical and grammatical rules. Students should also write
the topic and any key ideas they have written down and refer to
these when writing their assignment.
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It may be helpful for students to review material right before
going to sleep at night. Research has shown that information
studied this way is better remembered. Any task that is
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performed after reviewing and prior to sleeping interferes with
consolidation of information in memory.
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All students would benefit from self testing. They should
identify the important information, formulate test questions and
then answer them. This is also a useful exercise to perform with
a study buddy.
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When students need to remember a series of steps or events, it
may be helpful for them to draw diagrams or flow charts of the
steps / events.
•
Paired associations as well as most other information is
remembered better when it is rehearsed using multiple sensory
modalities.
•
Many students are very adept with computers and there are a
number of software programs such as "Reading Blaster" that
can help a student retain his basic skills.
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Students who have difficulty accessing specific pieces of
information should not be required to answer questions "on the
spot" during class discussions. They should be given the
question at an earlier time and forewarned about when they will
be called on. These students should also be given extended time
to take tests. They may perform better with open - ended
questions and take home an open book test.
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Students with memory problems may perform better when
tested on relatively small amount of material. They may also
perform better when test questions require recognition memory
rather than recall (e.g., multiple choices and/or matching).
Projects are also a good way for some students to demonstrate
their knowledge without such demands on memory.
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In order to enhance the likelihood that all students will
elaborate on new incoming information, teachers should
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activate their prior knowledge and make the new information
meaningful to them.
•
In order to avoid interference of other tasks, tests should be
given at the beginning of the class period.
•
Students should be taught the necessity of "over learning" new
information. Often they practise only until they are able to
perform error-free repetition of the material.
Students should be required to identify the particular memory
strategies that they will use for specific situations. For example, they
should be asked how they plan on remembering the names of all
plants in the school campus.
Mnemonic devices should probably not be used for memorizing
concepts because they are designed to sidestep the deep meaning of a
given material. For this reason, these techniques are excellent for
remembering lists and necessary facts.
Repetition and association are two essential components to any
memory technique.
1.14. REPETITION:
Mnemonic devices demand active participation
and constant repetition of the material to be memorized. This
repetition is not passively repeating words, but instead it is a
meaningful practice which involves familiarizing our self with a list,
trying to memorize it, duplicating it, and then checking it our self.
This process acts as a holding pattern while links are found to retain
the information permanently.
1.15. ASSOCIATION: New knowledge is more effectively stored in the
long term memory when it is associated with anything that is familiar.
Mnemonic focus on association and with a little creativity, our
associations will be so bizarre that we can't help but remembering
them.
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1.16. PERCEPTUAL LEARNING
The philosophy of Perception concerns how mental processes
and symbols depend on the world internal and external to the
perceiver. Our Perception of the external world begins with the senses,
which lead us to generate empirical concepts representing the world
around us, within a mental framework relating new concepts to
preexisting ones. Perception leads to a person's view of the world, so
its study may be important for better understanding communication.
We can categorize perception as internal or external.
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Internal Perception tells us what is going on in our bodies. We
can sense where our limbs are, whether we are sitting or
standing; we can also sense whether we are hungry, or tired,
and so forth.
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External or Sensory Perception tells us about the world outside
our bodies. Using our senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and
taste, we discover colors, sounds, textures, etc. of the world at
large.
Perceptual learning is the specific and relatively permanent
modification of perception and behavior following sensory experience.
It encompasses parts of the learning process that are independent
from conscious forms of learning involving structural and/or
functional changes in primary sensory cortices. A familiar example is
the treatment for a "lazy" or crossed eye. Covering the good eye causes
gradual improvement in the weaker eye's cortical representations. If
the good eye is patched too long, however, it learns to see less acutely.
Perceptual learning, or the adjustment of Perception to the stimulus
aspects of the environment, is sometimes distinguished from cognitive
learning, the latter term being reserved for the modification of
problem-solving behavior.
In early vision, learning occurs in
processes such as adaptation.
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Perception is a process that seems effortless - it is immediate,
and correct continual learning is required in order to accurately
perceive the world. The process of keeping Perception correct should
be regarded as "learning", though it is unique in many ways. For
instance, conscious awareness is not required, unlike many familiar
learning processes.
1.17. MNEMONIC IS A DEVICE
A Mnemonic is a device that allows for classification,
organization, storage and recollection of information into and out of
long-term memory. Since the items in one's long - term memory are
maintained longer, with better organization, Mnemonic devices ensure
that the memorizer is paying attention to the material.
A great thing about Mnemonic devices is that they make for
simple retrieval of information: the Mnemonic tells us "where to look
out in long - term memory". People tend to remember best the
unusual, the funny and / or the personal ones. Some drawbacks of
Mnemonics are that they do not necessarily help a person understand
the material to be remembered, they may be time consuming to create
and / or learn, and only certain types of mnemonic devices apply to
certain situations.
Ancient Greek scholar states "Memory is an admirable gift of
nature by which we recall past things, we embrace present things and
we contemplate future things through their likeness to past things".
The Oxford dictionary defines Mnemonics as "of or designed to
aid the memory". The word is derived from the name of the Greek
goddess of memory - Mnemosyne. We came to learn that the Greeks
thought so much of the ability to memorize that they worshipped it in
the form of a goddess. Sophisticated Mnemonic techniques are
20
resorted to elsewhere but each of the items below is a simple popular
aid to memory that we can all use straightaway.
Mnemonic instruction refers to instructional or learning
strategies designed specifically to improve memory. In many cases, it
refers to modifying or changing to-be-learned information to link it
directly to information the learner already knows.
Mnemonics is a scientific-tested technique based on our
knowledge of principals of memory. There are the Link-word method
to help memorize material, the peg word method, chunking,
associations (stories), ridiculous associations, and the use of
acronyms and acrostics. The famous ROY G BIV for learning the
colors of the rainbow is an example for Mnemonic acronym. The not
so famous RAVEN is for remembering when to use "affect" VS "effect"Remember, Affect, Verb, Effect, Noun. Mnemonics strategies gathered
from research articles have been used to learn people's names, foreign
language, the states and capitals, letters of the alphabet and spelling
of words to name a few.
1.18. IMPORTANCE OF MNEMONICS
People with normal memory skills (Harris & Morris, 1984) as
well as brain damaged individuals (Wilson, 1987) can benefit from
Mnemonics, which are strategies for placing information in an
organized context in order to remember it. Suppose we want to
remember to pick up milk, bread, bananas, carrots, and coffee at the
store. If we use this sample list of peg words, then the first word
(number. one) is bun. Since milk is the first item to be remembered,
21
we might imagine milk being poured onto a bun. For the bread, we
might imagine a shoe (number two) kicking a loaf of bread.
S.No.
Peg word and
Image
Item to be
Recalled
Connecting Image
1.
Bun
Milk
Milk pouring on to a
soggy hamburger bun.
2.
Shoe
Bread
A shoe kicking and
breaking a brittle loaf of
French bread.
3.
Tree
Bananas
Several bunches of
bananas hanging from
a tree.
4.
Door
Carrot
Key hole of a door
eating a carrot.
5.
Hive
Coffee
Pouring coffee into top
of a bee hive.
(Source: American psychological association, 1973)
(The peg word technique)
We can link items by weaving them into a story or a sentence or
a rhyme. To help customers remember where they have parked their
cars, some large garages have replaced section designations such as
"Al" or "A2" which labels items such as colour, names or months.
Customers can then tie the location of their cars to information
already in long-term memory - for example, "I parked in the month
of my mother's Birthday".
1.19. CHUNKING MNEMONIC MEMORY TECHNIQUE
Chunking is a technique used when remembering numbers,
although the idea can be used for remembering other things as well.
It is based on the idea that short - term memory is limited in the
number of things that can be contained. A common rule is that a
person can remember 7 (plus or minus 2) "items" in short-term
memory. In other words, people can remember between 5 and 9
22
things at one time. We may notice that local telephone numbers have
7 digits. This is convenient because it is the average amount of
numbers that a person can keep in his or her mind at one time.
When we use "Chunking" to remember, we decrease the number
of the items we are holding in memory by increasing the size of each
item. In remembering the number string 64831996, we could try to
remember each number individually, or we could try thinking about
the string as 64 83 19 96 (creating "Chunks" of numbers). This
breaks the group into a smaller number of "Chunks." Instead of
remembering 8 individual numbers, we are remembering four large
numbers. This is particularly helpful when we form "Chunks" that
are meaningful or familiar to us (in this case, the last four numbers in
the series are "1996," which can easily be remembered as one chunk
of information). The memory games refer to a family of science based memory training. This unique and highly interactive memory
training programs help users improve our memory skills by
eliminating the three most common reasons for memory training.
1.20. FIRST LETTER MNEMONICS, ACRONYMS, AND ACROSTICS
First letter Mnemonics and acronyms use the first letter of each
word or phrase to be remembered to make a meaningful word or
phrase. Each letter of the phrase then stands for one feature of the
to-be-recalled information. Common examples of these techniques are
`Homes' (for the names of the Great Lakes: HURON, Ontario,
Michigan, Erie, Superior and STAB (the four common voices in a
chorus: soprano; tenor, alto and bass).
Acrostics support recall by creating an entire sentence with the
first letter of each word to be remembered. The first letter strategy
organizes the information into meaningful chunks and provides cues
to help the students to recall the target information.
The cues
provided by the first letter are, however, minimal and may not be
23
sufficient to help some learners. Additionally, the target information
must already be familiar and meaningful to the learner. Therefore,
the acrostic, "Ten Zebras Bought my car" would be of little benefit to
a student attempting to recall the names of the branches of the facial
nerve (Temporal, Zygomatric, Buccal, Masseteric, Cervical) unless
the student was already quite familiar with the terminology. Key
words may be preferable to acrostics and acronyms when the to-berecalled material is unfamiliar.
1.21. METHOD OF LOCI OR OPERATIONS OF TEACHING
Teaching operations provide the scientific basis for developing
effective instruction. The back ground of the class room teaching and
interaction can be made effective through teaching operations. The
knowledge of teaching operations is very useful in teacher education
to develop teaching skills among the student teachers. They can also
overcome the limitations of the trial and error methods in solving the
teaching problems. The knowledge of teaching operations gives the
empirical evidence about the relationship of teaching variables, which
in turn will be an aid in• developing the theory of teaching. The
knowledge of teaching operations is useful for in-service teachers to
improve their classroom efficiency. Teaching operations enable the
teacher to organize teaching strategy efficiently at different levels by
employing appropriate teaching activities. The teaching operations
ultimately create the appropriate conditions of learning to achieve the
desired goals.
1.22. KEYWORDS
Of all the Mnemonic procedures, the word, 'strategy' is most
thoroughly researched.
Mastropieri and Scruggs (1991) describe
three steps involved in the use of the keyword Mnemonic method.
24
Reconstruct the term to be learned into an acoustically similar,
already familiar and easily pictured concrete term - selecting a key
word. Relate the keyword to the to-be-learned information in an
interactive picture, image, or sentence.
Retrieve the appropriate response by thinking of the keyword,
picture and happenings in the picture. State the information. For
example, Brigham & Brigham (1998) encoded the names of various
composers and the musical periods in which they wrote with key
words. Students taught problem students who were provided with the
keywords and illustrations.
They recalled significantly and
substantially more composers and the periods in which they wrote at
both an immediate and delayed recall test. Further, the students
with learning problems reported that they liked the keyword approach.
1.23. ARE SOME KEYWORD MNEMONICS EASIER TO REMEMBER
THAN OTHERS?
A number of factors may affect the strength of a keyword
Mnemonic. One that is often suggested is whether or not the
Mnemonic is supplied to the student, or thought of by them.
Intuitively, we feel that the Mnemonic we have thought up our self will
be stronger than one that is given to us. One study that compared the
effectiveness of keywords provided versus keywords that are selfgenerated, found that the participants who were required to make up
their own keywords performed much worse than those who were given
keywords. This does not answer the question of the relative
durability, but it does point to how much more difficult the task of
generating keyword is. This has been confirmed in other studies.
The quality of the keyword Mnemonic may affect its durability.
Mnemonics that emphasize distinctiveness and increase the vividness
and concreteness of the word to be learned, are remembered less well
over time than Mnemonics that emphasize relational and semantic
25
information (which is why the emphasis in recent times is on making
interactive images or sentences, in which the keyword and definition
interact in some way). Having bizarre images seems to help
remembering immediately after learning (when there is a mix of
bizarre and less unusual images), but does not seem to help
particularly over the long term. The advantage of a semantic
connection may be seen in the following examples, taken from an
experimental study. Students in a free control condition (those who
were told to use their own methods to remember) used a keyword-type
technique to learn some items. Unlike those in the keyword group,
the keyword chosen by these subjects typically had some semantic
connection as well. (The use of somewhat arbitrary keywords is
characteristic of the strategy as originally conceived by Atkinson).
Thus, for the Spanish word pestana, meaning eyelash, several people
used the phrase as paste on as a link, reflecting an existing
association (pasting on false eyelashes). The keyword supplied to the
keyword group, on the other hand, was pest, which has no obvious
connection to eyelash. (It is also worth noting that verbal links were
more commonly used by control subjects, rather than mental images).
1.24. USING MNEMONIC INSTRUCTION TO FACILITATE ACCESS
TO THE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
Mnemonic instruction is a strategy that provides a visual or
verbal promptness for students who may have difficulty retaining
information. In this way, children whose learning modalities are
primarily visual or verbal are able to create a picture, word, rhyme, or
sentence that is attached to an idea. This strategy enhances access to
the general education curriculum by building on what students
already have known or experienced.
Mnemonic instruction follows the premise that as children
learn, they are building a web of knowledge. Learning something new
is like adding a thread to the web. For students with memory
26
challenges or processing disorders, Mnemonic devices become the
tools to build threads from new to old ideas. Because of their ability
to create and retain connections made by their typically developing
peers, these students are then able to participate in the same
curriculum.
Mnemonic instruction is an instructional strategy commonly
used with students who have disabilities as well as with their nondisabled peers. It is designed to improve memory of key information.
Mnemonic instruction facilitates access to the general education
curriculum by giving students the tools they need to better encode
information so that it will be much easier to retrieve it from memory at
later points.
Mnemonics can be used in language arts (i.e.,
vocabulary, spelling, and letter recognition), mathematics, science,
social studies, foreign language, and other academic subjects. Use of
this instructional strategy does not require a wealth of additional
materials or extensive planning and time for preparation.
1.25. EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS OF MNEMONIC
Mnemonic instruction "has been well researched and validated
for students with learning problems particularly students with
learning disabilities, as well as for students under going general
education in elementary and middle school" (DLD/ DR current practice
Alerts, P.I). According to Swanson (1999) and Forness, kavale,
Blum, and Lloyd (1997), the use of Mnemonics strategies have
helped students with disabilities significantly improve their academic
achievement.
Mnemonic strategy was first used in a general
education setting by college undergraduates learning foreign language
vocabulary (Uberti, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2003, in Adtkinson,
1975).
Teachers and administrators should consider Mnemonic
instruction a useful tool on a continuum of strategies that require
27
varying levels of teacher involvement and student independence.
Mnemonic instruction is an inexpensive strategy that provides a
means of helping children with learning problem gain access to the
general education curriculum. No specific level of teaching experience
is required to learn or use this strategy. Furthermore mnemonic
instruction involves no additional costs for purchase of materials or
technology.
Mnemonic can be teacher - created or student - created.
However, the teacher should introduce and create Mnemonics until
students learn how to properly use them. Students should be allowed
to create their own Mnemonics when they are not only comfortable
using them but also willing to create Mnemonics with appropriate
information.
This strategy is "low — tech" approach that has shown greater
promise for students with learning problems. This strategy requires
some previous knowledge and the ability to make connections between
knowledge; it may not work effectively in the case of the children with
more severe cognitive delays.
1.26. NEED FOR MNEMONIC APPROACHES FOR DEVELOPMENT
OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN LEARNING OF STUDENTS
Mnemonic devices are structured ways to help people remember
and recall information. Mnemonic instruction combines presentation
of important information with explicit strategies for recall. It is most
commonly employed in areas where individuals are required to recall
large amounts of unfamiliar information or to make associations
between two or more units of information at recall.
1.27. EFFECTIVENESS OF MNEMONIC
Interventions using Mnemonic instruction have produced some
of the largest instructional gains recorded in the special education
28
literature (Swanson, 1999).
It should be noted, however, that the
impact of Mnemonic instruction is evaluated most often with criterion
- referenced tests and criterion - referenced measures. Such
measures tend to yield much larger effect sizes than do normreferenced measures; however, these are the types of measures that
teacher-made tests most resemble. Still, it should be noted that
Mnemonic instruction has not been shown reliably to affect
performances on norm-referenced tests.
1.28. MIND MAPPING
A mind Map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks,
or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key
word or idea. Mind Maps are used to generate, visualize, structure,
and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem
solving, decision making, and writing. By using Mind Maps, we can
quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject, and the
way that pieces of information fit together, as well as recording the
raw facts contained in normal notes. Mind Maps encourage creative
problem solving, and they hold information in a format that our mind
finds easy to remember and quick to review. Mind Maps are more
compact than conventional notes, often taking up one side of paper.
This helps us to make associations easily. And if we find out more
information after we have drawn the main Mind Map, then we can
easily add to it.
The elements of a given Mind Map are arranged intuitively
according to the importance of the concepts, and are classified into
groupings, branches, or areas, with the goal of representing semantic
or other connections between portions of information. Mind Maps may
also aid recall of existing memories. By presenting ideas in a radial,
graphical, non-linear manner, Mind Maps encourage an unorthodox
brainstorming approach that can generate ideas without regard for a
more formal, hierarchical organization system. The Mind Map can be
29
contrasted with the similar idea of concept. The former is based on
radial hierarchies and tree structures, whereas concept maps are
based on connections between concepts.
1.29. HISTORY
Mind Maps (or similar concepts) have been used for centuries in
learning, brainstorming, memory, visual thinking, and problem
solving by educators, engineers, psychologists, and others. Some of
the earliest examples of Mind Maps were developed by Porphyry of
Tyros, a noted thinker of the 3rd century, as he graphically visualized
the concept categories of Aristotle Ramon Llull (1235 - 1315) also
used Mind maps. The semantic network was developed in the late
1950s as a theory to understand human learning. It was developed
into Mind Maps by Allan Collins and M. Ross Quillian during the
early 1960s. Due to his commitment and published research, and his
work with learning, creativity, and graphical thinking, Collins can be
considered the father of the modern Mind Map.
British popular psychology author Tony Buzan claims to have
invented modern Mind Mapping. He claimed that the idea was
inspired by Alfred Korzybski's general semantics as popularized in
science fiction such as those of Robert A. Heinlein and A.I.Van
Vogt.
Suzan argues that while 'traditional' outlines force readers to
scan left to right and top to bottom, readers actually tend to scan the
entire page in a non-linear fashion. Buzan also uses popular
assumptions about the cerebral hemispheres in order to promote the
exclusive use of Mind Mapping over other forms of note making.
The Mind Map continues to be used in various forms, and for
various applications including learning and education (where it is
often taught as 'Webs', 'Mind webs', or 'Webbing'), planning, and in
engineering diagramming.
30
When compared with the Concept Map (which was developed
by learning experts in the 1970s) the structure of a Mind Map is a
similar radial, but it is simplified by having one central key word.
Using Mind Mapper, Mind mapping techniques makes us more
productive by harnessing the full range of our cortical and creative
skills. It helps us convert any random thoughts generated while we
are the most creative into the linear thoughts which are needed most
when communicating. As seeing aids believing Mind Mapping can
help us and our business imagining a universe of ideas. Using color,
images, and sounds to bring mere words in to life, Mind Mapper
software expedites Mind Mapping: a graphics-based method of taking
notes, brainstorming, and organizing thoughts helps us relate and
arrange random ideas into memorable tree-like diagrams. Unlike the
outlining methods we have learned in high school, Mind Mapping does
not constrain our creative inclinations by requiring us to think
sequentially. A Mind Map uses words, lines, logic, colors, images, and
even sounds to stimulate our brain.
It has four important
characteristics:
The subject is represented by a central image.
1. The main themes of the subject radiate from the central image
as main branches.
2. Minor themes are linked to the main themes.
3. All the branches are connected forming a nodal structure.
Many instructors at universities around the world have
purchased Mind Mapper with the idea of organizing class room study
in a structured format. Students soon learned of this wonderful Mind
Mapping tool and they too by the hundreds have started using Mind
Mapper as well, for classroom study, term papers, tutoring other
students, organizing topics, ideas, and more.
31
More and more companies today are learning how to better
utilize the power of networking. For example a recent client, Philips
Lighting of The Netherlands has proven that over a network using
Windows NT, ideas can be shared with everyone quickly and
productively. A Mind Map can be sent via the Intranet, printer, or the
Internet.
1.30. MIND MAP LAWS
These are the brain-reflecting foundation structures of a Mind
Map. If we follow the more of them, our Mind Map will become
astonishingly effective.
•
Start in the centre with an image of the topic, using at least 3
colors.
•
Use images, symbols, codes and dimensions throughout the
Mind Map.
•
Select key words and print using upper or lower case letters.
•
Each word /image must be alone, sitting on its own line.
•
The lines must be connected, starting from the central image.
The central lines are thicker, organic and flowing, becoming
thinner as they radiate out from the centre.
•
Make the lines with the same length as the word/image.
•
Use colors - our own code - throughout the Mind Map.
•
Develop our own personal style of Mind Mapping.
•
Use emphasis and show associations in the Mind Map.
•
Keep the Mind Map clear by using Radiant hierarchy, numerical
order or outlines to embrace the branches.
32
1.31. ADVANTAGES OF MIND MAPPING
Mind Maps can be used in many different situations and for
many different reasons. Use them during business meetings,
studying, planning or mulling over innovative ideas.
1.32. MIND MAP USES IDEAS LIKE
1)
Natural knowledge representation in the form of mind maps.
2)
Establishing additional relations between different Mind Maps.
That is the way by which overall knowledge system is created.
3)
Collective work, collective Mind Map editing (including parallel
operations).
4)
Free and fast Mind Map creation process with innovative
interface.
5)
Mind Map sharing. - Individual parts of maps also could be
shared.
6)
Discovering deep relations between different concepts in a
knowledge system.
7)
Tagging of concepts and whole maps to make data organization
and search much more efficient and simple.
8)
Semantic search. - The brand new paradigm of search results
demonstration.
9)
10)
Media content that makes Mind maps look more interesting.
Mind Map objects could have links to external sources.
All this gives us wide possibilities to use Mind Maps for
education. Here are some examples:
1. Student's personal encyclopedia of mastered knowledge that
grows during all educational process.
33
2. Representation of teaching material in form of clear schemes Mind Maps. Student could use teacher's Mind Maps (or its
parts) or create own analogue. Students are also able to edit
teacher's map and build it into their own knowledge system (for
example by adding new entities to personal encyclopedias).
Since creating Mind Maps is very easy and fast it can be done
simultaneously to teacher's lesson or lecture!
3. Construction of global knowledge base. The idea is similar to
Wikipedia, but it is focused on inner relations representation
and free knowledge forms instead of strict description.
4. Creation of essays, presentations, announcements, reports,
lectures, theses and so on.
5. Organization of collective Mind Map creation.
6. Edutainment instead of boring lessons.
A Mind Map is often created around a single word or text,
placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words and concepts
are added.
Mind Maps have many applications in personal, family,
educational, and business situations, including note taking,
brainstorming (wherein ideas are inserted into the map radially
around the center node, without the implicit prioritization that comes
from hierarchy or sequential arrangements, wherein grouping and
organizing is reserved for later stages), summarizing, revising, and
general clarifying of thoughts. One could listen to a lecture, for
example, and take down notes relating to most important points or
keywords using Mind maps. One can also use Mind Maps as a
mnemonic technique or to sort out a complicated idea. Mind Maps are
also promoted as a way to collaborate in color pen creativity sessions.
34
1.33. NAMES OF THE TECHNIQUES
1.33.1. HIERARCHIC PYRAMID
This familiar conceptual model is often used to hierarchically
structure various layers of an object, phenomenon or field which build
on one another.
1.33.2. MIND MAPPING TECHNIQUES
Mind Mapping is invented by TONY BUZAN to facilitate note
taking and the structuring of ideas. The central circle contains the
topic and the branches contain sub-topics.
1.33.3. ARGUMENT MAPPING
The main application lies in the structuring and analysis of
complex disputes.
1.33.4. RELEVANCE TREE
A main goal is divided into various sub-goals which are then
split up into tasks and sub-tasks or into information which is needed
to complete the goal.
1.33.5. MATRIX
Matrices can be used to structure information according to two
criteria that are subdivided into two levels (i.e., high and low, positive
and negative, etc.).
1.33.6. CLUSTERING
The clustering technique can be applied when there are no
interdependencies between the elements.
1.33.7. ME - MAP
Me-Map is a simple tool that can be used to provide rapid and
vivid information on the professional background of a person. This will
be important when people need to understand more about each other
for their teamwork.
35
1.33.8. INTERATION MAPPING
This technique can be used when a great amount of details need
to be creatively summarized in one chart. The main topic is written
into the central circle and the four main aspects are drawn as a
border around it. Then, specific items are placed in the four resulting
quadrants (which always combine two aspects).
1.33.9. POLAR GRAPH
Polar graphs can be used to position information within a
framework of ordinal scales (from small to big or from insignificant to
important).
1.33.10. COORDINATE SYSTEM
Coordinate systems can be used to map temporal developments
or cycles.
1.33.11. GRAPH
This type of diagram can be used to visualize a set of evaluation
criteria regarding one object. The diagram can be clustered into four
segments, each of which consists of a number of slices that represent
individual criteria belonging to one cluster. The center point of the
diagram represents scale zero, the outer frame the highest ranking.
1.33.12. CONCEPT MAP
This type of map can structure a complex set of propositions in
a logical way. It is mostly used for pedagogic goals, i.e. to explain
difficult concepts and demonstrate their constituents. In addition, it
can be used to structure complex issues or problems in a transparent
way.
1.33.13. VENN DIAGRAMS
These familiar diagrams can be used to group elements of
overlapping groups visually and highlight overlapping members.
36
1.33.14. CONTACT WEB
This type of diagram can be used to visualize one's contacts
according to their main fields of expertise.
1.33.15. LEADERSHIP CUBE
This cube can serve as a framework for the organization of
management.
1.33.16. CONTINUUM
This simple form of a conceptual tool can be used to position
various pieces of information on an axis that represents a continuum
from one extreme to the other.
1.33.17. PORTFOLIOS (BUBBLE CHARTS)
Portfolio diagrams cluster a number of projects, products, or
even employees according to a set of criteria.
1.33.18. METAPHORIC MAPS
These maps use the visual form of a common object such as a
house, a temple, a park, a balance, or a globe to structure and order
information.
1.33.19. NETWORKS
Networks structure information that is heavily interrelated.
Each node represents a piece of information. Lines represent
connections between the pieces of information.
1.33.20. PARETO CHARTS
Pareto charts are analytic graphs that illustrate the fact that a
few factors can cause the majority of a problem.
1.33.21. INTERVENTION QUADRANTS
It showed how a management intervention should be balanced
between extremes.
37
1.33.22. PYRAMID PRINCIPLE
The pyramid diagram summarizes three levels in one chart that
groups relevant findings logically.
1.33.23. FIVE FORCES MODEL
It consists of suppliers, new entrants, buyers, current
competitors, and substitutes (products that can replace one's
offerings).
1.33.24. S-CURVE
The S-curve can be split into five phases (points 1 through 5).
They are: seed, growth, stagnation, saturation/re-launch, and decay.
1.33.25. PROCESS OR TASK MAP
It visualizes the interdependencies between various processes.
1.33.26. PERSONAL INFORMATION PORTFOLIO
The personal information portfolio is a conceptual management
tool that enables a manager to visualize various domains of expertise
according to their complexity, scope, and documentation intensity.
1.33.27. STRATEGIC GAME BOARD
This 3D diagram can be used to identify the strategic
management options in a competitive landscape by showing the
executive that (s) he can choose where (market segments), how
(business system) and when (timing) to compete.
1.33.28. DECISION TREE
The decision tree maps the chronological sequence of a series of
decisions horizontally and thus enables a manager to compare various
decision sequences and their likely outcomes.
38
1.33.29. FISH - DIAGRAM
The arrangement of information in this way enables a manager
to hierarchically structure a great amount of information along a
timeline or along a developing stream of topics.
1.33.30. FLOW DIAGRAM
It allows a manager to visually devise the sequential tasks of a
procedure. This can be combined with yes or no questions that lead to
different branches in the flow diagram. Standard icons are used to
designate different events, activities, or documents.
1.33.31. MORPHOLOGICAL BOX
The morphological box was to foster creativity in a systematic
way (thinking in totalities') through the transparent combination of
various options that can be combined to a possible solution.
1.33.32. SYNERGY - MAP
The Synergy Map can be used to find synergies between various
activities or goals. It can be used on a personal level or in groups.
1.33.33. DECISION DISCOVERY
This tool can be used to elicit past crucial decision processes or
future decision sequences.
1.33.34. ONTRACK
Ontrack is a simple conceptual tool to assist the problem
solving or decision process in teams in a meeting context.
1.33.35. SYSTEMS
This technique can be used to visualize the dynamic
interchange between a set of variables in cause - effect chains,
including feedback loops, reinforcing cycles, and destabilizing cycles.
39
1.34. BIOLOGY TEACHING IN PRESENT TRENDS
Instruction in Biology starts at the primary school level when
the young children begin to understand the properties of living beings
and their diversity. Biology constitutes a significant component of the
science curriculum and is studied by all students till the middle
school level. At the secondary school level (9 std and 10), Biology
becomes an independent subject. The process of canalization starts at
the higher secondary level (11 std and 12) with a largely (though not
absolutely) irreversible selection of future choices. Students who
desire to prepare for a career in medical practice usually select Biology
as one of their subjects at the Higher Secondary level. An increasing
number of students in recent years have shown preference for Biology
and opt to study subjects like Biotechnology, Genetics, Molecular
Biology, etc. The teaching of "Classical Biology" topics like taxonomy,
anatomy, etc. has become increasingly "dry" and restricted to the
classroom; fewer students enjoy such subjects (Lakhotia, 1991).
Public interest in Biology has greatly increased in recent years.
Molecular Biology and environmental studies have attracted the
attention not only of policy makers but also of young persons and
prospective biologists. India is perhaps one of the few countries that
have a separate agency to promote research and applications in
Biotechnology, in addition to regular teaching programs in
Biotechnology at the undergraduate and Master's levels. Moreover,
given the poorly equipped teachers and laboratory facilities, training of
such students is, in many cases, less than satisfactory, and this adds
to their frustration. If this situation continues, the increased interest
in Biology may wane. To sustain this interest in Biology and reap its
benefits, there is an urgent need in the country to reorient the
teaching programs in Biology. There is an increased awareness of the
need for an integrative approach in teaching of Biology. With a view to
improving the quality of Biology teaching across the country, The
40
University Grants Commission
(a regulatory body for higher
education in the country) has recently proposed new sets of syllabi in
different areas of Biology for adoption by the universities, with
appropriate modifications as locally required.
1.35. IMPORTANCE OF BIOLOGY AT HIGHER SECONDARY
SCHOOL LEVEL
"Biology is the study of life"- of all living things both flora and
fauna. Since Biology deals with all phases of living things, their
appearance, structure, activities, functions and origin. It is the
science of physical life dealing with the morphology, physiology, origin
and distribution of animals and plants.
Biology is one of the human activities that man has created to
gratify human needs and desires. The advancement of a nation to a
certain extent depends upon the advancement through original
contributions and discoveries in Biology. The qualities imbibed by the
learners through Biology are valuable for all citizens living in the
society. Hence greater competence in Biology has to be developed
among students right from the school level. Biology subject learning
provides training in Biological methods and also helps to develop a
scientific bent of mind in the learner. Biology subject is now a
compulsory subject in every system of school education right from the
elementary stage.
1.36. EFFECTIVE BIOLOGY TEACHING AND LEARNING
Effective teaching and learning Biology involves selecting
materials, teaching aids and methods, which will facilitate the
learning process and stimulate the desire for further learning.
Teacher should know the needs, back ground and capacities of the
children being taught. Teaching by making use of suitable variety of
lectures, discussions, demonstrations, visual and oral presentations,
41
recitations, directed group effort, experimentation, special projects
and field trips sustains the interests of the children and facilitates
easy understanding of related concepts.
Analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of various Biology
teaching techniques are essential in order to improve the learning
process. Endeavoring to obtain and maintain pupil interest and
attention should be prioritized so that teaching can be done in a
receptive environment. Endeavoring to assume the material taught is
applied in such a manner so as to develop a pattern of understanding
for future use in other areas. We have to encourage, guide and make
students think.
Effective biology teaching and learning develop
desirable work, study skills and habits. We have to enlist pupil
participation in the lesson planning process.
Developing broad outlines and objectives to be attained within
prescribed limits, for a subject or skill area should be based upon the
needs and interests of a specific group of pupils. Preparing suitable
lesson plans and making other necessary arrangements for
substitutes become indispensable. The teacher's behavior does affect
how pupil learns. His personality, his philosophy, his ways of
handling the pupils, methods of instructing - these all enter into the
learning process and help to determine its direction and quality.
School is considered a more conductive place for cultivation of
certain desired qualities that are more needed in the present day
adjustment to the environment. With the increasing importance of
schools in this direction in the face of diminishing role of the family in
molding behaviors, it would be more appropriate to expect the present
-day school going population to collect more varied experiences
through their exposure to the diversified value complexes and attitude
orientations in the multidimensional school setting for developing of
such goals.
42
1.37. THE NEED FOR THE STUDY
Perception is a collection of hypotheses about the world. The
process of keeping Perception correct should be regarded as
"learning", though it is unique in many ways. Mnemonic adopted
strategies have therefore achieved particular success in the learning of
Biology subject at Higher Secondary level.
However, if Higher
Secondary students can make a meaningful connection in Biology
subject, it will be more effective. If students do not practice the
Mnemonic, it will not be remembered. The same is true for any
subject. Connection, but meaningful connections are inherently
stronger, so they do not need many repetitions. The Mnemonic
adopted strategy is probably best used selectively, perhaps for
particular difficult items in Biology subject. Although many changes
in schooling have taken place in recent years, memory for academic
content remains an extremely important part of school learning
experience. In order to promote academic success in Biology subject
at Higher Secondary level in school, we recommend that teachers
teach students how to remember. Memory for factual information is
absolutely essential for success in school, particularly at the
secondary level. The findings of the present study will show a new
path in the pedagogical approaches of Biology and contribute new
dimensions to science education.
1.38. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The basic principles of memory processes are: The strength of
memory codes as well as the ease with which they can be found, is a
function largely of repetition. Quite simply, the more often one
experiences something (a word, an event, and a person, whatever), the
stronger and the more easily recalled one's memory will be.
That is why the most basic memory strategy - the simplest, and
the first learned - is rote repetition .But most of us come to realize
43
that repetition is not, on its own, the most effective strategy, and when
we deliberately wish to learn something, we generally incorporate
other more elaborative strategies. Learning through Mnemonic is
designed to increase the number of links (connections) a memory code
has. Thus, when we note that Paramecium is a "shoe - like single cell
organism", we will probably make links with shoe with a single cell.
Mnemonic links are weaker in the sense that they are arbitrary.
Their value comes in those circumstances when either we lack the
knowledge to make meaningful connections, or there is in fact no
meaningful connection to be made (that is why Mnemonics are so
popular for vocabulary learning, and for the learning of lists and other
ordered information).
Mnemonic strategies have shown particular success in the
learning of Biology subject in Higher Secondary. However, if Higher
Secondary students attempt to make a meaningful connection in
Biology subject, it will become more effective. For example, Mucor is
bread mould. If it is learned with Mnemonic, it will be easy to
remember. If we connect bread and car with symbol p, we have a
meaningful connection to make a mental image involving. Now,
imagine each of these situations. Imagine that we do not come across
the word again for a month. When we do, one of these connections is
more likely to bring forth the correct meaning. But of course, it is not
always possible to make meaningful connections.
If students do not practise the Mnemonic, it will not be
remembered. The same is true for any subject. Meaningful
connections are inherently stronger, so they do not need a number of
repetitions. The Mnemonic strategy can be adopted selectively,
perhaps for particular difficult concepts in Biology subject.
Many changes have swept over schooling system in recent
years. However, memory for academic content constitutes an
44
extremely important part of school learning experience. Students with
learning, problems and other special needs may be at particular risk
for failure in this important arena of Higher Secondary school
functioning. In order to promote academic success in Biology subject
at Higher Secondary level in school, it would be advisable for teachers
to enable the students to acquire the skills of remembering. Memory
for factual information is absolutely essential for success in school,
particularly at the secondary level. Unfortunately, it is also true that
students with learning problems have consistently shown to have
particular difficulties remembering academic content (e.g., Cooney &
Swanson, 1987).
1.39. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Biology is a branch of science that deals with the study of life.
Biology is a vital force in promoting understanding of ourselves. Poor
performance in Biology was often attributed to the student's inability
to read lab instruction and text material. By previewing text material
for higher secondary students and helping them develop a better
Biological vocabulary, the teacher can make understanding the text
book an easier task.
To make Biology classes more interesting and relevant, the
investigator tried to relate Plus one Biology syllabus concepts to recent
research developments or problems with a Biological basis. Bringing
Perceptual learning and Mnemonic adopted strategies in Mind
Mapping in the Higher Secondary Biology class room, the investigator
hopes, to encourage students' awareness of everyday effect of Biology
and entice the students to broaden their knowledge through reading
concepts in Biology.
Attention on selection of Biology plays a critical role in
conscious Perception. When attention is diverted, even salient stimuli
fail to reach visual awareness. Attention can be voluntarily directed to
45
a special location or a visual feature in Biology for facilitating the
processing of information relevant to current goals. It is a common
sight that general education teachers are struggling to manage
student behavior. But Mnemonic strategy assists in recalling in
Biology subject by providing a meaningful cue for new information.
Perceptual training and memorization are dependent on and
related to each other. Perceptual learning or adjustment of Perception
to the stimulus aspects of the environment is sometimes distinguished
from cognitive learning, the latter term being reserved for the
modification of problem - solving behavior. The basic Perceptual
abilities of the human visual system are largely innate, while others
are acquired, which depend on the visual experience. The visual
Perceptual learning may help clarify the nature of long-term memory
representation of objects and scenes. Perceptual learning inferred
from the observed changes in the pattern of performance can be
attributed to a shift towards a more memory-intensive and less time consuming recognition strategy. It is more suitable for a system in
which memory is cheap, but time is expensive. Perceptual learning is
promoted with Mnemonic in Biology subject in Higher Secondary level.
The Mnemonic approach is very effective in reaching out to all
the students. This strategy also enables the slow learners to cope
with normal students to a considerable extent. Since it happens to be
an affordable technology for all, more researches of this kind need to
be undertaken with a view to designing our Mnemonic instructional
programme so as to reach out to all the higher secondary students.
In a class we find pupils with varied abilities being interested in
different subjects. If students in Higher Secondary level study Biology
subject through Perceptual learning and Mnemonic they feel easy to
remember the subject. The students do not fully concentrate in the
class, and this leads to indifference to the subject. Lack of ability to
express oneself in biology, aversion to drawing work or simply not
46
being able to follow the teacher's method of teaching may be a few
causes which have affected the student's attitude to this Biology
subject. Being a Biology teacher teaching the Higher Secondary
students, the investigator felt the need for Mnemonic in the
development of learning in Higher Secondary students and its effects
on their academic performance or achievement in Biology.
1.40. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This investigation is titled as "Effect of Perceptual learning
and Mnemonic Approaches in Mind Mapping of Biology at Higher
Secondary School level."
According to Reghuram Sing (1972) "A student who builds the
right attitude to a subject enjoys an advantage in the game called
learning." So such a study intends to evaluate the impact of
Perceptual learning and Mnemonic approaches in learning Biology.
Also such studies would help the educationists, teachers and parents
to provide a suitable climate and impetus which will enhance the
quality and progress in studies among the pupils.
1.41. DEFINITIONS OF THE TERMS USED:
Important terms used in the title are defined as follows for the
purpose of study.
EFFECT:
The meaning of effect is the result or consequence of an
action.
PERCEPTUAL LEARNING: Perceptual learning or the adjustment of
Perception to the stimulus aspects of the environment is sometimes
distinguished from cognitive learning, the latter term being reserved
for the modification of problem-solving behavior (Walk, 1978).
47
MNEMONIC: Mnemonic is a very general word. It is defined simply as
some device which aids memorization of something. The word comes
from the Greek Mnemonikos, which refers to the Mind.
MIND MAP: Mind Map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas,
tasks, or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central
key word or idea. Mind Maps are used to generate, visualize, structure
and classify ideas. They are capitalized and as an aid in study,
organization, problem solving, decision making and writing.
BIOLOGY: Biology means science of living things.
1.42. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The following are the objectives of the present study:1) To find out the effect of Perceptual learning approach in the
Mind Mapping of Biology concepts among Higher Secondary
School students in terms of sex, locality, subject, class, medium
and type of school .
2) To find out the effect of Mnemonic learning approach in the
Mind Mapping of Biology concepts among Higher Secondary
School students in terms of sex, locality, subject, class, medium
and type of school.
3) To study the difference in the Mind Mapping of Biology concepts
learnt by Perceptual learning approach and Mnemonic approach
in Higher Secondary School students in terms of sex, locality,
subject, class, medium and type of school.
4) To compare the effect of Perceptual learning approach and
Mnemonic approach in the Mind Mapping of Biology concepts
learnt by Higher Secondary School students in terms of sex,
locality, subject, class, medium and type of school.
48
1.43. HYPOTHESES FRAMED
In the words of Donald Ary and Lucy Jocobs, "Hypotheses
provide direction to the research." The arguments cited so far lead to
the following hypotheses.
1)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by +1 students in Botany subject.
2)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the +2 students in Botany
subject.
3)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the boys in Botany subject.
4)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the girls in Botany subject.
5)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in Government Higher Secondary
Schools in Botany subject.
6)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in Government Aided Higher
Secondary Schools in Botany subject.
7)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in Matriculation Higher Secondary
Schools in Botany subject.
49
8)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in urban higher secondary schools
in Botany subject.
9)
There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in rural Higher Secondary Schools
in Botany subject.
10) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the English medium students
in Botany subject.
11) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the Tamil medium students in
Botany subject.
12) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, +1 and +2 classes and the interaction
between the study groups and class in Botany subject.
13) There is no significance difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the boys and the girls and the interaction
between the study groups and the gender in Botany subject.
14) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the different types of Higher Secondary
Schools and the interaction between the study groups and
different types of Higher Secondary Schools in Botany subject.
15) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, area and the interaction between the study
groups and area in Botany subject.
50
16) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the medium and the interaction between
the study groups and medium in Botany subject.
17) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the +1 students in Zoology
subject.
18) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the +2 students in Zoology
subject.
19) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the boys in Zoology subject.
20) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the girls in Zoology subject.
21) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in Government Higher Secondary
Schools in Zoology subject.
22) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in Government Higher Secondary
Schools in Zoology subject.
23) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in Matriculation Higher Secondary
Schools in Zoology subject.
51
24) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in urban schools in Zoology
subject.
25) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained in rural Higher Secondary Schools
in Zoology subject.
26) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the English medium students
in Zoology subject.
27) There is no significant difference among the Control, Perceptual
learning group and Mnemonic strategy adopted group in the
achievement scores obtained by the Tamil medium students in
Zoology subject.
28) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, +1 and +2 classes and the interaction
between the study groups and class in Zoology subject.
29) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the boys and girls and the interaction
between the study groups and gender in Zoology subject.
30) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the different types of Higher Secondary
Schools and the interaction between the study groups and
different types of Higher Secondary Schools in Zoology subject.
31) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, area and the interaction between the study
groups and area in Zoology subject.
52
32) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the medium and the interaction between
the study groups and medium in Zoology subject.
33) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by all
students, subjects and the interaction between the students
and subjects.
34) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by all
the students, +1 and +2 classes and the interaction between the
students and class.
35) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the male and female students and the
interaction between the study groups and male and female
students.
36) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the type of Higher Secondary Schools and
the interaction between the study groups and type of schools.
37) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, locality and the interaction between the
study groups and locality.
38) There is no significant difference in the marks obtained by the
three study groups, the medium and the interaction between
the study groups and students studying in different medium.
1.44. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
No research study can be done without limitations. Limitations
are of different types according to the type of research undertaken. It
would be a good practice to mention the limitations in the research
design. Hence, the researcher has given some of the limitations.
1) Within a limited time schedule, it is not possible to conduct a
research study for a longer area. At present there are 97
53
Government Higher Secondary Schools, 21 Government Aided
Higher Secondary Schools and 69 Matriculation Higher
Secondary Schools in Salem district.
So the investigator
restricted the field or the study to Salem district.
2)
This study is confined to the Biology students studying in std XI
and XII in various Government, Government Aided, and
Matriculation Higher Secondary Schools in Salem district. It is
not possible to take all the students for research purpose.
Hence, the researcher has taken a sample of students at
random from 17 Government Higher Secondary Schools, 13
Government Aided Higher Secondary Schools, and 12
Matriculation Higher Secondary Schools in Salem district.
3)
Because of time limit, the Perceptual learning and Mnemonic
methods were used for one period of 45 minutes for Botany and
one period of 45 minutes for Zoology subject. Students from
group wise (Controlled, Perception and Mnemonic), subject wise
(botany and zoology), class wise (Plus one and Plus two), sex
wise (male and female), school wise (Government Higher
Secondary School, Government Aided Higher Secondary School,
Matriculation Higher Secondary School), area wise (rural and
urban), and medium wise (English and Tamil) were selected for
present study.
4)
The sample consisted of 1984 Biology students (1012 boys, 972
girls) at Higher Secondary level (XI and XII).
5)
Only the Government, Government Aided, and Matriculation
Higher Secondary Schools were selected as samples. So study
materials for Perception and Mnemonic were prepared in
English and Tamil.
6)
The study was conducted on Biology group students of Std XI
and XII and the study materials were selected for Controlled,
54
Perception and Mnemonic under Plus one Biology syllabus
(Botany 50 concepts and Zoology 50 concepts).
7)
Mind Map is a tool used for the investigation by the investigator.
Students were asked to do the Mind Maps after being taught
with one week of interval.
8)
In this study the term Effect of Perceptual learning and
Mnemonic Approaches in Mind mapping is limited to the
dimensions of teaching methods, planning in memory
enhancing in Botany and Zoology at Higher Secondary level in
Salem district.
9)
The same students (1984 pupils, 1012 boys and 972 girls) were
chosen for Mind Map as a tool for this study under Control,
Perceptual learning and Mnemonic adopted groups. Students
were asked to do mind map for Controlled, Perception and
Mnemonic. Students from group wise (Controlled, Perception
and Mnemonic), subject wise (Botany and Zoology), class wise
(Plus one and Plus two), sex wise (male and female), school wise
(Government Higher Secondary School, Government Aided
Higher Secondary School, Matriculation Higher Secondary
School), area wise (rural and urban), and medium wise (English
and Tamil) were already selected for present study for drawing
Mind Maps by recalling 50 + 50 objective types of concepts
from Botany and Zoology study materials.
1.45. CHAPTERISATION
The investigations and findings are presented as follows.
The introductory chapter presents the need and significance of
the study, statement of the problem, definitions of key terms used,
hypotheses, objectives of the study and a brief sketch of procedures
adapted along with a discussion of the limitations of the study.
55
The second chapter presents a survey of connected literature. It
also includes the review of research studies done in India and abroad.
In chapter three, a description of the design of the study is
given. The discussion is focused around the selected variables, details
regarding the tools used, sample, collection of data and the statistical
techniques employed.
The fourth chapter deals with the analysis of the data collected,
statistical computation and interpretation of the results.
Chapter five contains a summary of the procedures and results
of the study together with certain suggestions, followed by
bibliography and appendices.
1.46. CONCLUSION
Meaningful educational research involves asking the rightful
questions and finding answers to them with economy and precision.
In this process, new ideas get generated. They illuminate path of
action when problems require solutions.
In the first chapter
conceptual framework has been described. In the following chapter,
the details of related studies are presented.
56