Download Memory and Recall Training Module File

Memory and Recall
Center for Student Excellence Tutor Training
Southeastern Louisiana University
Carolyn Blackwood, 2012
Adapted from materials prepared by
Cora M. Dzubak and J. Valkenburg for the
Association of Tutoring Professionals, 2006-2007
INSTRUCTIONS:
Most of the slides in this presentation
have additional narrative that can be
found in the speaker’s note pages.
 View the PowerPoint in the normal
version, then decrease the size of the left
window. This will give you an wide
viewing screen for easy note reading.
 Be sure to scroll down to access all of the
information.
 Use the down arrow to shift screens.

Thinking
Thinking involves the acts of:
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Receiving
Perceiving
Comprehending
Storing
Manipulating
Monitoring
Controlling, and
Responding to a steady stream of data.
(Ratey, 2002, p. 176)

Our brain consists of approximately 100 billion
neurons PLUS 10 times as many other cells.
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Therefore, there are about 40 quadrillion
patterns of connections. In other words,
40,000,000,000,000,000 patterns of connections
among cells.
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“There are more ways to connect the brain’s
neurons than there are atoms in the universe!!”
(Ratey, 2002, p. 20)
Basic Neuronal Structure
Neurons and
Neurotransmitters
Neurons are the communication links of the nervous
system and consist of four primary parts:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The cell body (or soma), which contains the nucleus.
The dendrites, which functions as the receptor areas.
The axons, which are the fibers along which impulses
are transmitted.
Synapses, the junctions between the cells across
which chemical messengers transmit signals from
one neuron to the next.
A User’s Guide to the Brain
Anatomy of the Brain
Limbic System
Cerebrum
 The
cerebrum is the largest area of our
brain and is the outermost layer of tissue
covered by fibers, directly beneath the
skull.
 The brain’s two hemispheres are
connected by the corpus collosum which
allows the two sides of the brain to
function as one unit.
Four Lobes and The Motor
Cortex
Our Active and Changing
Brain
 Genes
and the environment interact to
continually change the brain, from the
time we are conceived to the moment we
die.
 Therefore,
we can actively shape and
rewire the way our brain develops
throughout the course of our lives.
(Ratey, 2002, p. 13)
Hemisphericity: The Two Sided
Brain
Left Brain
 Details and Facts
 Language
 Sequential
 Objective
 Analytic
 Auditory Associations
 Reading, Speaking,
Listening
 Time Centered
Right Brain
 Global (“Big Picture”)
 Spatial Relationships
 Simultaneous
 Subjective/Intuitive
 Creative
 Feelings and Emotions
 Colors and Music

Timeless
Left Brain: “The Language
Center”
Primarily, but not solely,:
 Engages in logical, sequential processing
 Locates details and facts
 Likes listening, talking, reading
 Processes grammar and syntax
 Prefers talking and writing
 Processes precise and exact mathematics
 Is efficient at processing routine codes
 Cues in on literal meaning of language
The Right Brain: Thinking in
Pictures”
Primarily, but not solely,:
 Is responsible for generalized concepts
 Likes to be creative
 Is highly nonverbal
 Likes shapes and patterns
 Is both artistic and emotional
 Processes intuitive aspects of mathematics
 Processes expressions, gestures, and voice tone
 Cues in on inflections, nuances, and facial
expressions
 Understands the “big picture”/holistic approach
 Prefers drawing and manipulating objects
Practice
The process of “skills acquisition” recruits
more cortical neurons to master a skill than
will be used once the skill is “learned”. As
the skill becomes more automatic less of
the recruited cortex is needed and used.
Therefore, practice counts!!
(Ratey, 2002, p. 21)
Learn to “Remodel”
“To change the ‘wiring’ in one skill, you
must engage in some activity that is
unfamiliar and novel to you but related to
the skill, because simply repeating the
same activity only maintains established
connections.”
(Ratey, 2002, p. 36)
Shared Pathways
“Many cognitive functions share pathways
in our brain’s complex tangle of neural
connections. The development of one skill
can therefore profoundly influence another
that is related.”
(Ratey, 2002, p. 42)
Ecosystem
• “The brain is a dynamic ecosystem with
various neurons and networks engaged in
competition for incoming stimuli.” (Ratey, 54)
• Not all stimuli is processed, in part, because
attention and consciousness are different levels
of the same brain activity, and neither
guarantee that input will be automatically
stored.
What is Memory?
Think about it: if there is anything about being a
human being that makes you unique from
others, it is the content of what is stored in your
brain!! But, what IS a memory? Memory is the
act of recalling or recollecting information or
thoughts that are based on your past experiences.
Memories are formed when the connections, or
synapses, in the brain undergo changes so that
one nerve cell, or neuron, influences another. If
the process of change is repeated often enough
and becomes automatic, a memory is formed.
What is Memory?
A group of neurons that consistently fire in
the same pattern, strengthened by
repetition and review.
How Memories are Made:
 Memory
is the process by which
information that is perceived through
attention and perception is stored in the
central nervous system.
 Each
path down the neuron makes it
easier for subsequent messages to fire
along the same path.
From STM to LTM
Short term memory (STM) is sometimes
also referred to as “working memory”.
Some people consider working memory to
be a separate stage, between short term and
long term memory. Information can be
lost from STM in a matter of seconds.
What takes practice and effort is moving
information into long term memory (LTM).
Memory
Short Term or Working memory holds a
small amount of information for only a few
seconds. Without mental rehearsal (reuse
of working memory) of the information we
lose the contents of working memory
within a few seconds.
What About Distractions?
“One of the functions of working memory
is to prevent some information from
being coded.”
(Ratey, 2002, p. 196)
Memory and Forgetting
Every new experience causes neurons to
fire, crossing synapses, thereby
strengthening some synapses. This group
begins the formation of an initial memory
of the experience. However, this neuron’s
pattern will disappear unless it is made
more permanent by continual use. This is
referred to as “Long Term Potentiation”.
(Ratey, 2002, p. 190)
Metamemory
“Metamemory is knowledge of one’s own
memory capability. It is a “feeling of
knowing” such as a word that is on the “tip
of our tongue”. That is, we know we know
the word even though we cannot say it at
the moment.”
(Ratey, 2002, p. 201)
Motor Memory
“Motor memory is important for even
purely ‘mental’ tasks,”; that is, tasks not
requiring body movement. Motor memory
also includes our unconscious movements,
such as use of our vocal cords or blinking
of the eyes.
(Ratey, 2002, p. 179)
Movement and the Frontal
Lobe
“The frontal cortex learns, routinizes, and
processes motor AND mental functions in
parallel. Movements therefore, become
inextricably tied to cognition.”
(Ratey, 2002, p. 158)
Reception
You need to “receive” sensory input so that
it can be processed. Students need to
concentrate, pay attention, ask questions,
listen carefully, and minimize distractions
to increase the processing of information.
As information is received and prepared
for storage, it becomes encoded, which is
necessary for it to avoid becoming “lost”.
Reception vs. Attention
 Reception is
the process of receiving and
interpreting sensory information.
 Attention is
the focusing of an
individual’s reception and processes on a
specific aspect of the environment.
Recollection . . .
Organization of the information to be
learned is a key to being able to remember
it. Use your best sensory modality
(learning style) when you study,
supplement it with at least one other
modality, and minimize distractions.
Repetition and review of information is a
key to remembering it.
and Retrieval
The final step in the process of
recollection is retrieving encoded
information from memory.
Thinking and Memory
Electrical/Chemical Process
At the Synapse
Memory as a molecule
Access
 The
Brain “thinks” Multidimensionally
 Connections – Linking Styles
(Changing Formats)
Audio
Tactile or Kinesthetic
Visual
“The person doing the work is the
one growing the dendrites”
Pat Wolfe, 2001
References
 Hardiman,
Mariale, M., Connecting Brain
Research with Effective Teaching, 2003
 Howard, Pierce J., The Owner’s Manual
for the Brain, 1994
 Ratey, John J., A User’s Guide to the Brain,
2002