Short and Long-Term Memory Presented by: The Purple Ladies Chelsea, Ellie, Tammy and Jennifer Based on the book John Medina 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School

Brain Trivia Herman Ebbinghaus – People usually forget 90% of what they learn in a class in 30 days. Your brain has about 100 billion neurons. A typical brain cell has from 1,000 to 10,000 connections to other brain cells. Social class is just one of many factors, both environmental and genetic, that may impact on a child's IQ. Others can include: diet, birth weight, parental IQ and even if the child gets hugged a lot! Certain smells may improve your ability to pass exams. British research indicates students revising for exams could use scent to improve their marks, but also that smells associated with failure can worsen results. The smell of rosemary is also said to enhance mental performance. http://www.intelligencetest.com/trivia/index.htm

Our Roadmap Where are we headed? What is our goal? Review syllabus Three days of class time…. What is our goal? TESOL teachers will understand and incorporate techniques used to commit new language proficiency knowledge to short and long-term memory.  Commit new information to long term memory. Review syllabus Why are you taking this course and what do you hope to learn? Discuss in groups of two or three Introduce your classmate and share with the class their feedback

What do you know about memory? In groups of two or three What do you know about short term memory? How do you teach to short term memory? What do you know about long term memory? How do you teach to long term memory? Share responses with the class

#5: Short-Term Memory-Repeat to Remember Short term memory is a memory store of limited capacity and duration. (Nairne, 2003) The first few moments of learning give us the ability to remember something . The more elaborately we encode a memory during its initial moments, the stronger it will be. You can improve your chances of remembering something if you can recreate the environment in which you originally put it into your brain.

Short Term Memory continued.. AKA “working memory” is a busy, temporary workspace, a desktop the brain uses to process newly acquired information. Examples of exercises that improve short term memory: Word meaningfulness It is much easier to memorize words that we can visualize. Words that represent ideas and beliefs are usually harder to memorize than words that can be visualized such as places or things. For example words such as hope, peace and wisdom are harder to memorize than video game and bicycle. Lists When reading a list the first and last items are remembered better than middle words. The two memory processes that cause this to happen are called the primacy and recency effects. Try to schedule frequent short breaks as this will create more primacy/recency peaks helping you to remember more information. The longer you study the bigger the dip in recall between the primacy and recency effects. View http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lahaS6CzNgc REPEAT TO REMEMBER

#6: Long-Term Memory-Remember to Repeat Long term memory contains information that you have recorded in your brain in the past. It has no limit on capacity and can store vast amounts of information. Memory may not be fixed at the moment of learning, but the repetition, doled out in specifically timed intervals, is the fixative. To commit information to long term memory provide students consistent re-exposure to the basic facts, followed by a detailed elaboration of our impressions. The way to make long term memory more reliable is to incorporate new information gradually and repeat it in timed intervals.

Long Term Memory continued…. Examples of exercises that strengthen long term memory: Mnemonics An invented combination of letters with each letter acting as a cue to an idea you need to remember. Chaining Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember will cue the next idea you need to recall http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/mnemonics.htm An exercise to test your long term memory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csR1p9SfiAU REMEMBER TO REPEAT

In Closing… Review our key points on short and long term memory: Brain Rule #5 – Repeat to Remember Brain Rule #6 – Remember to Repeat For next session… ASSIGNMENT: In two type-written pages, explain how you use short and long term memory in your classroom. Provide multiple examples of both memory types.

Review Brain Rules Brain Rule #5 – Repeat to Remember Short term memory is a memory store of limited capacity and duration. (Nairne, 2003) The first few moments of learning give us the ability to remember something . Brain Rule #6 – Remember to Repeat The way to make long term memory more reliable is to incorporate new information gradually and repeat it in timed intervals. 10

Brainstorming 1. Brainstorm in pairs ways Brain Rules can be applied in your classrooms. 2. As a group, share your best practices with the class.

Live Teaching vs.

TESOL Teaching in action Visit North Seattle Community College Take notes on your observations Complete your graphic organizer 13

Complete second half of graphic organizer. videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXn64XvhgoI Complete second half of graphic organizer. 14

Lessons Learned 1. In pairs, using your graphic organizers, compare/contrast the video with the live teaching. 2. How were Brain Rule #5, short-term memory, and Brain Rule #6, long-term memory used, if at all.

Brain Rule #5 – Repeat to Remember Brain Rule #6 – Remember to Repeat Review Brain Rules Brain Rule #5 – Repeat to Remember Brain Rule #6 – Remember to Repeat 16

This week… What have you observed in your class this week? Have you seen the Brain Rules in action? Have you seen instances in which the Brain Rules should have been put into Did anyone put this information into practice this week? 17

Changing Your Practice Your Task: Create a new lesson (or revisit one of your lessons) Make sure to put the Brain Rules into practice in your lesson Repeat to Remember/Remember to Repeat Must Have: 4 concrete changes or 4 new implementations of the Brain Rules per group. 18

Some things to keep in mind… -Students forget 90% of what they have learned within 30 days (if it is not repeated) You can increase the lifespan of a memory by repeating information on a timed interval The more elaborately the memory is encoded, the stronger it is. -Memory retrieval may be best when the initial conditions are replicated -Focus on meaning of the subject, not just memorization -It can take years to make a memory stable

Gaining & Sharing Expertise Each group will present their lesson plan to the class. Classmates observe and give constructive criticism or positive feedback. Notate use of Brain Rules. How can we implement these ideas in our classrooms? Revise lesson plans/discuss using these lessons in class the rest of the year. 20

Medina suggests… -Year-round school (extended year)… -25 minute modules, cyclically repeated throughout the day (students get the same subject matter 3 times a day) -”Review holidays” – like an immune booster shots of important info -If we review and repeat information enough at school, do we still even need homework?

Did we reach our Goal? Do you understand the Brain Rules and how they apply to teaching? Do you have a plan for change?

Are you ready to include the Brain Rules theories in your lessons? What strategies will you use while planning? How will you create accountability for yourself?

What will you change in your classroom? 24

Final Questions (Please answer on a separate piece of paper) Was this workshop useful? Why or why not? How will your new knowledge affect your classrooms practices? What is one thing that you would change about the workshop?