Human Memory
Introduction
The human brain is fascinating since understanding how an individual could act, remember things, and how he thinks it is incredibly complex. Human memory refers to the ability to take information, encode it, store, and retrieve it later. Memory performs an essential part in our life. For instance, it helps in remembering skills learned or even retrieving information stored in the memory. Also, human memory helps one to reflect on the past and use the present and experience to solve challenges. As a result, memory is pivotal in learning. People use memory in everyday activities. Right now am using memory to type the words. The brain has information, while the memory helps me to remember the right key to hit for words to appear.
There are two types of memory: long and short-term, which are further divided into other forms. These forms of human memory are essential since they have value in classroom teaching. Short-term memory could be used to remember information that is learned recently (Conway, Howe & Knott, 2017). Long term memory could also be used to recall information acquired in the past, and it helps learners in doing their final exams.
Short-term memory
Recent memory could be another term for short-term memory. Usually, it is a temporary memory system that remembers information at the moment. For example, one could remember a phone number after being recited. Disruption interferes with short-memory since it makes one forget information. Three aspects characterize the short-term memory. According to Conway, Howe & Knott (2017), one of the elements is of limited capacity. Thereby, it means that only a few information could be stored at a time: the times range up to seven items. In short-term memory, a large amount of data could not be restored since it is only a few of the content stored. An individual will only remember information after a long conversation.
The second element of short-term memory is a limited duration. It takes a few periods for information to be remembered in short-term memory. Therefore, storage is fragile, and content could be lost as a result of distraction and passage of period. Mostly, in short, memory information could be kept for about 30-40seconds. Though, short-term memory could store data for a few seconds if the active maintenance and rehearsal of the content are prevented. For instance, assume you are trying to recall a telephone number. Then an individual reels off the telephone number, and later you try to remember. After a short period, you recognize that you could not remember the number. It means that without proper rehearsal or even repeating the content until it is devoted to memory, the material could get lost from memory in the short term. Also, one could increase short-term memory duration through the use of different strategies.
Jackson et al. (2019) claims that one of the strategies is the use of a rehearsal strategy. Rehearsal approach involves repeating information for a long time for it to stick in mind. Encoding also characterizes the short-term memory. It could be weakening due to various reasons such as head injury, medication, and sleep deprivation. Also, age determines the short-term memory; for instance, once someone is old, his mind has problems since old age leads to memory loss, so the ability to store information will be limited.
The operation in which short-term memory is accountable for include: iconic, working memory, and acoustic. Iconic refers to the capability of storing images. Therefore, short-term memory has the purpose of storing pictures seen. Also, acoustic is an ability store sounds while working memory; it is the capability of storing information.
Example of short-term memory includes remembering recent information or things, for instance where did put your house keep, where you parked your car, the topic you learned in the afternoon, what you ate during lunchtime among others. Therefore short-term memory is essential in remembering recent information.
Jackson et al. (2019) posited that some factors influence short-term memory. They include environmental, subjective, and content factors. Environment refers to the setting one is while receiving the information. Environmental factors that could influence the short-time memory include noise, temperature, affection, humidity, among others. For instance, being in a noisy setting could interfere with how one will store the information. Disturbances decrease the rate at which data is stored, and therefore one will not be able to remember the information once being asked. For instance, a student will not understand what the teacher is teaching while there are noisy in the surrounding. That is why schools are not constructed near factories and busy roads.
The content factor refers to the type of information being conveyed. In short-term memory, it is not easy to remember complex information. Individuals tend to remember information that is not complicated in the short-term (Jackson et al., 2019). Content could also be in terms of the length of the data. As said earlier, it is not easy in short-term memory to remember a large capacity of the information. A limited capacity characterizes it, so a long speech will not be easy to recognize in short-term memory. Also, if the information is familiar, it will be easy to remember the content.
Subjective factors include the psychological state of an individual while receiving the information. The elements could consist of interests, health as well as state of rest of the information speaker. An interested individual will be able to grasp information well than an uninterested one. Also, motivation will increase the chance of one remembering information in short-term memory.
Short-term memory value in learning
Teaching a learner with short-term memory could be challenging since the student will only remember the recent information the teacher taught. Every teacher always wants the learner to pass, and therefore a child with short-term memory will require extra attention. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that the environment is conducive for learning and also try to explain the content appropriately. Jackson et al. (2019) claims that a student with short-term memory has the following characteristics: forgetting information on units already learned, failing to complete all tasks once the teacher gives a list of instructions, not remembering what their fellow learners said during a conversation, and having trouble remembering what they have just read.
Short-term memory add value in the classroom since the learners could remember information learned recently. Therefore short-term memory could be useful to the students in case they are revising for their exams, though its usefulness is limited by duration and capacity. Learners with short-term memory would be able to pass an exam that is not more detailed and has multiple choices.
Different strategies are then applicable to teach students with short-term memory. These strategies work for some students, but not all. They could be used for the whole class or to accommodate specific students. An instructor will be one to assess a method that will be suitable for his students.
Reviewing prior knowledge is one of the strategies a teacher could use to help a learner with short-term memory. Before teaching the new information, a teacher goes back to what explained in the previous day and how it is related to the day’s knowledge. A teacher could do this by asking students what they learned yesterday. By so doing, short-term memory students will be able to remember what they learned and therefore be able to connect. As a result, the student will be familiar with the knowledge, and this enhances the ability to remember, encoding, and to retrieve information.
Moreover, according to Baddeley (2017), the use of visuals is essential in helping students with short-term memory. Visuals could include pictures, graphics, posters, and checklists. Visuals help learners to remember, store, and retrieve information efficiently. One could be able to recall a picture he saw rather than information taught. He could be seeing the image in his mind, and this will help him to remember.
Kids are characterized by the short-term method, and they always learn through rehearsal or even repeating information for a while (Baddeley, 2017). When their mother wants them to understand words, they always ask kids to repeat after them, and therefore kids would be able to master the information. For instance, a child who is learning to speak, his mother would be saying some words which he would repeat her, such as bye.
Motivating a learner with short-term learning could be essential, enhancing storing, remembering, and retrieving information by a learner. The use of negative and positive stimuli could also encourage the learner to remember information taught. Negative stimulus involves removing a negative behaviour in a learner (Baddeley, 2017). For a teacher to prevent the learners from forgetting what they were taught, he could use negative stimuli like beating a student if he does not remember what he learned the previous day. Positive stimulus involves encouraging positive behaviour in a learner. It could include giving rewards to those who complete the assignment or remembers information. Prizes could be in the form of sweets and even appreciating them with words such as well done, good work, among others.
Long-term memory
Long-term memory is also a form of human memory which could be defined as memory that unlimited store capacity of information over a long time. The long period could mean that information could be stored for a lifetime. An example of the long-term memory could include remembering a special day in someone’s life, such as a wedding, graduation as well as birthday events. Also, Conway et al. (2017) claims that long-term memory could consist of remembering skills one learned at his first job after graduation. Another example of long-term memory is remembering your first relationship. According to research, long-term memory is influenced by age. Children and youth are considered to have a long-term memory. Therefore, long-term memory is characterized by being unlimited, the duration is usually a long time, and encoding a form is semantics. Long-term memory varies from one person to another. Some individuals have weaker long-term memory, while others are strong. For instance, some people could remember information faster while others need prompts for them to be focused. In long-term memory, it easy to remember the essential events than less critical days.
Moreover, in long-term memory, memories frequently accessed are more reliable as well as easy to remember. It could be due to the reason that one accessing the memories regularly reinforces neural network where the content is encoded, therefore, contributing to easy remembrance of information. However, memories that are not recalled frequently could sometimes weaken, lost, or even replaced by other content. Often, long-term memory is memories outside the conscious mind. People are not aware of the information. However, one could remember them once the information is needed.
According to Conway et al. (2017), different factors affect long-term memory. One of the factors is the age of an individual. It is difficult for old people to remember issues like adult and children do. An older adult has experienced many events, and therefore some have been replaced by others. Consequently, it is not easy to remember the event. Some older people are accompanied by old-age illness and amnesia, is one of them (Kormi‐Nouri, Moniri & Nilsson, 2003). It is a condition whereby it is not easy to remember information.
They are thereby influencing memory negatively. A student at the age of 6 could not be able to remember information in a long-time compared to one at 15 years of age. Also, the type of information would determine whether an individual will retain the data for a long time. Some information is complex, and understanding them could be difficult, hence remembering them will not be easy. Simple information will be retained for a long period.
Environmental factors could influence the remembrance of information for a long period, thus interfering with long-term memory. Environmental elements could include humidity, temperature, noise, among other factors. In a noise surrounding, one could not be able to understand information, thus recalling it would be a difficulty.
Subjective factors also interfere with long-term memory. The elements could include the state of mind of an individual, fatigue, interest as well as motivation. A motivated individual will be able to recall information in the long-term compared to an unmotivated one (Kormi‐Nouri, Moniri & Nilsson, 2003). Motivation increases the interest of an individual in particular information, thereby increasing the chances of remembering and understanding. Also, if the receiver of the data is in the right state, he will be able to remember information in the long-term. For instance, a sick individual could not concentrate in class. Therefore an understanding of the information is limited, leading to poor long-term memory.
There are two forms of long-term memory. They include explicit and implicit memory. Another name for explicit memory is declarative memory. Explicit memories involve remembering information intentionally and consciously. An example of explicit memory includes riding a bike memory. Explicit memory is classified into two classes: episodic and semantic memory. Episodic memory refers to having a memory like those of the TV series. It relates to recalling in detail about special events in your life. For instance, you could remember the day you joined the school and the events that took place that day. Also, one could remember maybe a stay at his grandmother’s home. How the visit was, the activities he was involved in as well as friends he made during the holiday.
In semantic memory, facts, as well as figures, could be remembered. It is a type of memory that remembers the actual figure, for instance, the president of the United States of America, the exact date of the birthday, and also that Timothy Donald Cook is the CEO of the Apple Company. Therefore, semantic memory is about remembering the knowledge of the world. The memories are the most stable, and they stick into someone’s mind for a long time. Once one forgets something, one would go crazy and may never wish not to remember. Semantics memories have a habit of sticking around (Kormi‐Nouri, Moniri & Nilsson, 2003). Having a semantic memory is essential since it helps one to recall the most crucial information. It is both necessary to both students as well as adults. Students with semantic memory will be able to recall information they learned since they stepped their foot in school, and this could help them to pass the exam and have more knowledge about the world.
Implicit memory refers to a form of human memory that is functional and could not be remembered consciously (Meulemans, Van der Linden, & Perruchet, 1998). It is linked to the subconscious as well as the unconscious mechanism. Implicit memory could further be categorized into three types: priming, procedural, and conditioning. Procedural memory is involved in body movement as well as how to use equipment in an environment. It is a type of long-term memory that is accountable for understanding how to handle things. It involves possessing motor skills memory. It is a type of memory that does not include being conscious: it is automatic. An example of procedural memory is knowing how to ride a bike. One does not need to be alert to recall how to ride it: it is automatic.
According to Blakemore & Frith, (2005), priming memory is a form of the implicit memory whereby exposure to a stimulus has to influence stimulus in the future. Priming memory is an approach that is used to train the mind of the individuals in positive as well as negative means. The positive stimulus could be caused by experiencing stimulus, whereas negative is caused by experiencing stimulus and thereafter ignoring. Positive priming memory does not involve an individual to memorize since it involves the use of words that are related. For example, the school has a connection with the student. In learning, a teacher could use a puzzle to make a learner understand. Having a puzzle for the learner to identify the words will not need the student to memorize. It will be an easy task, and the learner could feel motivated.
Condition memory is a type of implicit memory that one learn without being aware (Pan et al., 2005). One does it to associate with a stimulus such as sound, light, among others. For instance, you might find your own salivating after the good smell of the food.
Value of long-term memory in education
Long-term memory is essential in education as well as in a real-life situation. Cheng, Dong, & Lapata (2016) suggest that different types of long-term memory have value in the learning. Explicit is one of them which involves remembering intentionally and consciously. It is further divided in to semantic and episodic. In education, teachers use a different method to help the learners understand. Semantic learning could mean understanding comprehensively. It involves understanding the facts and figures. Learners with long-term memory can recall the figure appropriately. For instance, cramming would help a learner to memorize certain information. Also, asking learners to question frequently concerning facts will increase their long-term memory.
Procedural memory is also essential in learning. It refers to learning new skills (Lum et al., 2010), for instance, knowing how to draw a human body, how to ride a bike, and how to use a computer. A student with long-term memory will find it easy to remember how to do such activities after learning. Therefore the teachers will not have a hard time teaching them life skills.
Blakemore & Frith (2005) claim that long-term memory is crucial in education. Any teacher will be proud to have students with long-term memory. It helps learners to remember a large amount of information that is necessary for passing exams (Blakemore & Frith, 2005). Students have different types of long-term memory. Some are best in remembering life skill and those good at remembering facts and figures.
A teacher could motivate learners in strengthening long-term memory through different approaches. One of the approaches is by use of positive stimuli. It means that teachers will encourage the learners by adding positive behaviour (Blakemore & Frith, 2005). For instance, praising them for good work. Negative stimuli is also a method to encourage long-term memory. It involves removing negative behaviour by either punishing learners who do not remember information taught.
Conclusion
Memory is essential in everyday activity. It is useful in school and life. Short-term memory involves remembering recent information, while long-term information involves remembering information for a long time. Both types of memory are essential in education. A learner with short-term memory gives an instructor worries since he could not remember a lot of information, and also the duration of remembering is limited. However, since all individuals are not created the same, a teacher would use strategies to strengthen the memory of learners. A teacher having students with long-term memory is a happy teacher since the learners are able to recall information being taught.
References
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Jackson, E., Leitao, S., Claessen, M., & Boyes, M. (2019). Fast mapping short and long words: Examining the influence of short-term phonological memory and receptive vocabulary in children with developmental language disorder. Journal of communication disorders, 79, 11-23.