Mnemonic Devices Do Help Memory Recall (Hypothesis)

Assessing the Effectiveness of Mnemonic Devices in Memory Recall in College Students Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Abstract Mnemonics strategies are used in memory aid to help and improve recalling process of already learned information. Although there are other memory aiding techniques like critical thinking, conceptual thinking and pragmatic approach to learning, mnemonic techniques are also very useful in helping the students and other people involved in learning processes. This paper aims at adding more to the little research that has been conducted on the role of mnemonic strategies in memory recall. It will statistically determine if there is any impact of mnemonics in memory recall. The experiment will be conducted next semester and will target a maximum total of 100 students as the experiment subject. The students will be strategically and appropriately chosen to avoid the bias of the results that will be gotten. Preferably the students should come from one class where the teaching practices and experience used on them is the same so that the results will be more reliable and accountable. The students will be divided into two groups; one which will use mnemonics techniques and one who will not use them. The results will be in form of a similar test to all the students. The relationship of mnemonics strategies and the academic results will be analyzed and the conclusion made on if there is any connection between the mnemonic techniques and memory recall. Introduction Derived from the Greek word mnemonikos which means “of or relating to memory”, Mnemonic is a technique that is used to help an individual to quickly and effectively assist in the memory. It serves as a retrieval cue to the information which is stored in the mind. Recalling more effectively is, however, the most associated with a function in the field of psychology. The technique was first used in 477 BCE where it can be clearly traced to through events in history. These mnemonic techniques can be in various different ways. One of the way that it can be traced is by the use of the mnemonic form. Here it can, for instance, be classified based on the first letters that of the material that is being targeted. The second way in which the mnemonic can be classified is by the use of the function that the mnemonic performs. An example of this type of classification is when the function of the mnemonic is for recalling facts and when the used for recalling a process. Other more specific classifications have been developed over time which has increased the usability of the technique. Mnemonics are used or have been used by almost everybody at some point in life where one wants to remember a non-relational piece of information like a long list of words. Most of the study books that are on the market today also employ mnemonics to offer the reader with a simple and quicker way of remembering the information rather than having the reader memorize all the information. Since mnemonics techniques utilize the encoding process of the already in memory information, a person must have cognitively interacted with the information that they want to recall using the mnemonic strategies. The most common of mnemonics strategies is the ones that involve imagery and those that involve words. These common mnemonics involves the use of acronyms to help recall the information later when the need of remembering the information arises and the source of information is not available. Classroom students have been identified as the common users of the different strategies of mnemonics, this can be attributed to the intensive reading that the students are required to remember and recall during exams. Memory processing can be divided into three steps: registration, encoding and storage which is followed by recall. Encoding is the process of changing the information into storable form that can be kept in the memory. Storage is concerned with keeping and retaining the information in the memory and recalling is taking the information from storage to the light (remembering). Moreover, forgetting is likely to occur at any stage making an individual unable to recall the stored information. However, it has been established that not all the information that is encoded get stored and not all the stored information is recalled. Memory is categorized into three forms: Sensory, Short term and Long term. From previous studies, short term memory has a capacity of 7+- 2 items (Miller, 1956). The same research indicates that if there is a link between unrelated information, retrieval is improved. The sensory memory has a capacity of 0.5 seconds for an individual to decide whether there is need for further processing. This makes it to be modality-specific and since the there is insufficient research on this, the available one focuses on visual and auditory storage. The Long term memory is limitless in duration and capacity. It utilizes both semantic encoding as well as visual and auditory. Back to mnemonic techniques, imagery one of the mnemonic devices which helps in improving recalling of items. For example, verbal information is easily retrieved if it is linked to a visual image. Previous experiments such as Bower et al’s., focused on asking the participants to link words with images to improve their recalling capacity (Bower et al., 1969). The participants used to link various words with things that are in their houses, they well stroll in their houses and mention the items that they are supposed to recall as they pass them. This method was first used in the Ancient Greece and is referred to as the “Loci” method. By creating an image of a familiar object, participants can use this familiarity to improve their recalling abilities of unfamiliar information (Werner-Seidler & Dalgleish, 2016). This results were supported by Paivio (1972) who also asserted that the reason for this was due to the fact that the information was encoded both verbally and visually which increases the chances of recalling. Mnemonics strategies can be simply regarded as a retrieval cue to the already stored information which is hard to remember as a whole. The process of making and composing a mnemonic strategy as a way to aid in the recalling process for future use involves information encoding in a special way that it can easily be remembered. The encoded information that mnemonic strategies apply must be well crafted and organized in a meaningful way for the recalling process to be effective. For optimum effectiveness of the various strategies of the mnemonic, the cues that are used must be simple and easily remembered by the individual. The cues must also have a high probability of being an effective recall tool that is directly related to the target stored information. Lack of proper capture of the target information that is stored in the individual mind memory can lead non-effectiveness of the mnemonic technique used due to the implicit relation between the technique and the information. The information that is to use mnemonic strategies to recall ought to be well stored and comprehended to enable easy retrieval when a need arises. Students use this method to make connections between the information that they have studied and the cues that help them. Despite the fact that mnemonics being shown as an effective method of remembering information, little research has been done on the effect and means to improve the different kinds and forms of mnemonics. Cognitive psychology suggests that the retrieval cues that are used in the recall process are like well identified and sorted keys to a box containing the actual information. Every time that the owner needs to retrieve the user doesn’t need to directly know and remember the complex information that is contained in the box but remember the key to the box that contains the information. This analogy explains why when an individual requires to retrieve the information that is contained in that ‘box’ they have to use the cues to try and reconnect to the original information. The first letter mnemonic strategy is one of the most common word mnemonic technique that has been proven to be effective with practical cases, especially with students. The first letter technique is mostly used when the names to be memorized are in a certain order and form. For instance, the mnemonic cue for a mathematical arithmetic order of operation is B.O.D.M.A.S (Brackets, Off, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction). In this very common example among mathematics students is both very useful in remembering the order of operation that an arithmetic operation should follow when solving. The order of the letters must be followed in that sequence for the mnemonic technique to be effective. Mnemonics insists on less or reduced memorization of the information that is needed to be retrieved when the time arises. However, mnemonics strategies are not designed to replace the higher-order and critical thinking. Conceptual and pragmatic understanding and among other learning techniques should be incorporated in mnemonic strategies to help and enhance and improve knowledge recalling. The mnemonic strategies should improve class learning for students who are engaging in the technique in a real-time learning basis. It can even be of great help if the various mnemonics strategies are incorporated into the approved syllabus that the students use in their daily learning process. This will not only promote the use of mnemonic techniques but also help the students to quickly understand what is being taught to them in a...