Instructional+Analysis+2009+Group+6

This web site is quite short but includes some history of mnemonics (including the collapsing building / poet story) 7. [] More importantly, we need to communicate folks. Is everyone else comfortable with dividing up the work and coming together at the end, or (I would recommend) should there be more review and group decision making on each piece of the project?

Update from Chris I like article 3 because there are so many examples of letter/sentence mnemonics. I also like article 6 (at the boottom) because it summarizes so much of what mnemonics are in a consice manner. Also, I think the second video is the best. It not only shows a remarkable demonstration, but clearly explaines image association as a form of mnemonics. I tried to come up with a mnemonic for mnemonics ...

M ultifaceted N eurally E nhanced M apping O ften N icely I mproves C ognitive S kills

... which made me wonder if the content of the mnemonic or sentence helps improve recollection and understanding? Perhaps my mnemoneics sentence is so convoluted that it is hard to remember even though if you did you would have mnemonics in a nut-shell. Are any of the following sentences for remembering the order of the classification of life better than the others? what do you think? (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Specie) King Pedro Came Over From Gibralter Spain. [imagine a spanish king boarding a boat from the rock of gibralter] King Phillip Cooked Only Fresh Giant Squid. [imagine a king frying a gaint squid on the beach] King Pygmalion Carved Only Female Granite Statues [from the greek myth of pygmalion and aphrodite, even though the planets are roman and he carved in marble] Of course knowing the story of Pygmalion, or that Gibralter is in Spain will help. Or is that too much to remember - when you are trying to remember something? Or will each learner learn and imagine differently so they should be offered different images?

Any thoughts, or better still, references to research on effective mnemonics?

U**pdate from Kristie:**  **I've found a few more websites/articles that I think could help us with this lesson:**   

**1. "How Do We Help Our Students Recall Information" by Kim Tracy http://teachers.net/gazette/JUL00/recall.html**  http://teachers.net/gazette/MAY01/tracy.html**
 * 2. "Tapping into Memory in Time for Testing" by Kim Tracy

**4. "Memory Boosters" by Cara Pitterman from Scholastic.com**  **http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1600&FullBreadCrumb=%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.scholastic.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsearch%2F%3Fquery%3Dmnemonic%26Ntt%3Dmnemonic%26Ntk%3DSCHL30_SI%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchallpartial%26y%3D0%26N%3D0%26x%3D0%26_N%3Dfff%22+class%3D%22endecaAll%22%3EAll+Results%3C%2Fa%3E** 
 * 3. "IdeaExchange: Mnemonic Devices" in Scholastic Instructor Magazine (August 1999)**
 * http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3209&FullBreadCrumb=%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.scholastic.com%2Fbrowse%2Fsearch%2F%3Fquery%3Dmnemonic%26Ntt%3Dmnemonic%26Ntk%3DSCHL30_SI%26Ntx%3Dmode%2Bmatchallpartial%26y%3D0%26N%3D0%26x%3D0%26_N%3Dfff%22+class%3D%22endecaAll%22%3EAll+Results%3C%2Fa%3E**


 * 5. The Use of Melodic and Rhythmic Mnemonics to Improve Memory and Recall in Elementary Students in the Content Areas by Orla Hayes; from ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)**

  **It demonstrates and explains linking theory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NROegsMqNc**  **It explains how the process of how the brain remembers/memorize things and then introduces Andi Bell, who is considered a world champion memorize. In the clip, he demonstrates his memorization skills and gives a few tips.** <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 102%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 102%;"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCvIMy_dTmQ** <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%;">
 * http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/43/fa/c8.pdf**
 * I also spent a little time searching youtube for some clips that would help demonstrate the concept. Check these out and let me know what you think:**
 * 1. This is a clip from a documentary on the BBC called "BBC - Get Smart"**
 * 2. This is another clip from the BBC documentary "BBC-Get Smart"**
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-xl7_hdWZo** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 104.04%;">
 * 3. Cartoon/Song on the signs you need to look for to determine if a person is having a stroke; a little cheesy, but it effectively demonstrates the use of a mnemonic device to remember the signs of a stroke

I have always been fascinated by basic mnemonics, but aren't songs really a form of mnemonics by attaching word meaning to melody? Isn't the foundation of mnemonics really the connection of information to already learned information? Or multiple memory pathways so that they can help each other to recall the total lesson package?

I like the idea of teaching Mnemonics, although I'm not sure I understand the connection with it and songs. Can you explain it more? I know our class all comes from a variety of backgrounds, but I think Mnemonics can be universally applied to all grade levels as a way to learn and recall information. I'll start looking for other articles over the weekend and post them here. If we all agree on this topic, should we let Jim know? Here is a definition from the web site url below ... //"Mnemonics is a memory enhancing instructional strategy that involves teaching students to link new information that is taught to information they already know."// I would say that if a person puts words to a tune they already know, they are using information they already know; the tune. And even if it is a new song, they commit to memory words/lessons along with melody thus tying them to one another. I suspect that one is learned prior, even if only instantly prior, to the other. But the more important point is that there are cross connections. Perhaps this should even be a part of our presentation, that the underlying concept of mnemonics is the value of interconnectivity. It is simply how humans are wired, and is especially important for Special education students. Doing collaborative assignments is a form on inter connecting instruction and has been shown to improve learning. We might even call it simultaneous mnemonics since the connections are being created during the same lesson.

Check out this site, it just about says it all concerning mnemonics 6. []