The Role of Memory In Learning

How do kids learn a new, and often difficult, subject like science? Rather than rely on rote memory such is often utilized in a public school classroom, it's important to realize how memory plays a role in the overall process of learning and use this knowledge to make learning easier.

Categorizing Information Aids Memory

Learning occurs when information is taken in by the brain and sorted for later retrieval. After all, if a student is taught certain knowledge, but can't retrieve that knowledge at a later time, has she really learned it?

Our minds are complex machines that take in each and every little bit of information and puts them through a complex cognitive process. When we actively try to learn, we strive to commit new knowledge to memory through classification and repetition.

The brain actively records information and stores it in its proper place for easier later retrieval. It's human nature to put data in an order that makes sense to us so that we are more likely to recall it later.

The mind also works to infer missing pieces of information; it builds a bridge composed of likely data to fill the gap between bits of knowledge. So, if a child is presented with a sequence of words such as “chocolate, candy, fruit, cake, dessert”, she might add the word “sweet” upon recall, although it didn't exist in the original sequence. The word “sweet” makes sense because it is stored in the same category as the other words.

This illustrates how our brains create relational links between disparate pieces of information. Related bits of information are processed and sorted and put into a single category. This helps the mind remember a bit of data later because it only has to sort through a single category rather than the entire broad spectrum of knowledge.

Experience and Memory

The ability to “remember” something that doesn't really exist is a two-edged sword. It is beneficial in filling the gap presented when we quickly skim over the words in a book, for instance. But it is detrimental when we use preconceived notions based on experience to surmise what would happen in the natural world. In other words, our memory often fails us when it comes to science because we expect everything in our world to exist, act, and perform in a similar fashion – and that is not always the case.

Personal experience actually alters brain structure and that has an impact on memory. The more experience a student has with a particular subject, for instance, the better able he is to recall related information later. Mental activity is experience, too. Just thinking about a process is enough to turn it into a real memory. Repetition involves the same area of the brain as direct experience so doing something over and over again is an excellent way to commit it to memory.