Do You Know How Memory Works?

        While searching for resource material related to the discussion this week, I discovered an intriguing article by Daniel T. Willingham, Why Do Students Remember Everything That’s on Television and Forget Everything I Say? Students seem to easily remember all the latest dance moves from TikTok or YouTube videos. However, learning how to multiply fractions can prove to be insurmountable. Students can recite the words of their favorite social media influencer, but can not remember a list of spelling words. Willingham’s article gives an insight into memory and how it works for students.

        Memory is the “residue of thought” (Willingham, p.34). According to scholars, the brain manages new data in a certain manner. The two main components of brain processing memory are long-term memory and working memory. Our working memory is considered the “gatekeeper to new learning” (Payne, p.51).  Firth describes our memory as ” desk space of the mind… In short, it is the part of your mind that deals with processing and problem solving”. Harvard University describe memory as “the ongoing process of information retention over time.” Harvard scholars gives great details about how memory works.

The American Psychological Association writes, “Learning and memory are closely related concepts. Learning is the acquisition of skill or knowledge, while memory is the expression of what you’ve acquired.” A major barrier of memory is “forgetting is a natural part of the learning process” (Turner). Educators are consistently trying to circumvent memory loss by students. Instructional designers (IDers) are expected to create learning experiences that successfully train the memory of students. It is vital that IDers learn how the memory system performs. University of Strathclyde posted a blog about understanding memory (Firth, n.d.) to enlighten educators. IDers must understand how memory works to create effective and innovative learning experiences comparable to other attention retainers like TikTok and YouTube. There are many articles that explain various learning theories, see references below.

 

References

American Psychological Association. Learning & memory. Adapted from the    Encyclopedia of Psychology. Retrieved from                  https://www.apa.org/topics/learning-memory

Çeliköz, N., Erisen, Y., & Sahin, M. (2019). Cognitive Learning Theories with Emphasis on Latent Learning, Gestalt and Information Processing Theories. Online Submission, 9(3), 18–33.

Firth, J. Understanding memory, and making it work for your students. Retrieved from 

https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/schoolofeducation/blog/understandingmemoryandmakingitworkforyourstudents/

Harvard University. HOW MEMORY WORKS. The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/how-memory-works

Nickerson, R. S.  and Adams, M. J.,  “Long-Term Memory for a Common Object,” Cognitive Psychology 11 (1979): 287–307.

Payne, C. (2021). Cognitive Load Theory revisited. English Teaching Professional, 137, 51–54.

Turner, S. What Every Teacher And Student Needs To Know About Memory. American Psychological Association’s Psych Learning Curve: Where Psychology and Education Connect. Retrieved from http://psychlearningcurve.org/

Willingham, D. T. (2021). Why Do Students Remember Everything That’s on Television and Forget Everything I Say? American Educator, 45(2), 34–38.

https://www.aft.org/ae/summer2021/willingham

Favorite Blogs

As I embark on my career as an Instructional Designer, I have found many blogs that inspire me to design creative, innovative, and successful learning experiences.  

Here are three blog sites I have added to my favorites list: 

ACTION@WORK - Cathy Moore

Ms. Moore blog has tips and tricks for instructional designers to create “lively” training. Her blog offer topics, links to other resources, and eBooks.

For instance:

·         Learning Objectives: Our frenemy

From past experiences, I have learned the importance of defining the learning objectives. Ms. Moore provides three questions that will help me define learning objectives in the future. Do people actually need to “learn” something? Are we writing useful objectives for the formal training bits? Who needs to see the objectives? Ms. Moore gives details and points for each question. I plan to use these questions in my future projects as an Instructional Designer.

·         5 ways to become an L&D hero

Ms. Moore states, “I vow to become a hero to my learners and clients. I’ll save them from boring information dumps and wasted money. I’ll help them enjoy their jobs and see real-world improvement. I’ll save the world from boring training!” This is a commitment I plan to keep as an Instructional Designer. I think it is a great motto for a company.

·         Action mapping book now available

Ms. Moore give readers an opportunity to read a large portion of her new book, Map It. Viewers are able to read the book for free on Amazon.

Ms. Moore has many more posts on her blog that I find interesting, inspiring, and motivating. Because of her witty and light-hearted posts, I will refer to this blog as I pursue my career as an Instructional Designer.

The eLearning Coach- Connie Malamed

Connie Malamed posts tricks, tips, podcasts, and links to other experts in the field of instructional design. I was intrigued by the conversations she posts on her blog with guests like Hadiya Nuriddin (Certified Professional in Learning and Performance) and Myra Roldan (senior technical program manager at Amazon Web Services). Both women share great technical, business, and adult learning tips and tricks in their conversation with Ms. Malamed. The give real-world scenarios providing expert resolutions.

Connie’s blog provides resources and tools that encourages instructional designers to be as creative and innovative as possible. Connie writes in her blog labeled Creativity In Instructional Design: A Creative Instructional Design Model, “The digital transformation of the workplace means we need new approaches to learning, training and education. Information changes rapidly. People have rapid access to the information they need. Teamwork and collaboration are high priority skills. This is the perfect time to turn on the creative juice to meet the needs of the 21at century workforce.”

SH!FT

SH!FT states that their blog site “provides the best practices, tips, and inspiration for corporate training, instructional design, eLearning and mLearning.” SH!FT has blog posts submitted by various authors that are meaningful, and I can use to leverage my value as an instructional designer. One of my favorite posts is labeled, How Do I Get My Company to Take Instructional Design Seriously? In the post, the writer gives 5 valuable reasons why an employer should take instructional design seriously. My goal is to make sure each employer that I meet understands and appreciates the value of an instructional designer.

Another post I find informative and enlightening is titled, 6 Things No One Tells You About Becoming an eLearning Designer. I love reading posts and articles that provide an insight into the working field, beyond the skills needed to become an instructional designer. What happens when I have a creativity block or if I am unable to please a client? This blog is a great resource to answers those questions.