Memory Guide > Newsletters > Issue 113
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T h e M e m o r y K e y
Your resource for information about memory and memory improvement
December 2007
<http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/issue_113.htm>
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THIS MONTH ON MEMORY-KEY.COM:
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NEW: The original Memory Key is now available as an e-book!
Check it out at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/memkey_ebook.htm
Note that you can now use your credit cards on Paypal.
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Check out the e-book on "Effective notetaking" at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/notetaking_workbook.htm
and the e-book on "Remembering intentions" at:
http://www.memory-key.com/shop/intention_ebook.htm
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Find out about my YA novel at:
http://www.fmmcpherson.com/
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LEARNING FROM LECTURES
I was reading an article in Inside Higher Education about class size this morning. The writer talks about the largely unchallenged assumption that smaller classes are always better than larger classes, and suggests that instead of concentrating all our efforts on reducing class size (an effort doomed to fail, given the large numbers of students needing to be educated in some areas), we should expend more effort to work out what the best ways are for teaching such large classes.
It’s an excellent point.
On my website, I have an article on class size that relates to children’s learning ( http://www.memory-key.com/parents/class_size.htm ), but we are talking now about tertiary education, which brings us to the lecture.
Now lectures are the engine of massed learning in the tertiary sector. They’re designed to enable a teacher to impart their wisdom to a large number of students all at once. But that doesn’t mean that a teacher should write out a lecture, stand up at the podium, read it out, then leave (though I’ve known a good many who did just that!). In fact, I have always considered that the primary value of lectures (as opposed to classes, which are, or should be, more interactive) is to engage the student. If it is just a matter of providing information, give the poor student a printout of your lecture! The teacher’s job (in this situation) is to stimulate interest in the subject.
That doesn’t mean you have to provide activities (though the odd one or two breaks up the monotony). It does mean that you need to be more aware of how you impart your wisdom.
Last year, the British general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers was quoted as saying, "Unemployed actors could provide training on how to project the voice and "perform" in class." According to the article in the Guardian ( http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1834951,00.html ) "The call came after research showed that teachers with damaged voices that sounded hoarse or "breathy" often lost the attention of their pupils."
This reminded me of an extreme example I experienced long years ago as an undergraduate. My Japanese language teacher (an American) had the misfortune to have a very monotonous voice. At the best of times it was difficult to pay attention to, but we had the class right after lunch, and it was all any of us could do to stay awake. He was a nice guy, who knew full well the effect his voice had, and didn’t blame any of us — he used to throw balls of paper at us in an effort to provide some stimulation! — but it made for a situation in which it was very difficult to learn.
Speaking of actors reminds me of the importance of body language. Apart from the subliminal message of an engaged lecturer vs a bored one, there is also an effect of gesturing. There have been a few studies in recent years indicating that appropriate gestures by teachers help students learn (for example, check out news items at http://www.memory-key.com/news/2003/news_2003Mar.htm#gestures ).
But let’s return to my point about the value of lectures being primarily motivational rather than informative. Here’s a few things research has thrown up on the difficulties of taking notes in a lecture situation:
Studies where the rate has been 100 words per minute or slower have shown an encoding benefit for notetaking, but studies where the rate has been faster than that tend to show a disadvantage. The normal rate of speech is around 150 words per minute.
A survey of notetaking across 12 different courses found that the average student recorded 60% of the information recorded in a set of ideal notes, with a great deal of variability across courses (from 39% for American Literature to 76% for Textiles).
Information written on the board was, unsurprisingly, much more likely to be recorded (88% on average, compared to only 51.6% of information that wasn’t recorded on the board).
When told to self-score their own notes, the average student claimed to have noted 76.5% of the information not written on the board, (compared to the actual amount of 51.6%).
However, it is this ability to record valuable information that is not written on the board that sorts out the sheep from the goats: Course grades were higher for students who recorded more of the information units not written on the board.
It’s also worth noting the marked fatigue effect. Normal college lectures are, after all, lengthy affairs, but the amount of information recorded in the second twenty minute period was significantly less than that recorded in the first twenty minutes, and that recorded after the first forty minutes less still.
So there’s a warning here for both students and teachers. The message for teachers is, I hope, quite clear. The message for students, who may feel doomed by poor lecturers!, is to make particular effort in cases where the lecturer isn’t so helpful, to read up on the relevant material as much as possible BEFORE the lecture. This will substantially increase your chances of being able to select and record the information you need. Remember, it should never be your ambition to record everything — this is not only almost certainly doomed to fail, but is not a good strategy in any case.
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SOME INTERESTING WEBSITES
The Online Education Database has recently posted an article on memory tips, titled "The Memory Toolbox: 75 Tips and Resources" -- http://oedb.org/library/features/the-memory-toolbox .
and here's a website dubbing itself Your Brain Fitness Center ( http://www.sharpbrains.com/ ), which has a number of brief articles and some "brain teasers" ( http://www.sharpbrains.com/teasers/ ). Check out my favorite at http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2006/09/28/attention-and-working-memory/
And a subscriber recently drew my attention to the Memory Loss Initiative, a project recently launched by StoryCorps, to support and encourage people with memory loss to share their stories. I think this is a wonderful idea, and would direct any of you who have dealings, either professional or familial, with dementia sufferers, to check it out. http://www.storycorps.net/special-initiatives/mli
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HOLIDAY BREAK
There will be no Memory Key Newsletter in early January. The Memory News Digest will, however, appear on schedule. Happy holidays!
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If you have missed any issue of the newsletter (those people
who use hotmail
in particular sometimes have their mail bounced back
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a
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genuine, long-lasting memory improvement.
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