Hacking your memory Flashcards
No laptop orders: technophobia?
Putnam et al. (2016) recommend not using a laptop
Some lecturers forbid their use in class
Distractions in class:
1- How much less might students multitasking on a laptop during class learn?
2- what might it also affect?
1- 11%
2- May also affect comprehension of students near you
Note-taking and memory encoding:
1- Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014- what can taking notes on a laptop encourage?
2- BUT
3- what is note taking useful for?
1- taking notes on a laptop is faster but encourages verbatim notes rather than summary. This is ‘shallow’ processing- repeating things without knowing what they mean
2- BUT less clear cut in replication + mini meta-analysis
3- However, note-taking IS useful in preventing mind-wandering
What is note-taking for?
- Promote deep and elaborative encoding of the material
- Provide external storage of information that is in the lecture but is not on the slides
- (Processing and adding this surrounding material may help elaborative encoding)
- Good notes can also support later study and revision
Tips for note-taking
- Use lecture slides to organise notes
Be selective; paraphrase if you can - What are the main messages?
- Include your takeaways and relate to prior knowledge
- What isn’t clear?
- Look up later, or ask the lecturer - How will you make the argument in an essay?
- What is the evidence supporting each message?
- Any conflicting data or limitations? Opposing theories?
What is elaboration?
+ 3 strategies?
Actively relating incoming material to existing knowledge
Usually implies a deliberate strategy
Example of 3 strategies:
1. Elaborative interrogation = Generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept is true (but in your own words)
2. Self-explanation = Explaining how new information is related to known information, or explaining steps taken during problem solving
3. Keyword mnemonic = Using keywords and mental imagery to associate verbal materials (can involve explanation)
The keyword mnemonic
+ example and application
How to learn the word hippocampus
Keyword mnemonic: hippo + campus
A hippo visits her old Uni campus, this brings back lots of memories
Making the name make sense and linking the 2 units. Giving it a cue that it is to do with memories.
Application- Richmond has shown this has helped higher-order thinking on MCQ by Psychology students, as well as recall
Elaborative interrogation
Dunlosky et al. (2013)
Generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept is true – much less clunky than keyword mnemonic
Elaboration depends on understanding- your prior knowledge
Helps more if you already have higher knowledge but it does help anyway even if you are in the lower knowledge group.
Van Kesteren et al. (2013) conducted an fMRI study of schema effects on learning at University.
What did their behavioural results show?
They found the Medial PFC is found to be involved in encoding memories that are related to prior knowledge where as the hippocampus is more involved in encoding memories that are not related to prior knowledge.
Medial PFC (mPFC):
- link to schema
- integrate
- generalized
- semantic (gist)
- false memories
Hippocampus:
- link (parts of) memories
- separate
- specific/ detailed
- episodic
Schemas in education: van Kesteren et al. (2018)
- People had to encode pairs of pictures and words - these were A-B pairs
- Then they were tested on their memory for the AB pairs by being shown the words and asked to pick out which picture that word went with. (associative memory)
- Then they had to encode new pairs- A-C (this involved linking the drug to its clinical use)
- They varied the relatedness between B and C
- In the final memory test, they tested what they inferred about B going with C (the two that were not studies with each other). They were first asked to recognise the C item to check they had actually encoded it as an item and then they were asked what picture went with it.
B-C is not directly studied but is inferred from learning A-B and A-C; as model of generalisation during learning
Schemas in education: van Kesteren et al. (2018)
1- Associative memory better for inferred B-C pairing if it was….
2- also better remembered if?
3- People’s judgements of what they would remember (metamemory) depended on?
4- people underestimated the importance of
1- Associative memory better for inferred B-C pairing if it was schema-congruent
2- Also better if remembered the B picture during A-C learning
3- People’s judgements of what they would remember (metamemory) depended on reactivation but not schemas
4- … Partially accurate but people underestimated the importance of prior knowledge- (insights are not always rights)
Schemas at university
Connecting material to what was learned before helps new learning and generalisation. Some of this is tutors’ job but doing readings and revision of key ideas before lectures can help students to assimilate lecture material
So can reading over slides, e.g. to understand main messages, spot what will need most clarification, relate to readings and prior study (Marsh & Sink, 2009)
Limits of improving encoding
- Keyword mnemonic involves work, and needs suitable material – as do other elaboration strategies
- Elaborative interrogation “…effects are often larger when elaborations are precise rather than imprecise, when prior knowledge is higher rather than lower […] and when elaborations are self-generated rather than provided” (Dunlosky et al., 2013)
- Dunlosky et al interpret as distinctiveness effect on encoding
- BUT surprisingly (to many in 2013) not very effective for long-term learning
What can add to the potential cues that are able to retrieve something?
Elaboration
I.e., you also generate your own cues when studying!
Self-generated cues
- You make the connections! Create cues that connect with your personal knowledge and cognitive context
- E.g. “when remembering that Rutherford was the first person to show that each atom has a nucleus in its center, a chemistry student can create a cue that says “Ruth is my grandma’s name and grandmas are the center of the family.””
- From Tullis & Finley’s (2018) review
- Note that cue is semantically related to target fact
- Use interests, hobbies etc e.g. sport, or music etc
