By: Conrad Barnet
I can remember all of the songs from my favorite Saturday morning cartoons. Several decades later I can still recite the theme songs. I can sufficiently memorize most formulas after looking at them once, but I struggle to remember names! Memory is a funny thing at times accurate and with the passing of time can become unstable.
As you think about your child’s development, memory will likely be one of the least discussed topics. However, it is one of the most important in cognitive development. Memory is the blank surface where all learning takes place. Similar to your home computer which has a hard drive and R.A.M (random access memory,) the brain has long and short term memories. If you want to add more programs to your computer you will need to add a bigger R.A.M the same is true as it pertains to increasing short and long term memory in students.
The act of learning new complicated topics requires a healthy memory so at times your child will seem to not be paying attention when the issue is really their memory. For example, if you give your child four commands and they don’t have the ability to actually remember all four commands they may quickly seem confused and out of step. It is almost as if they weren’t paying attention when in actuality they just didn’t remember the instructions. That is why within K.B.’s A.M.P.E.D. U.P philosophy memory is a specific skill that we constantly promote.
Memory within children develop at different rates and speeds. It is believed that if you fill a room with ten 8-year olds a large segment will have memory capabilities rivaling a 4 year old another portion will have memories equivalent to an 11 year old and the residual populations memory will be age appropriate. Given the wide range of memory capabilities it is important that parents and teachers adopt skills to help children who struggle with memory.
To demystify memory we should focus on the forms and types of memory, first and foremost there is long term memory and short-term memory often referred to as working memory. There are different types of memories within both long and short term memory . Visual, auditory, haptic and procedural memory are a few and while we can easily reel off additional memory types those in our opinion are the most important. Memory can be quickly defined per the following:
- capacity or pieces of information
- speed of processing
- processing space or how much information
- efficiency, the speed at which is getting done
A child’s memory can underperform for a variety of reasons ranging from distractions, information overload and at times the complexity of the task. Once a child’s loses information within the working memory it is almost impossible for them to immediately retrieve. This in effect results in students with poor working memories to have trouble in school.
Improving a child’s memory requires both active participation on behalf of parents and teachers. It is challenging to expedite brain development so it is extremely important that we take full advantage of all that is developed within the brain. The first and most important thing that parents and teachers can do is make the careful distinction of differentiating when there is a failure in memory versus a lack of attention. This can be done by monitoring the child and carefully evaluating the demands on memory that a task requires. If a task requires 15 successional steps which will likely create a high memory load it may be important to break each step down into smaller steps . On some occasions simply providing written notes directly to the student might prove optimal. All of these strategies include repeating the information frequently and encouraging the child to repeat the information back to you. This will aide children to become familiar with the content they hear, as they repeat the content it now becomes more ingrained in their short-term memory. Whenever possible try to provide connections to the information and existing prior knowledge. Prior knowledge helps in making memory overall better.
It is important that parents nurture strong memory skills within the house. The school system and the pedagogical framework is not always conducive to focusing specifically on memories. Within the research there’s work being done my teachers to develop frameworks that support children with weaker working members.
A.M.P.E.D. U.P Challenge:
The good news is that memory games are abundant. Try out some of these with your children:
Concentration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_(card_game)
Hasbro’s Simon https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-B7962-Simon-Game/dp/B01ALHAN7Q
If you are feeling a little more creative, try any of the following:
- Memorize a poem
- Do family monologue with memorize lines
- Learn a new song
The best thing to do is help you feel confident about their memory and have strategies to help.
KB Gymnasium wants to maximize memory in all is forms because as grown up, it will all be useful.
Spatial memory is good for math and memory is important for reading comprehension.
