Introduction
Memorizing is the process of obtaining information and knowledge. The study is inextricably linked with memory because students must remember and use the material to analyze different phenomena. Given this, it would be reasonable to conceive the most effective ways to keep information in mind. Furthermore, it can be necessary to understand how memory works to use it efficiently. It is a well-known fact that practicing and applying something learned helps to retain memory. Nevertheless, memory skills vary from student to student as they depend on many factors. Furthermore, the external environment also affects memory and academic success. Therefore, whether a student can improve their memory when it comes to classwork remains a question because many factors can impact this process, both positively and negatively.
What Is Memory?
Before going into details, one should identify what memory is, what it includes, and how it can work. First and foremost, memory is defined as the part of the mind that acquires, stores, and retrieves remembered information and experiences (Loprinzi et al., 2021). It consists of two systems, namely declarative and non-declarative. When people consciously recollect past events or facts, they use the declarative system.
On the contrary, non-declarative memory finds its expression in one’s skills, habits, and so forth. Noteworthy, the function of declarative memory is to detect and encode some event, its time, and place. The non-declarative system extracts common elements from a series of different events. It is also interesting to admit that both systems are distinct, though they interact with each other. Hence, both memory systems are involved in daily routines, including study.
Another theory also distinguishes two well-known types of memory, such as short-term and long-term. As one could already guess, short-term memory stores information temporarily, so without constant refreshment, it becomes brief. According to Loprinzi et al. (2021), temporary storage duration depends on a range of factors, for example, stimuli to be remembered, their cognitive load, the kind of memory task, and the interference degree. Working memory is related to both short-term and long-term memory and differs from them by its specific properties. It is engaged in memory content manipulation, and not only its maintenance. Since working memory is believed to be one aspect of executive functioning, it influences long-term memory formation. Given these processes, the brain obtains lasting memory traces having higher capacity compared to short-term and working memory.
Classroom Setting
Like any other activity, the study is not isolated and occurs within a specific context. On the one hand, as learning is associated with memory, its strength varies among students. It also depends on their health condition, emotional state, relationships with family and friends, and many others. On the other hand, when discussing school or college as the context, it is crucial to realize that it consists of different factors, including teachers, peers, environment quality, materials, and so on. Notably, stress is also considered to be a common part of the learning process (Darling-Hammond & Cook-Harvey, 2018). Such adversity ignites alertness and focus in students due to the release of adrenaline and cortisol. Nevertheless, excessive stress has a deteriorating effect on the development of skills and memory.
Considering the factors that impact students’ cognitive abilities, one needs to look at the aspects pertaining exactly to class, namely a teacher, peers, and environment. According to Darling-Hammond and Cook-Harvey (2018), a teacher must ensure support for learning through appropriate teaching practices, namely offering varied opportunities for students to show their knowledge, facilitating independent thinking, individual attention, and constructive feedback. Peers should demonstrate the readiness to help each other with study, socialize, take joint actions to solve problems, and be friendly to new students. The environment is more complex and comprises rules of behavior, a sense of security, engagement, and physical surroundings. As one can see, the environment is abundant with different aspects, which means that it is a highly important function of the school to create an atmosphere where students want to learn.
Nevertheless, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has made so-called adjustments to the study process around the globe. Instead of the accustomed school environment that puts young people in a ‘learning’ frame of mind, students have been left to their own devices at home. Studying at home poses a mighty challenge for many children because this place means comfort and has many objects distracting attention. For instance, a study conducted in Germany shows that students-low-achievers significantly reduced their daily learning time from almost 8 hours to 3.3 hours (Grewenig et al., 2021).
This category of students tends to replace study activities with computer games, TV, and social media. Given this, the environment becomes a crucial contributor to the involvement in the learning process. Many students, especially younger ones, do not have strongly developed self-discipline, and thus, they need external support in a school setting.
Addressing Memory
Concerning all the above, it gives rise to the need to understand where a student improves memory directly and where it serves as an additional tool for other educational activities. Learning language is the most accurate example of training and improving memory in class. Mastering a new language occurs through a specific strategy comprising the creation of associative links, using images and sounds, review, and employment of the learned material in practice. Furthermore, students often use a keyword approach to memorize new words that contribute to better contextual learning of a language (Mohamad et al., 2021). However, this strategy is more suitable for the beginning stage of language learning, when there is a need to accumulate as much vocabulary as possible to communicate in the future.
Another way to improve memory and writing skills, as well, is by using mnemonic techniques, which are suitable for students of all levels. According to Reduzan and Norzan (2020), the mnemonic technique helps to organize facts in a particular system and thus enhances memory. For instance, the use of images contributes to better memorizing of facts, and thus it is the desired skill of a learner to transform facts into images. In such a way, students memorize the frequently used information they receive in class. Notably, it is an example of how short-term memories turn into long-term memories due to repetition. In their study, the authors found that the mnemonic technique improves students’ writing skills (Reduzan & Norzan, 2020). Therefore, employing mnemonic techniques can be useful in writing-related tasks and applicable to other disciplines.
Memory Improvement Interventions
Young children cannot improve their memory skills and do similar learning activities persistently due to their loss of interest in concentrating on one object. They require a set of approaches to retain their attention and engagement. Thus, Kosmas et al. (2018) have found that embodied learning can be one of the beneficial tools for improving visual memory in young students. This concept is based on the statement that mind and body are inseparable in terms of learning, and thus it supports applying teaching methods that enhance the involvement of young learners. For instance, playing games like Unboxit and Lexit helps improve spatial and visual working memory and attention, and language skills. In Unboxit, students have to find pairs of objects hidden in boxes by selecting them by hand (Kosmas et al., 2018). Lexit aims at finding missing letters in words, which allows children to remember the spelling of words of different lengths.
Although older students can be more sedulous compared to young children, they encounter different difficulties, such as lack of motivation, problems with parents, and so on, which distract their attention from learning. Sprenger (2018) suggests a seven-step approach to improve long-term memory in students. It comprises reaching, reflecting, recording, reinforcing, rehearsing, reviewing, and retrieving (Sprenger, 2018). If discussed briefly, this model emphasizes the need for building a student-centered classroom instead of a teacher-centered one. In addition, the author stresses the importance of reflection, which helps to build links between learned and new material (Sprenger, 2018).
Moreover, it is crucial to ensure that students can make self-generated material with the help of the previous knowledge assessment. Therefore, teachers have to take an active part and encourage the students to develop their memory skills independently.
As one can see, students at different levels need the teacher’s support. It is not because of the overall lack of motivation or dependence on external instructions. Every student needs guidance and impulse from the teacher to improve memory skills. Undoubtedly, older students-high-achievers are able to self-organize and identify their objectives. However, not all students can be disciplined in such a way. Thus, one can come to the assumption that most students may need help in improving their memory. Moreover, it has been discussed above that external factors, including teacher and class setting, play a significant part in memory skills development. To a large extent, it is the teacher’s task to engage students in learning activities and encourage their interest. From the student’s side, the teacher should be regarded as a more experienced adult friend who can give valuable advice concerning skills enhancement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, students can improve their memory skills in a classroom setting, given a strong interaction between them and a teacher. Different types of memory, namely declarative and non-declarative, and short-term and long-term, have been discussed to understand how one can apply this knowledge in future memory training. Classroom setting has been considered a crucial and significant aspect of memory enhancement. Besides, addressing memory in direct and indirect ways has touched upon language-learning and Mnemonic techniques concerning their capability of improving memory and writing skills. Discussion of memory improvement interventions has helped to expand the knowledge in terms of the difference in approaches to memory training in younger and older students and reveal essential implications for improving memory skills in a class setting.
References
Darling-Hammond, L. & Cook-Harvey, C.M. (2018). Educating the whole child: improving school climate to support student success. Learning Policy Institute.
Grewenig, E., Lergetporer, P., Werner, K., Woessmann, L. & Zierow, L. (2021). COVID-19 and educational inequality: how school closures affect low-and high-achieving students. European Economic Review, 140, pp. 1-21. Web.
Kosmas, P., Ioannou, A., & Zaphiris, P. (2018). Implementing embodied learning in the classroom: effects on children’s memory and language skills. Educational Media International, pp. 1–16. Web.
Loprinzi, P.D., Roig, M., Etnier, J.L., Tomporowski, P.D., & Voss, M. (2021). Acute and Chronic Exercise Effects on Human Memory: What We Know and Where to Go from Here. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(21), pp. 1-16. Web.
Mohamad, N. Z., Hashim, Z., Parjan, H. W., Shukor, S. N. E. A., Rajagopal, K., & Hashim, H. (2021). Students’ perception of using memory strategies training for vocabulary development. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(7), pp. 315–328. Web.
Reduzan, N.H. and Norzan, N., (2020). Mnemonic memory techniques improves writing skills In Malay. Ilkogretim Online, 19(4), pp. 20-23. Web.
Sprenger, M. (2018). How to teach so students remember. ASCD.