Andraya Peterson

MEd 6060/February 1, 2011

Class Presentation 'K -

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Mnemonic Devices s ^
• Are organized learning strategies designed to enhance learning and recall of information sn.?sv>
• Make elements of abstract information more familiar and encourage students to form meaningful associations to
these familiar elements (Wang)
• Help reduce the amount of information one must hold in short-term memory , , .
• Reduce the short-term memory load enabling learners to quickly and efficiently transfer information to long-term
memory
Benefits
• Mnemonic devices benefit various types of study materials (e.g. vocabulary learning, science facts, state capitals,
botany concepts) and learners of differing ages and abilities (e.g. children, adults, students with learning disabilities,
students with emotional disabilities, and students with giftedness)
Types of Mnemonic Devices r*-\-i.,-~ •> i^--rV-^-.'--i\^
• Keyword technique
o Key in on a sound that students can associate with a familiar and concrete English word (pato=pot)
o Form a vivid interactive image that combines pot and duck; form an image of a duck with a pot on its head
o Later when asked to recall the meaning of pato, the keyword pot is readily retrieved along with the
interactive image
o The keyword is more reliable in proportion to how closely it resembles (in physical appearance) the word to
be learned (Wang) .it;
o Gato/gate (Levin, 2003)
1.5 t 4 ^
o Levin (1993) Vocabulary building (accolades & Kool-aid)
[We^ri>iae
CWe rnise our qlnaae» of KOOL M P i n your h o n o r Q
' [You deserve +ViM.e ACCOLADES f b P )

ACCOLADES (KOOL MO) prals. fcr sotnefhin,, done well

o Three R's ' ' ' ' ;^ / ' ' '~ '
• Recode, Relate, Retrieve
• Rhymes and Jingles
• First letter or acronym mnemonics (FACE: spaced notes on the treble clef; Every Good Boy Does Fine: lined
notes on the treble clef)
• Acrostic mnemonics: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally ~ . ,:
• Loci (low-sigh) & pegword support recall of ordered information, such as lists of items ' • '' ' * '
• Loci method:
o 1) Generate visual images of and memorize a set of well-known location that form a natural series
o 2) Generate images of the items to be learned and place them in a second location
 /

o 3) Mentally walk through each location, retrieve each image from where it was placed, and decode it
into a written or spoken message ^ , . 3/
• Pegword technique: one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree...
• Pegword technique allows learners to organize and make concrete new material based on a well-learned
rhyming verse - ,
• Rhyming Peg Mnemonic: Rule, A.C. (2003). The rhyming peg mnemonic device applied to learning the Mohs scale of ^
hardness. Journal ofGeoscience Education ,(51)5,465-473.
. Acronyms can help students learn procedures s,.?.. n - i oi.n iu.d;.:u^i~. 0^ .
• How to help students prepare for rehearsal time i.-^^j^i- 5 Bbftie- i . , . ,

o S: assemble music Stand ^ " " ' ^ ''^^-S'-'-""'m,,:,u,^;ii 5:>.io-. J s r . ^

o M: organize sheet Music ^^b^'^ V^^i'^^ < ^ - ^ i - . t > : * l i m ; d = r a - o £ o ! v^Ofn^m.^ .

o I: assemble or warm-up Instrument Mii»*jfci3

o L: Listen for further instructions ?}shiri.a

o E: Engage in musical experience when teacher gives the cue (de I'Etoile) ^'-^-.>J-^i-'^^^^-^^^i ^iuu^.i^'irsT-': 4

Classroom Tips - '^''--^

• Mnemonic devices are most effective when teachers take time to carefully teach the process -
o First, demonstrate each step and explain its purpose s^^j,,, . « ,^ti«r:M m s^^fi
o Next, guide students through the steps, providing multiple opportunities for students to practice each
step
o Finally, provide feedback on student performance; students will learn how to evaluate their own work
and should eventually be able to automatically complete the new procedure (de I'Etoile)
• For children, especially young children, mnemonic techniques must be structured, externalized, and explicitly
modeled to a far greater extent than they do for older learners
• Young learners require more examples and mnemonic illustrations ' ' ' " "'
• An older child might be able to profit from a verbally described mnemonic technique and accompanying
example, or be able to develop his/her own mnemonic connection with continued instructor support
• Older children benefit from instructor-provided mnemonic illustrations when the material becomes too complex
and challenging for them to "mnemonize" on their own (Levin, 2003)

References s 4, ; %

Bellezza, F.S. (1981). Mnemonic devices: Classification, characteristics, and criteria, ffeweivo/
Educational Research, (51)2, 247-275.
de I'Etoile, S.K. (2005). Teaching music to special learners: Children with disruptive behavior disorders.
Music Educators Journal, 91(5), 37-43.
Goll, P.S. (2004). Mnemonic strategies: Creating schemata for learning enhancement. Education, (125)2,
306-312.
Levin, J. (1993). Mnemonic strategies and classroom learning: A twenty-year report card. The
Elementary School Journal, (94)2,235-244.
Levin, J. (2003). An interview with Joel R. Levin. Educational Psychology Review, (15)3, 297-309.
Marks, S.U., Shaw-Hegwer, J., Schrader, C, Longaker, T., Peters, I., Powers, P., et al. (2003). Instructional ^,.5^ j ' j K t w f t K
Management tips for teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Teaching
Exceptional Children, (35)4, 50-55.
Rule, A.C. (2003). The rhyming peg mnemonic device applied to learning the Mohs scale of hardness.
Journal of Geoscience Education ,(51)5,465-473. ;;3r*^i<trnarati jfi<»o rs/
Wang, A. & Thomas, M. (1996). Mnemonic Instruction and the gifted child. Roeper Review, J9(2),104-
106. . .