<B>By Shardha SANDAPEN</B>

Moving into the third term also reminds us that it?s time for revision. We want our students to learn, revise and remember everything that we have been teaching them throughout the term or year. So why is it that our learners cannot recall everything? Why is it that they remember trivial things that happened long ago but not important information covered recently, about their learning?

Over the years, researchers have identified several factors that make it easier or harder to remember information. One important reason why learners cannot remember everything that they have been taught is interference. For example, during a whole-class explanation, if we notice a student talking to another, we might simply cut short the conversation by a remark such as, ? Stop disturbing the class!? In fact, what is really happening is interference. The teacher, and the student who is talking, are both passing on information and the information is either getting mixed up or pushed aside by the other. This interference is what makes the learners forget what we were teaching them at that time.

Another form of interference occurs when learners are prevented from mentally rehearsing newly learned information. For example, when teaching the different types of numbers at primary level, the teacher explains composite, triangular and square numbers, all at the same time. The learners also, are given no time to absorb or practice (that is, to mentally rehearse) these new information; hence, when asked to recall the different types of numbers, we realise that they have forgotten most of them. To avoid such interference problem, teachers must take into account the limited capacity of the working memory and teach one item at a time. It is only when she or he feels that the learners have had enough practice that she or he moves to teaching the next item.

Inhibition is another form of interference. Retroactive inhibition occurs when previously learned information is lost because it is mixed up with somewhat similar information. For example, a primary school learner might have no trouble recalling the important dates and facts of the Dutch settlement in Mauritius, until he or she is taught about the French or British rule in Mauritius. Hence, learners get confused as the new information interferes with the previous ones.

There are two ways to reduce retroactive inhibition. The first is by not teaching similar or confusing topics/chapters too closely in time. For example, our young learners could discover about the Dutch, French or British gradually throughout the different terms or even over the years (at upper primary level). The second is to use different method of teaching. For example, if the teacher uses explanation to teach the Dutch settlement to her or his pupils, she or he can use field trips to teach the French rule and project works for the British rule.

Proactive inhibition, on the other hand, occurs when learning one set of information interferes in learning later information. A classic case is a secondary school teacher teaching a class of Form One students how to be creative while writing their composition. The learners who have so well internalised the clichés or canvas taught by the CPE teacher, such as, ?It was a fine Sunday morning. The sun was shining brightly in the beautiful blue and spotless sky?.?, finds it very hard to begin their composition differently. It is painstaking to make them unlearn these clichés and canvas that they have learned so thoroughly, before we can start teaching them about originality.

Since many of these things that student learn in school are facts that must be remembered, teachers have to teach some memory strategies that would enable them to improve their learning. Factual material form the frame work on which more complex concepts depend, therefore, these must be learned as effectively as possible to leave the student with time and mental energy for meaningful learning, such as, problem-solving, conceptual and creative activities. If students can memorise the routine things more efficiently they can free their minds to spend more time on tasks that involve understanding and reasoning. For instance, primary school pupils may learn the formula for area or perimeter of a rectangle as an arbitrary fact long before they are able to understand it.

Psychologists studying how verbal or factual material can be remembered have come up with several memory strategies, such as, paired-associate learning serial learning or free-call learning. In paired-associate learning, students must associate a response with each stimulus. For example, the learner is given a picture of an apple, banana or pear and must respond ?fruit; or shown pictures of people swimming, playing football or tennis and their response is sports. Hence, it is a task involving the linkage of two items in a pair so that when one is presented the other can be recalled.

Imagery is another powerful memory technique, based on forming mental images that help remember associations. Often used in Literature classes, imagery is one of the most ancient methods of enhancing memory, by the creation of stories to weave together information. For example, Greek myths about the stars have long been used to help us recall the constellations.

Keyword mnemonics is one of the most extensively studied methods of using imagery and mnemonics to help paired-associate learning. For example, primary school pupils learning capital cities of countries around the world can proceed by making mental associations, such as, Big Ben- London, the Eiffel Tower- Paris, or even kangaroo-Canberra? In fact, the keyword method was originally developed for teaching foreign language vocabulary, is now applied to many areas of teaching.

(Next week, I shall tell you more about these memory strategies that are very useful in enhancing our student?s learning).

<B>By Shardha SANDAPEN</B>