Increase Your Memory Span with Workable Strategies

Kelly Chaney- BSE, MSE, National Board Certified Teacher – AYA Science
Cabot High School
Cabot, Arkansas

What happens when someone gives you their phone number? You may quickly write it

down if you have paper and pen or type it into your cell phone if that is handy. But what

if you don’t have those things? Can you remember the phone number? What strategies

could you use to keep that phone number correctly in your head? Do you repeat the

number over and over or look for patterns in the information or maybe create a silly

song? These are all methods to help remember sequences and they work with varying

degrees of success.

Storing information like phone numbers or email addresses in your headis becoming a

lost art due to the ability to quickly store this kind of information in electronic devices.

Why remember when current technology puts memory only a few clicks away? How can

we help our students redevelop the necessary skill required for recall of information in a

sequence?

Memory is the ability to recall information that we have encountered in the past and is

one of the most basic skills we possess. Memory has multiple purposes in everyday life.

Without the ability to remember, we would not be able to perform even the simplest of

daily tasks. Remembering something in the past that did not work allows us to try new

and better strategies so that we are constantly learning (CELEST, 2008).

Memory span has been linked to the performance on cognitive tasks such as

standardized and intelligence tests. Individuals with longer memory spans are

considered to have an advantage on cognitive tasks because of their ability to better

recall different types of stimuli (Francis et al., 2004).

Working memoryinvolves active thinking and does not last very long. Since it is only

temporary, distractions tend to decrease its effectiveness. If you are trying to remember

a list of items you need from the store and someone starts talking to you, you may

forget part or all of the list. Working memory usually shows the primacy and

recencyeffect. Primacy is being able to remember the first part of a sequence and

recency is remembering the most recent part (last) of the sequence. Studies show there

is a tendency for a person to correctly recall the first few items and the last few items of

the list; most mistakes are made when trying to recall the items in the middle of the list.

The maximum number of items that can be stored in an individual’s working memory

and recalled in the correct sequence is called span. Span varies from one person to

another and can be increased with the use of memory techniques.

In a study of 187 university students on their ability to memorize poetry, some students

practiced memorizing things, others learned techniques for remembering things, and the

rest did nothing at all related to memory. When the scientists tested the students on the

material, the group that had learned techniques for memorizing things did much better

on the test than the others. The students who had practiced memorizing things and the

students who had done nothing at all did about the same on the test as they did before

(Exploratorium, 1998). Scientists have discovered you don't get better at memorizing
things just by doing it more. But you can get better by learning some clever tricks that

help you out.

This article describes a method for teaching students about the brain andtheir own

memory span and strategies to increase memory span. Specific lesson plans and

activities with extensions are included and can be used as a whole or as enrichment

pieces.

STRATEGIES TO INCREASE MEMORY SPAN

Chunking

Chunking involves memories beingstored as groups rather than individual pieces of

information. Chunking is a strategy that can help to improve an individual’s memory

span, which is beneficial in enhancing study skills. An example of chunking with

numbers would be taking a list of numbers like 239403641 and arranging them in

chunks (239 403 641). By using the chunks of information the mind is not

overwhelmed at first and can focus on remembering 3 subset chunks instead of 9

individual numbers.

Repetition

Another strategy for remembering is repetition. When you have a list of items to

remember, you repeat it over and over until you can write it down or complete the task.

With enough repetition, the information will move to long term memory. This is probably

the way you learned your own address and phone number when younger. This process

is creating neural networks that give students a scaffold for future learning.
Pattern Association

This strategy requires finding a pattern in the sequence you are trying to remember.

The brain naturally looks for patterns and connects what looks like unrelated information

into a coherent picture. Perhaps a phone number has a pattern like 2, 4, 6, 8 or the

numbers remind you of your age, birthday, own phone number, a song, or other

important piece of information stored in your long term memory. You make an

association or connection between the new information and something you already

have stored in long term memory. The ability becomes increasingly important as you

encounter more complex concepts and need those connections to continue the

association and create meaning and usefulness from the information.

TESTING YOUR MEMORY SPAN

A fun and meaningful way for students to test their own memory span is to use a pre-

made computer simulation. An effective one, developed by the Center of Excellence for

Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST) program, can be found on

the CELEST website at cns.bu.edu/celest/education. This program is free and easy to

use. To access the software, first go to the website and click on “Public Site” which is

found in the left hand list. Next, click on “sequence learning” found both in the left hand

list and in the document itself. Finally, click on “run sequence learning” found near the

bottom of the page.

A short tutorial is given on how the program will work. You will then see a START button.

The program flashes a set of random numbers on the screen one at a time and students
type in those numbers in the correct order when prompted. The complexity of the

number sequences increases as the test goes on. After each trial, students can see

their results and the program will plot the results on a graph. At the end of the three

trials, all results are shown on one screen and the memory span for sequencing for the

student is calculated. These graphs will enforce the idea of primacy and recency.

Students can repeat the test multiple times with different results because the numbers

are randomly selected each time, so memorizing the sequence is minimized.The key

here is to be sure students DO NOT write down the numbers. They should rely solely

on their memory of the numbers in order to recall them later at the end of the sequence.

After using the program several times, students will notice their memory span begins to

increase as they choose and use the memory strategy that works best for them.

A big strength of this program is the fact it is like a game to students. They become

totally engaged in trying to remember the sequences. Have students try a different

memory strategy each time they use the program and keep a log of how well the

strategy worked and how comfortable they felt using the strategy. This will allow them to

find what works best and be aware of using that strategy in other instances.

This program also offers teachers a great way to incorporate writing across the

curriculum into the classroom. Students can print their graph each time they complete

the sequencing series and then write how these graphs differ.

CONCLUSIONS
This program might best be used at the beginning of the year to give students ample

time to use the strategies presented and practiced, but could be used in several

different units throughout the year. It would be especially useful for students to review

these methods before state and national standardized tests.

"If a concept is important enough to teach, teachers should study every way possible to

help students remember it” (King-Friedrich, 2001). Giving students strategies to use in

order to increase memory span and subsequent learning is imperative in order to help

students succeed and learn the important information we are teaching. By applying this

approach to make students aware of the best strategies for them, we are working more

efficiently for all.

Recommended Resources

Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science, and Technology (CELEST)

Retrieved July 7, 2009. cns.bu.edu/celest/education

Francis, G., Neath, I., Mackewn, A., & Goldthwaite, D. (2004). Coglab on a CD.
Belmont:Wadsworth/Thomas Learning, Inc.

King-Friedrichs, J. (2001). Brain-Friendly Techniques for Improving Memory.

Educational Leadership, 59 (3), 76.

Sicinski, A. (2009). Improve Your Memory: Number Association. Retrieved July 7,

2009. http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/improve-memory-number-association-
mind-map