Memory and Learning

Memory is a complex brain process made up of many functions; and a student’s success or lack of success with academic work in can be dependent on the kind of memory demands required of him/her. Students with memory functions that match daily academic demands are easily successful in school. Conversley, children who are weak in one memory function often experience difficulty in another area of memory. A weakness in one or more areas of memory is a common reason for learning issues in school.

Naturally, demands on memory change as children progress through the grades and as they grow and mature, their memory strategies usually become more sophisticated. However, the demands on memory during the school years are higher than the demands on memory in adult life. Students who do not have the right kind of memory strengths to match learning tasks find it difficult to keep up with their school work. Adults, on the other hand, who specialize in a particular job, often do not need to process a large amount of new information on a daily and weekly basis. It is unfortunate that some children with one or more areas of weakness in memory do not feel successful until they are adults and are able to specialize in an area of interest and learning strength. Children are expected to use their memory in school without knowing how memory works and without knowing strategies that they can use to improve this learning area. Many children understand new information better than they remember new information, yet they may need help learning that memory and understanding are not the same. This simple fact could help students to gain awareness and insight into why they cannot explain details after exposure to new information, and to see the importance in reviewing and studying new information after initial exposure.

Three memory systems: short term memory, active working memory and long term memory, work together throughout the learning process. As new data comes in, a student needs to sort important amd non-important information while condensing, recoding and registering this information in short term memory. New information can be used immediately in active working memory or it can be consolidated and held in long term memory for future use. The process of consolidation can take hours or days. New information needs to be organized in a way that the learner can recall it later.

Children and their parents can benefit from learning about the three phases of memory function, some key facts about each phase, common memory difficulties and strategies to use to improve memory and to increase school success.

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