Skip to main content

Deep Processing and Retrieval strategies to help children remember their lessons


As teachers, we may have seen cases where children seem to forget their lessons. It is not uncommon to see children forget their lessons or be confused, a few days after it is taught. This could happen even after some practice problems have been done. What could make lessons stick in children's mind?

To understand this problem better, it would help to know how memory works. Psychologists have come up with different memory models based on what best corroborates with their research. Be it the Atkinson-Shiffrin 'multistore model' or the Craik and Lockhart 'Levels of Processing model', it is clear that information coming into our memory is retained for a longer time only if we engage meaningfully with the information. The act of analyzing information, comparing or associating it with existing knowledge, thinking about its application strengthens the synaptic connections in the neural networks. This kind of engagement with information at hand is called Deep processing.

Deep processing strategies go a long way in helping children remember their lessons. Well designed content apply this strategy meaningfully by presenting information in different formats to help children think about a concept in multiple ways. However, teachers can contribute to deep processing to ensure conscious grasp and retention of concepts by children. Here are some strategies that teachers can employ to help children achieve deep processing.
  1. Connect new information to something children already know. This creates associations in their brain for the information to persist. For e.g., if you are teaching decimals show how each place value differs from the next by a factor of 10. This can be shown using base 10 blocks too. Convert from fractions to decimals and draw parallels between the two concepts.
  2. Make distinctions between concepts being studied. While teaching ratios you can elaborate on how they differ from fractions.
  3. Encourage children to ask 'why'. This increases your chance to elaborate and explore the material at hand. Why is our number system base 10? or Why are there 60 seconds in a minute?
  4. Help children build concept maps or identify mnemonics. Certain material like conversion of units in measurement is easily remembered using mnemonics. Other material like different terminologies in commercial math and their interconnections can be easily remembered through concept maps.
  5. Conceptual and procedural knowledge do not always follow a linear path. A child will benefit from instruction in both the formats in a nonlinear fashion. You can introduce the concept of fraction addition, do some practice problems and again elaborate on the concept. This way they can build on the knowledge of both instructions.
Deep processing is all about encoding information in the child's neural networks. The synaptic connections deteriorate rapidly unless they are frequently retrieved and strengthened. Some strategies to help retrieval are:
  1. Teach students to over-learn material. Practising often will help them remember the lesson.
  2. Initially use cheat sheets or summary sheets to help children recall the material until they are confident enough to recall on their own. This helps with algebra formulas or different ways to find HCF and LCM of numbers.
  3. Give frequent tests. Testing improves learning by enabling retrieval. The more they practice, the better pathways develop and it becomes easy to arrive at the answer.
  4. Try to interleave concepts in a test. When concepts are mixed, children will think harder to understand and apply the right solution.
In conclusion, deep processing and frequent revision are required to help children remember their lessons. The motivation to deep process comes by having a genuine interest in learning. Until this develops in a child, a teacher can always scaffold students learning through these strategies.

Comments

  1. AshaJanuary 2, 2020 at 6:55 AM

    Superb...so timely as well..thanks very much for the share

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJanuary 2, 2020 at 9:57 PM

      Thanks Asha ma'am. Thanks for such encouraging words :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning Theories - An overview

Why should we be interested in learning theories? Learning theories refer to a set of principles that explain how individuals acquire, retain and recall knowledge. In a broader sense, it could describe the process of learning which involves modifying an individual's knowledge, skills, values, attitude, behaviour and world views through personal experiences and environmental influences. Knowledge of these theories helps us to design instruction in a way that promotes learning. Major learning theories - BEHAVIOURISM  - We are passive creatures driven by stimulus and learned response. This learning theory has its roots in the early twentieth century through the work of behaviourists like Pavlov and Skinner among others. Their initial work was on animals. Their research showed the association between stimulus and response. This research was then applied to the study of human behaviour. Behaviourists propose that behaviour can be controlled based on antecedents and conse...
Post a Comment
Read more

Formative Assessment in a Math Class

Assessments form an important part of teaching. In teaching parlance, we have Summative assessments and Formative assessments. Summative assessments help us to grade a student's mastery of an instructional unit or a set of instructional units. On the other hand, formative assessments are meant to obtain regular feedback on the progress of a lesson. Formative assessments are hence a 'tool for learning' , giving teacher feedback on the progress of an instructional unit. The feedback can then be used to plan further instructions to the student. One popular way of conducting the formative assessment is the use of technology tools to organize quizzes or form collaborative groups of students to tackle challenges. While these work well in a conventional school environment a different set of strategies are required for individualized student-driven learning.  In a math classroom where each student is working on his individual lesson plan, one can use DIAGNOSTIC questions as...
2 comments
Read more

Daily Report Card - Collaborative reward approach for better classroom results

Handling distracted students is a challenge for many of us. The only way to ensure the desired behaviour i.e. focussed attention is through the method of rewards and negative consequences done in a consistent and immediate manner. As teachers, we are limited by the range of rewards we can offer. Many of us may have points or tokens or stickers based system in place which is undoubtedly effective but add overhead to our class time. However, if we involve parents in our reward system, we have flexibility and leverage. Another intervention we can use specifically for distracted kids is the "Daily Report Card". We can make use of the Cuemath diary for this purpose. List the target behaviour you wish to modify. Ex: "Accuracy of worksheet" or "Completes assigned task". You could have 2 to 3 such behaviours. Rate the performance for the day with a smiley face or frowning face. Have the parent sign the report after class. The parent could give daily ...
Post a Comment
Read more