Mnemonics
I find that the use of mnemonics is a great help with students learning material and never forgetting. Acronyms are great, as well as inventing sentences with the first letter acting as a cue. Also, the use of mental pictures helps one remember.
Sagar,
I use them a lot and my student love to make them up. As you say it makes learning material that can be dry come a live in a fun and easy to remember way.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I completely agree. Mnemonics, especially ones that are made in to a sentence with each first alphabet meaning something, really makes rather dry information seem alive and hence easy to remember.
Romeo,
I am a big fan of mnemonics as well. I use them a lot in class because as you say they are fun and are a really powerful learning tool. I like you really enjoy the mnemonics the students come up with. We have a contest and vote on the most clever one.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Mnemonics helps me to remember easily a list of things to memorize . Some are even presented in our textbooks. Example to remember synonyms of Lateral Resolution we have:
L - Lateral
A - Angular
T - Transverse
A - Azimuthal
I created a lot of Mnemonics like like the 8 carpal bones; VIBGYOR for rainbow and many others. I also encourage students to create their own and surprisingly they also create and usually funny ones. Love it.
David,
One of the fun parts of facilitating this course is that I get to learn new mnemonics from different fields. Thanks for sharing this one with us. It is simple and easy to remember but contains the essential components needed when working through the precertification process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Remembering the Three "P's" in order Precertification: First, does the patient have insurance coverage in this practice on this date?
Is he covered? There is a "C" in Precertification for covered.
Preauthorization: Did the insurance carrier authorize the procedure as medically necessary?
Predetermination: How many dollars will the insurance pay for this procedure? There is a "D" in predetermination for dollars.
CAD spells cad.
Ernest,
I agree with you on helping students to learn how to create their own mnemonic/acronym. I think having them create these devices increases the value they see in learning the content and then making application of it. Good information for instructors to consider as they plan learning strategies for their students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think that mnemonics and acronyms can be excellent learning tools. My academic background is heavy in the sciences and I have used these devices throughout my studies. One of the things that I have found however is that if I try to use too many, or if they are too similar, I will sometimes remember the mnemonic or acronym without being able to retrieve some/all of the associated content. Sometimes, I also “confuse†the intended link to associate content material.
As an educator, I have found that it is often better to “teach†students how to create/use mnemonics and acronyms on their own because it equips them with a learning technique that they can “customize†to their own memory/interests. Too often, when giving students a mnemonic/acronym, I will get (even after I've been using it for most of the course) a “What does the “a†stand for again?â€, Sometimes the students tend to feel “burdened†by having to remember the additional information link.
I also have found that, years down the line, I may recall a mnemonic or acronym completely without recalling all/pieces of the associated/linked info.
If one switches careers, a familiar acronym in one discipline may take on totally new meaning in another; in which case an “unlearning†also has to occur. For adult learners who may have already used an acronym in a different light, one has to be sure that the acronym that we are using doesn’t add “confusion†to the mix by sending the student’s mind in a different direction. In my opinion, it’s always better, especially when introducing an acronym, to emphasize the acronym AND its meaning until students are comfortable/familiar with the acronym alone.
Tom,
I agree. Without them I don't think I would have had near the success I have had in my field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Mnemonics work great for our students remembering a lot of things in our Electrical Program at MMTC!
Amy,
Like your mnemonic. Now I will always remember the 4 molar letters. In my field without mnemonics I don't think I would have survived because we had so many scientific and technical terms to remember not to mention the procedures.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In dentistry we use mnemonics often. To remember the tooth lettering system for children we made up "Anna Just Kicked Tom" These are the 4 molar letters and you fill in the rest!
I teach vocational nursing and we use mnemonics on a grand scale to help students learn/retain important points. We also give handouts with pictures to drive the points home.
Allison,
I agree and use them a lot. It seems the sillier they are the more fun the students have with them and the higher the retention rate of the content.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I do encourage it. Although it may seem silly, it is easier to remember the made up silly mnemonic and this eases learning of large amounts of material.
Sharon,
I use them in my class as well as in my career field all the time. They are the only way I can remember a lot of the terms and procedures that I need have stored in my long term memory.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I'm always giving my students mnemonics to help them remember medical terms and associations. It has always worked for me, and for the majority of students, it works for them.
I try to make the mnemonics "fun" or interesting as well, otherwise it just doesn't stick.
The brain seems to learn best when it is "playing." Using techniques like mnemonics allows the brain to percieve the information as a "game" and not as much "work" which makes the whole process a lot more fun and easier.
Diane,
Thank you for sharing these examples of how to use mnemonics, acronyms and acrostics. Memory triggers like this are so helpful in learning terms and procedure steps such as in your field of medicine. I will say that after a span of many years since I was last in a science course I can still remember many of my terms as a result of using the above strategies.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
