Mnemonics
Mnuemonic allows the student to recall informationa for longer periods of time.
It is a good way to help the adult learner learn and use course inofrmation. I like the use of examples that share the use of acronym and acrostics.
Vernise
Jill,
I let my students create their own as well. I share mine and they groan and moan about how bad they are which gives me the opening to say if you don't like mine then come up with your own and they do. As a result we do have a lot of laughs at some of the mnemonics they create.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Yes, the old mnemonics in our texts cause a lot of groans among students. Even the newer "Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel Very Good Velvet, Ahh" to remember cranial nerves didn't suit my students. I have them come up with their own mnemonics to remember things. They get excited to be able to be creative with their learning and they actually remember the material!
Tracy,
You made me smile because I am a big fan and user of mneumonics but you are right about the example you shared. It is awful! But, on the other hand it is so awful that I read it a couple of times just for the fun of it. So the more we can engage our students in the learning process even with awful mneumonics we are at least getting them into the material they need to learn. My students have fun making up mneumonics and yes, many of them are awful so at least we get a laugh out of them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach head and neck anatomy to dental hygiene students. We cover an entire text book in one 6-week module. The amount of information is vast and it would be impossible to remember eveything without mneumonics. One key thing I've learned with mneumonics is to find phrases or words that relate to what the students are interested in and enjoy. For example, "On Old Olympic Towering Tops a Finn and German Viewed Some Hops"-- this was taught to me to remember the cranial nerves. I found it easier to simply remember the nerves than that horrible mneumonic. My students could not remember it either. But when I showed them the Harry Potter mneumonic, they were able to relate and recall easier.
Corey,
In my field I wouldn't have made it without mnemonics either. They were my lifeline for remembering all of the technical terms I have to make a part of my vocabulary. For dental school I can't imagine how many terms you had to memorize.
I think you will have fun with the loci method since it lets you use a location as a memory trigger. Last night in my class I was reviewing with my students for an upcoming quiz and I had given them six steps to follow in problem solving. I had used 6 sites in the classroom for the six steps. I would point a a spot on the wall and the class recited the step for that site. When we completed the six steps we all started laughing because if someone had of walked by the classroom while I was pointing at the wall and the students were reciting the step it would have looked like we were all a little off since the wall was just blank. In reality the students could mentally visualize what had been at that location when I put up the step at that point on the wall. So have fun with loci learning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In dental school we survived on mnemonics, particularly acronyms and acrostics. I've never used the 'loci' method and find it interesting and will try this.
Mnemonics are great. Personally I still use them and find them very helpful. Students are able to process the information when it is related to something they are more familiar with.
My students have to learn anatomy, physiology, as well as kinesiology terms, concepts, and facts as a part of their education. The use of mneumonics is essential in their retention of all of these things, as well as the application of those things in their professional lives.
I aggree, I found out that techinque is works pretty good with my students, especially with Key words that are hard to remember.
I also like to use Mnemonics. I use it to help myself remember and I share that with the class in hopes it helps some of them to remember the information too. I use little sayings or whatever helps me to remember.
