Mnemonics
Mnemonics is very important in the learning process because it gives ways in which we can use cues to help retain information since we all learn differently. Some of the ways that was mentioned in the module were acronyms, which is a combinations of letters in which each letter is cue to help remember information. Acrostic is a sentence in which the first of each word is a cue to the idea to help with remembering information. Last is Loci methods which is placing item you want to remember in a specific area or location in a room to help with remembering information. These are good learning tools and should be implemented in our students learning process.
Donald,
I still remember this one from some training I took a number of years ago. It is amazing how long we can store something in our memory bank when we can make connections to it via an acronym.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of the most used acronyms used in my lecture pertains to the fire drill at the workplace. R A C E stands for rescue-alarm-confine-extinguish. This common acronym has helped for several years in healthcare.
Dorothea,
They are fun for the students to learn as well as make up. My students really enjoy coming up the the mnemonics for their technical terms and procedures. As you say they become games to them.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Mnemonics are a great learning/teaching tool for cosmetology students. I using 'Acronym' to help my students remember/retain the technical terminology for facial massage techniques, and it WORKS!!! It's like playing a game. It really works!
Jeffrey,
My students love to make up mnemonics as they are learning new materials. So not only are they having fun with them they are going to remember the content for years to come.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a student once myself I encourage the use of mnemonics, as our field is quite scientific and heavily terminology based. Styling the mnemonic in the form of a song has worked well in the past and many of the mnemonics the students formulate are quite odd and even a little off color, however it is often those reasons why they end up retaining it in the end!
Timothy,
They are helpful aren't they? In my field I'm not sure what I would do without them. My students are able to quickly grasp the keep words as a result of the mnemonics as opposed to relying solely on their memories.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Using Mnemonics in my line of work is super helpful. The students really grasp on to the basic elements and carry them on through-out the program because of the Mnemonics used early on.
Diana,
They sure do. They have saved my career many times over throughout the years.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
One of the best tools for use in the medical field. Comes in great in those stressful emergency situations.
Gary,
I use them all the time for the reason you state. They are so helpful in learning plus are fun to make up as we are learning new material.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Mnemonics are great learning tools. Students remembered better if they create their own as opposed to remembering one someone else created.
I recall my first triganomics class - we were all struggling - then the instructor introduced us to mnemonics. I remember my basic trig functions to this day!
I use them in Chemistry... learning the most common elements; and in Math... learning order of operations. They are helpful tools!
Alice,
I always like the times when the students develop their own mnemonics. They come up with some amazing ones and we all enjoy hearing them and using them as we work to learn the technical terms and procedures in our field.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Mnemonics are very beneficial in the medical fields. I too am amazed that some I leaned 25 years ago are still in use. Once I provide my students with the mnemonics for a certain topic I encourage them to break into group to come up with their own.
This is even more beneficial to their learning.
Christopher,
I am like you in terms of remembering mnemonics about various subjects from my elementary years. They have stuck with my all my life and it is due to an effective use of work play and cognitive process.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I love using acrostic mnemonics to help the students learn difficult parts of anatomy. It is truly amazing how mnemonics I learned years ago in class and remember now get passed on. It is methods like these that help the student's brain "play" and soak up information like a sponge.
Wanda,
I use them a lot with my students because we are learning an extensive list of new terms. The more devices I can share with my students the more engagement and content retention I get.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
