Chapters 7-8
Memorization and Synectics
Memorization - Chapter 7
Getting the Facts Straight
This is a new tool I am trying out. Please give me your thoughts on how this tool could be used in the classroom.
Cues for Memorization
Retrieval Cues
strategy used when memories are sorted through to locate information
Episodic Cues
strategy used for long-term recall; we relate our exposure to certain situations in our lives
Categorical Cues
strategy used when we have related several similar items into categories - the categorization provides us with a basis for memory
Methods for Memorization
The Link-Word Method (page 196)
this method of memorization has two components:
- challenges teachers to give students familiar materials to link with unfamiliar items
- provides an association to establish the meaning of the new material
Andi Bell explains the `link method` memory technique [2/2]
Discussion Board Post
Watch the YouTube clip on the link-word method. How can you use this model in your classroom to help your students be more successful? Post to discussion board.
Memory Assist Systems
The likelihood of remembering something is GREATER if we observe it through multiple senses (Lorayne & Lucas, 1974).
Lorayne & Lucas (1974) quoted Aristotle:
"It is the image-making part of the mind which makes the work of the higher processes of thought possible. Hence the mind never thinks without a mental picture. The thinking faculty thinks of its form in pictures" (p.22 ).
Image taken from: http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/aris.htm
Concepts About Memory
Awareness
"Observation is essential to original awareness" (Lorayne & Lucas, 1974, p. 6).
Association
"You can remember any new piece of information if it is associated with something you already know or remember" (Lorayne & Lucas, 1974, p. 7).
Link System
connecting two ideas, with the second idea triggering yet another one idea
Ridiculous Association
Although association is the basis of memory, the strength of the association is higher if the image is: vivid, ridiculous, impossible, or illogical.
Substitute-Word System
Taking a word or phrase that seems abstract and linking it to something that is familiar and can be pictured in your mind.
Key Word
The selection of one key word to represent a longer thought or several subordinate thoughts.
Chapter 8 - Synectics
Think about this...
What do we, as teachers, do when our old solutions or ways of expressing ourselves are not sufficient to do the job?
Synectics...
- give us the opportunity to invent new ways of seeing things, expressing ourselves, and approaching problems.
- is used to help up develop fresh ways of thinking about the student, the student's motives, the nature of penalties, our goals, and the nature of the problem.
Synectics is grounded in the theory of creativity
Creativity:
- is important in everyday activities
- is not at all mysterious
- is similar in all fields (arts, sciences, engineering, etc.) and is characterized by the same underlying intellectual processes.
Creativity and Synectics:
- If teachers increase the exposure to creative tasks and help students develop their creativity, the creative capacity of students can be increased.
- Much problem solving is rational and intellectual, but by adding the irrational, we increase the likelihood that students will generate new ideas.
- The analysis of certain irrational and emotional processes will increase the creativity of the individual and the group.
Using Synectics in the Curriculum
Strategies to Building Synectics/Creativity:
- Creative Writing
- Exploring Social Problems
- Problem Solving
- Creating a Design
- Broadening a Perspective
Synectics Teaching Strategy.avi
Discussion Board Post
Watch the video above. This teacher highlights a strategy that uses synectics to heighten student understanding and involvement. What is a way you could use the 4 corners and _______________ is like _______________ because _____________________ activity in your classroom?
Sources
Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. 2009. Models of Teaching. Pearson Education.
Lorayne, H., & Lucas, J. (1974). The memory book. New York: Stein and Day