Chapters 6 & 13

1. Chapter 6 discussed memory strategies to help retrieve information from long term memory including techniques such as mneumonics (chunking, first-letter technique and the hierarchy technique). The differences between metacognition, metamemory, and metacomprehension were also discussed and how they are realted to memory. Chapter 13 discussed the differences and similiarities between babies, children, adults, and elders with memory. I found it quite interesting that younger children believe they are smarter and answer more questions correctly as compared to older children and adults who are realistic in how they believe they perform in recall/memory tasks.
2. Chapter 6 reviewed a bit of chapter 5 in order to show that long term memory plays a major role in memory strategies (mainly because the strategies help retrieve the info from the long term memory). In order to recall information, one must have properly stored the info in long term so it is there to recall. The levels of processing and self-reference effect are two ensured ways to encode information and keep in long term memory.
3. I am still unsure of how to teach my low students how to retrieve info. Maybe it's not even a retrieval issue. I'm beginning to wonder if it boils down to how they encode the information from short-term into long term and that is causing it to get lost or not stay in long-term. My students are so low they have no metacognition...let alone the thought of metacomprehension. I'm good to get them to read the words of a basic book and get basic comprehension, let along think about how they are thinking. What do I do with those having memory issues? Would these strategies help or hinder?
4. I'm beginning to wonder this myself. I'm thinking if I begin to explicitly teach my students this higher order thinking (metacognition) and strategies to help them encode (i.e. learning in context) and utilizing their background knowledge, them maybe this would help them place it into long term memory and help their retrieval. I would like to begin teaching them categorizing and using more imagery. I have also been thinking this week that I should give them more time to think about what we are learning so it might be possible that they have time to process the info and have a greater retrieval.
5. There appeared to be valid case studies used in the two chapters. However, I questioned the testing effect case study on p. 170 when it failed to provide the students' age (in which I'm wondering if this could have been developmentally inappropriate depending on the age), how the students were divided into groups, and no control group was used. My wondering is if the ones who waited longer and scored higher are the more academically inclined students and that just happened by chance.
6. In chapter 13 when discussing older adults and how they are unable to maintain or retain information that should be placed from working memory to long term memory, I cannot help but think if there is a way to combat this. In one study, those with higher vocabularies (or seemingly education) did better on memory tasks than those without. I wonder if we became proactive and trained middle-aged people to stimulate their minds and practice memory strategies then maybe we would not have this discrepancy. We worry more about older adults and leaving them alone but why is it that we are not helping to train them and taking care of the problem before it happens?
7. Memory strategies should be taught even as early as pre-school age. One can begin with categorizing, teaching students to make connections to everyday life, and begin teaching visualizing. These strategies will begin a basis for correcly encoding info into long term memory so it is ready for retrieval. Even as kindergarten and first grade students begin reading, teach them explicitly what the strategies are and why we do them (this should in turn teach metacognition).
8. When thinking of all of the case studies, they all appeared to use money and time conscious research. We can continue to research strategies in schools. Classrooms are cheap, in place, and provide a ready to research atmosphere that is ample for 9 months of the year. Most teachers should be willing to allow someone in their room to explicitly discuss or administer memory strategies and calculate how they work.