I forgot!" is a common phrase some of us may have heard or even used in our lives. Our brains can only comprehend and process incoming information efficiently when strong cognitive skills are present.
When there is a deficit in one or more of the key cognitive skills, learning acquisition problems will occur. One of the key cognitive skills necessary to learn optimally is memory.
Learning become a challenge especially in young children with poor memory.
MEMORY
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Memory power is the ability to recall knowledge grasped in the
past. Children with a poor memory are like a funnel, and can never
be filled to the brim. The child would learn and forget, and be
unable to improve learned content due to the need to revise basic
knowledge. Without basic knowledge, it would be impossible to gain new depth and knowledge!
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In order to understand the relationship between memory and the proper way of learning, let’s revisit those assumed concepts of memory (short-term and long-term memory).
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A child is able to memorize new words, and scored full marks in
spelling tests, does that mean that he will remember it forever? This might not be true! Because the memory training done was not
thoroughly enough, so the child would forget quickly! We need to
let the child repeat all the new terms he has learned six times
consecutively. This type of memory leaves an impression, and would then be for forever!
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But everything that our mind has seen, heard and experienced are basically stored in our brains. It is just that we are unable to
recall such information. Thus, it is as though we have forgotten.
In reality, we have not forgotten. We are just unable to recall
that memory to the surface.
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Details memory require children to be able to remember all kinds of details including pictures, symbols, time, space, abstract and so
on. If this information appears in the visual form, the child would
then require the ability of visual details observation. If this
information appears in the auditory form, it would require the
child to have the ability of auditory details observation.
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We have a misconception towards a child’s memory: a child
understanding something is equivalent to him remembering it! These are two different abilities from two separate areas. Understanding a new knowledge is related to a child’s comprehensive ability.
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Memory does not require a child to understand to be able to
memorize something. It is just like us remembering a set of
numbers, and these numbers have no meaning or relations between them. These numbers are then a set of information that is not possible, neither is it required, to be understood. While we
know that understanding would help in our memory, however,
understanding is not necessarily equivalent to memory. As a result,
it is entirely possible for a child to forget a concept he learned
today the next day.
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We found out that there are some children with very high levels of
comprehension abilities. These children are able to understand
immediately once it was said to them, and as a result, are very
easy to teach. However, their memories are poor, and that
frustrates us. Why did he forget again?
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To these children, we should actively train their memory ability.
This is a neglected fact: memory abilities can be trained. But we
do not train memory because we assume that memory ability is
a born gift, and is a natural ability. We often assume that students with a high level of comprehension ability would have strong memory abilities! When they forget what they have learned, we would feel puzzled! Don’t understand? When you find that a child possibly has a high level of comprehension ability but a poor memory, we would understand and no longer feel puzzled! Most importantly, we will be able to start helping the student increase their memory ability, and help his comprehension abilities to perform at a higher level!
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Memory is the ability to recall knowledge that had already been
understood. Please remember: a strong ability to understand does
not necessarily equate to having a good memory!
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The two abilities are vastly different though both abilities assist
each other. But the differences in the two abilities allow us to
know why “smart” students are not performing well on tests due to poor memory abilities.
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More in-depth and sophisticated knowledge would require memory of even finer details.
Things you might notice in children who have limitations to their working memory:
1) Difficulty in getting started on tasks in the classroom even if the task itself involves only one or two steps.
2) Slow to copy things down from the board.
3) These children are often reserved when answering questions or participating in class.
4) Difficulty following through on instructions, especially when more than one instruction is being given at a time.
5) Struggle to take notes in class because, again, they can only remember a short amount of information in the time it takes to write it down.
Unfortunately, all of the difficulties above can mean that a student may fall behind in many different areas of the curriculum. They may suffer from low confidence issues when they compare themselves to other students. They also wonder why they’re not sure what they should be doing in the classroom or take a long time to get things done.
Studies show that most children with limitations to the capacity of their working memory don’t catch up to their peers over time. It is, therefore, imperative that memory evolves to optimal levels so that children may learn to the best of their ability.
Note : Children need up to 39 learning abilities to help them process information properly. Different combinations that help them in different areas of learning can now be checked.
Feel free to reach out to us at here for more information or a free trial to experience how efficient our brain process and store information if you sense that your child is struggling.
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