Memory skills are a vital part of our functioning, since individuals build on prior experiences
as they grow and learn. Some learners have amazing gifts to remember factual information. For instance, Sam may be able to recite all the states at 24 months of age, while ten-year old Sheila may be able to spontaneously tell you the birth and death dates of all the American presidents. Alexandra is a different learner. While she doesn’t have the advanced memory for concrete facts, she is able to vividly remember events that have occurred in her own life. Therefore, there are many components to memory and many ways that children can be talented in their memory skills. Memory is not a single skill, and it involves many different steps and cognitive operations.
First, a student needs to immediately remember information just learned; then he needs to begin to store it for a longer duration; then he will need to consolidate it into long-term memory; later be able to retrieve it. At times, a student has one part of this process mastered but struggles in another area. For instance, a learner may have no problem listening to a phone number, then going to the phone and dialing it. However, if that same learner is asked to retrieve the number from memory a few hours later, it may be difficult or impossible. Memory is multi-faceted. Some memories are auditory, visual, tactile, or olfactory (associated with smell). If you think back to your own recollections of situations, there are times that you may vaguely remember a trip to someone’s house but have a clear recollection of the smell of something baking in that house. A learner who remembers information best by storing it through tactile (or touch) channels, may benefit from being able to touch and manipulate the materials in the lesson. Many math lessons can be taught utilizing objects to highlight points. For learners with an extremely accurate, detailed memory (sometimes labeled as a photographic memory),they may look at a page in a book and may not need to reread it when studying or reviewing the information. Rather, the learner may just need to reflect on the image that has been imbedded into memory.
An important part of any learner’s success is to have well-developed executive functions. These include planning skills, impulse control, the ability to pay attention, and the ability to organize tasks. If your child excels in these areas, it makes learning most lessons a little easier. A student with this area of talent can display more initiative and independence when completing projects and will likely gain self-esteem and self-confidence in the process. Similar attributes of motivation—being a self-starter, being curious, with a thirst for knowledge are characteristics that can generalize to most academic lessons as well as life lessons.
Source : Lee Wherry Brainerd. Homeschooling Your Gifted Children. 2002
as they grow and learn. Some learners have amazing gifts to remember factual information. For instance, Sam may be able to recite all the states at 24 months of age, while ten-year old Sheila may be able to spontaneously tell you the birth and death dates of all the American presidents. Alexandra is a different learner. While she doesn’t have the advanced memory for concrete facts, she is able to vividly remember events that have occurred in her own life. Therefore, there are many components to memory and many ways that children can be talented in their memory skills. Memory is not a single skill, and it involves many different steps and cognitive operations.
First, a student needs to immediately remember information just learned; then he needs to begin to store it for a longer duration; then he will need to consolidate it into long-term memory; later be able to retrieve it. At times, a student has one part of this process mastered but struggles in another area. For instance, a learner may have no problem listening to a phone number, then going to the phone and dialing it. However, if that same learner is asked to retrieve the number from memory a few hours later, it may be difficult or impossible. Memory is multi-faceted. Some memories are auditory, visual, tactile, or olfactory (associated with smell). If you think back to your own recollections of situations, there are times that you may vaguely remember a trip to someone’s house but have a clear recollection of the smell of something baking in that house. A learner who remembers information best by storing it through tactile (or touch) channels, may benefit from being able to touch and manipulate the materials in the lesson. Many math lessons can be taught utilizing objects to highlight points. For learners with an extremely accurate, detailed memory (sometimes labeled as a photographic memory),they may look at a page in a book and may not need to reread it when studying or reviewing the information. Rather, the learner may just need to reflect on the image that has been imbedded into memory.
An important part of any learner’s success is to have well-developed executive functions. These include planning skills, impulse control, the ability to pay attention, and the ability to organize tasks. If your child excels in these areas, it makes learning most lessons a little easier. A student with this area of talent can display more initiative and independence when completing projects and will likely gain self-esteem and self-confidence in the process. Similar attributes of motivation—being a self-starter, being curious, with a thirst for knowledge are characteristics that can generalize to most academic lessons as well as life lessons.
Source : Lee Wherry Brainerd. Homeschooling Your Gifted Children. 2002
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