Memory is not just remembering what we did this morning or the answers to the exam we studied the night before . It would be impossible, without memory, to learn or think; so, therefore, we would not be able to express our ideas or be ourselves reading comprehension. But let’s not get grandiose. Memory is a very powerful educational tool and we all better have it well trained and oiled.
In the end, everything comes down to learning, storing the information well and being able to retrieve it instantly. In this article we introduce you to 5 strategies to improve children’s memory in class , which range from reading to playing with shapes. We also do not forget the power of food in the development of memory and here you will find a sample.
The importance of memory in education
Memory is an essential faculty both in daily life and in education. Without it, the learning process of a young student could hardly develop. Experts consider that memory is a dynamic process that must be constantly exercised to achieve the correct evolution of an individual in the academic stage.
Nowadays there are some strategies that allow you to develop memory in classes without major setbacks. And with them, teaching and learning are also positively affected. The intention is only one: to achieve much more effective coding. But also optimize the storage and recovery process of all that information offered at school.
Understanding the importance of memory in the educational field, teachers must be prepared to generate and optimize cognitive strategies for the correct development of young people.
How to develop memory in the classroom?
We present 5 strategic ways to improve children’s memory in class:
- Focus on visual abilities
According to a publication by the non-governmental organization Understood , the task consists of asking young students to make an image of what they have just heard or read.
Suppose you have just explained to him the correct way to make the bed. Now, tell them to imagine how the room should look after the process and reflect the final result in a drawing. This will definitely improve your visualization skills. As they develop this quality, they will be able to describe situations with words instead of drawing them.
- Encourage reading
Promoting reading habits in class is important because it activates neurons and improves memory. Annotating or underlining what you read is essential to retain as much information as possible.
But it is also important to ask questions related to the text read to develop working memory. The same thing happens if you encourage the child or young student to read aloud.
- Tell stories
It is an excellent exercise for memory. It is most effective for children in preschool or early elementary school .
The teacher will have to read them a story. At the end, the same teacher will ask his students to narrate in their own words what they remember or what they have understood. There will usually be creative conclusions to this working mechanism. But if you want to see a much better result, suggest creating alternative endings.
- Play with shapes
Photographic memory is an essentially useful tool during the training process. It allows the student to remember things for much longer. And an excellent way to encourage it is by playing with shapes.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo , the mechanism consists of making the children draw different geometric figures on a sheet of white paper. Now, you have to let them look at the result for at least three minutes.
Then you have to turn the page and ask the student to tell everything they have seen. Mixing drawings with images or photographs will be much more fun.
- The information should be divided into small groups
What is easier to remember: numbers divided into hyphens or separated by spaces or numbers placed in long series? Surely the first option and that is why telephone numbers or social security numbers are separated by numbers or spaces.
The teacher knows perfectly well that the method is infallible. For this reason, he provides information in small parts to ensure that the child or young person can memorize it effectively.