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Mnemonics

Mnemonic visuals help learners recall factual infomraiton through use of graphic cues. The use of mnemonics has been shown to be most effective when combined with additional learning straegies, such as retrieval practice.

Relating Mnemonics to Instructional Objectives

Class of media: Instructional aid.

Characteristics: Still visual (limited capability for motion).

Application to types of learning:

Cognitive objectives:  Mnemonics can be used to teach recall of factual information through visual recognition of relevant visual elements:

Alt text: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally, each of the first letters of each word in the sentence assists with recall the order of operations in a mathematical  equation.

Alt Text: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos. The first letter of each word in this sentence assists with recall of the order of the planets closest to the earth to farthest.

Psychomotor objectives.  Limited application. May be used to show positions of things or people in motion before demonstrations or practice.

Alt Text: Each of your knuckles create a way to know if a month has 31 days or 30 (or less considering February). Start at your pinky knuckle and move forward going in between the knuckle as a space too. January is at the pinky, February is in between knuckles and so on. Those months on the knuckles have 31 days. those in between have 30 days (or less for February).

Affective objectives.

• They involve rearranging or reorganizing information, which also helps personalize the information and be a more active learner.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Overhead Transparencies

Advantages

• Provide a memory bridge to help you recall information that otherwise is difficult to remember.
• Add interest to studying by providing you with new ways to work with information.
• Allow less time retrieving information from long-term memory. (Cengage)

Disadvantages

• Overuse of mnemonics can result in confusion and an excessive amount of time reviewing.
• The must be recited in the precise manner in order to work correctly.
• They require time to make, use, and practice. (Cengage)

  Considerations for Selecting and Developing Transparencies for Instruction

• Be sure you understand the item (new information) before you create an association. Once you understand the item, actively search for a familiar word, object, picture, or concept that you can link or associate with the item.
• Visualize the shape and colors of items you plan to use in your association. You can also add sounds and smells to the association when appropriate. Change the actual proportions by exaggerating some part of an object by making it larger than its real size. If you are visualizing letters, use large, bold capital letters.
• Visually link both items together by blending the two images in the association into one integrated picture. (Cengage)

 

Wadsworth Cengage Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://college.cengage.com/collegesurvival/wong/essential_study/6e/assets/students/protected/wong_ch06_in-depthmnemonics.html