Background Knowledge Lesson 2: Readings (4) - previous page disabledreturn to mainnext page disabled
   

Mnemonic Devices

Barbara J. Ehren
University of Kansas - Center for Research on Learning
With illustrations by David Gnojek


There is abundant research to support the use of mnemonic (memory enhancing) devices to aid memory storage and retrieval. According to Scruggs and Mastropieri (1992), "Mnemonic instruction improves recall by systematically integrating specific retrieval routes within to-be-learned content. Different tactics are suited to different tasks." We will explore two different categories of mnemonic devices: illustrations and word-based devices.

Illustrations

Mnemonic illustrations are different from pictures or diagrams that often accompany text because they transform textual information to enhance memory. Mastropieri and Scruggs (1998) describe two different kinds of mnemonic illustrations: mimetic illustration and symbolic representation. In a mimetic illustration a picture is used to represent a word. For example, if you wanted to remember information about wolves, the illustration would have a picture of a wolf. However, the total picture would have other pictorial aspects that would provide a direct link between the ideas presented. For example a mimetic illustration to help remember that wolves are canines might picture a wolf with a baseball cap that said "K-9."


Just a picture of a wolf would not be a mnemonic illustration because there would be no link to the concept being learned.

Schumaker, Bulgren, Deshler and Lenz (1998) use a similar technique called a snapshot device in which the information to be remembered is captured in a single still frame picture which seeks to integrate the content.



Notice the picture of the inventions that enabled the west to be settled: The six-shooter, the windmill, the sod house, the locomotive, the steel plow, and barbed wire. Symbolic representation is slightly different in that the picture used does not directly depict the idea - for example, using a picture of Uncle Sam to represent US Policy in the creation of an illustration.

Word-based Devices

There are several mnemonic devices that use words to aid memory. We will describe keyword, pegword, acronym, and sentence mnemonics. A keyword is a familiar, concrete word that is acoustically similar to the word or concept to be remembered. For example, you might use the keyword "cat" as a springboard for remembering the meaning of "catatonic." Since keywords are usually paired with illustrations, you might draw a non-responsive cat, sitting in a chair staring into space next to a table with a bottle of tonic.



The keyword does not have to be embedded within the target word. It just has to sound like it. Another keyword example would be the word "tear" to remember the meaning of the word "terrorism." Here we might have a picture of a group of terrorists on an airplane with one wielding a knife and one tearing a curtain.



The pegword device uses one word that is associated with another as a hook for memory, as in the rhyme "one/bun," "two/shoe," three/tree." This device would also be paired with a mnemonic illustration. So, for example, if a student taking a health class needs to remember that the number one cause of death in women is heart disease, he might create an illustration of a woman eating a bun with a symbol of a heart enlarged over her chest.



An acronym is another type of linguistic device where you use the first letter of each word in a list to form a word. For example, to remember a list of North African countries (Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria Libya), we would take the first letter of each country's name and form the acronym, METAL. We could add a recall helper with a picture and/or sentence: Explorers found precious METAL in North Africa.

Sometimes letters have to be rearranged, as in the use of the acronym PORK for a list of flightless birds (Ostrich, Penguin, Kiwi, Rhea).


Notice the bird pulled by the pig in the picture that serves as the recall helper. Sometimes a letter needs to be added, as in the use of GrAPHS for the list of types of human joints (Angular, Gliding, Hinge, Pivotal, Suture).



Notice that the recall helper shows a picture of two graphs joined together with hinges (Schumaker, Bulgren, Deshler, & Lenz, 1998).

There are also sentence mnemonics in which you create a sentence containing the words that you need to remember or with words whose first letters are the same as the words you are trying to remember. For example if you want to learn the different types of tastes (Bitter, Sour, Salty, Sweet) you might use the sentence mnemonic Bill Savors Sour Sweets (Nagel, Schumaker, & Deshler, 1986). Here's another example: Almost everyone learns the notes of the treble scale with the sentence, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (or Does Fine) for the notes, E, G, B, D, F.

Combining Mnemonic Devices

As you can see from the examples of mnemonic techniques we have used so far, they often combine two or more devices. Scruggs and Mastropieri (1992) used reconstructive elaborations to teach junior high school students science. To teach that trichina is a roundworm found in uncooked pork and that it can make people sick, the keyword "trick" was used for trichina and coupled with a mnemonic picture and verbal elaboration- "Cook thoroughly - don't be 'tricked'."



Schumaker, Bulgren, Deshler and Lenz (1998) use a boxing device as part of their Recall Enhancement Routine. To create this device the learner looks for small words (keywords) that can be easily pictured - for example, Ant in Antietam. He then draws a box around it. This is done for other important words in an idea; then an integrated snapshot (another device) of those pictures is created. The entire Recall Enhancement Routine is a more comprehensive package that presents a set of instructional methods for teachers to use to help students learn and recall information.



Conclusion

It is easy to see how the mnemonic devices that we have discussed can assist students with memory storage and recall. A variety of illustrations and word-based devices may be useful at different times for different purposes. However, a caution with mnemonic devices is to make prudent use of them. Students can't use mnemonics for all information they encounter or they would spend all their time devising mnemonics. They need to learn to use them to enhance recall of critical and difficult content.

References

Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (1998). Constructing more meaningful relationships in the classroom: Mnemonic research into practice. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 13 , 138-145.

Nagel, D. R., Schumaker, J. B., & Deshler, D. D. (1986). The FIRST-letter mnemonic strategy. Lawrence, KS: EXCELLenterprises.

Scruggs, T. E., and Mastropieri, M. A. (1992). Classroom applications of mnemonic instruction: Acquisition, maintenance and generalization. Exceptional Children, 58, 219-229.

Schumaker, J. B., Bulgren, J. A., Deshler, D. D., & Lenz, B. K. (1998). The recall enhancement routine. Lawrence, KS: The University of Kansas.

  previous page disabledtop of pagenext page disabled