Sunday, May 15, 2011

memory as white board ...

I do like a good analogy to help illustrate a point, and the Rapid eLearning Blog provides a great analogy for working memory: a white board! The white board (representing working memory) provides ample space to work with new information engaging both your temporary storage and problem solving skills. The white board has limited space though, so eventually the important information must get transferred off the white board to allow new room to work. In this example analogy, the information gets transferred to post-it notes (representing long term memory).

Unfortunately, transferring information to long term memory isn't as easy as writing notes onto a post-it note. As instructional designers, it is our job to help the most important information make it from the "white board" of working memory on to the "post-it" of long term memory. Here, Tom recommends keeping three simple steps in mind:

1. Organizing information into small chunks,
2. Building upon the students' prior knowledge, and
3. Providing real-world scenarios.

These three steps are a great starting point! To delve a little deeper, check out this blog.

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