Memory aids help you remember information better. Memory aids work because you link new information to information from long-term memory. There are many different types of memory aids, including: method of loci, peg system, keyword method, letter strategies, mnemonics such as 't kofschip and TV-TAS, or remembering a word through a physical sensation like feeling cold when thinking of the word cold. Two types of memory aids that proved to work well in research are: 1. Method of loci (‘the memory palace’): the idea that you imagine a route or room that you know very well. Then you link the information you need to remember to certain places or objects you encounter along the way. The Method of Loci is particularly effective for learning facts and words (see image (Dresler, et al., 2017)). 2. Keyword method: with this method, you create a mental image of a word or a related word. This is effective because visualizing something helps with remembering it. When words are difficult to visualize, such as religion, it can help to think of something that is easy to visualize and has an association with the word to be learned, such as church in this case. This method is especially useful when you need to learn words from another language. Memory aids are particularly useful for learning facts and words. It is often useful if students come up with the mnemonics themselves because they remember them better. Sometimes using well-known mnemonics is easier because they are often obvious. So, familiarize students with the above or other mnemonics. The method of Loci can also be performed in the classroom. For example, have students first memorize a list of words within five minutes. Then explain the method to them and have them memorize a similar list of words again. This way, students can experience that the method works.
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Dresler, M., Shirer, W. R., Konrad, B. N., Müller, N. C. J., Wagner, I. C., Fernández, G., Greicius, M. D. (2017). Mnemonic Training Reshapes Brain Networks to Support Superior Memory. Neuron, 93(5), 1227–1235.e6. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.003
Legge, E. L., Madan, C. R., Ng, E. T., & Caplan, J. B. (2012). Building a memory palace in minutes: Equivalent memory performance using virtual versus conventional environments with the Method of Loci. Acta psychologica, 141(3), 380-390.
McCabe, J. A. (2015). Location, location, location! Demonstrating the mnemonic benefit of the method of loci. Teaching of Psychology, 42(2), 169-173.
