When Renata decided to enroll in an online certificate program, she realized for the first time how many logins she would have and how many computer processes she would need to remember.
"How can I possibly remember all of these passwords, codes, and procedures?" she asked her mom.
Her mom, a clinical psychologist who worked with individuals with memory and cognition issues, including Alzheimer's patients, was a bit unsympathetic. "I guess you'll just have to improve your short-term memory," she said. "The best way to keep your mental abilities sharp is to exercise them."
"But how?" asked Renata. "I'm not supposed to write them down."
"Well, one way is to repeat the code over and over to yourself," said Renata's mom. "That way, you keep the information active and available in your short-term memory. It's what psychologists also call 'primary memory.'"
Renata paused for a moment. She realized for the first time that taking an online course - with all the links, and places to go -- could potentially help her develop her short-term memory. It was an interesting bonus for taking the course.
"But, what exactly is short-term memory?" asked Renata.
Renata's mom explained that short term memory is the part of the memory function that keeps things fresh, and keeps information available for further processing.
"Renata, here's a test for you. Take 20 seconds and repeat the following four words over and over to yourself: cat, road, brick, boot."
Renata paused, rehearsed the words a few times, and the repeated them perfectly. "Hah. That was easy, Mom."
"Yes, of course it was," replied Renata's mom. You're doing what's referred to as "maintenance rehearsal." However, it's not something that is sustainable."
She went on to explain that there are two things that often interfere with short-term memory and maintenance rehearsal: 1) interruption of the rehearsal (which leads to forgetting); 2) an explicitly interfering activity. Interruptions will often disrupt the rehearsal and make it impossible to hold the items in short-term memory.
Short-term Memory Boosts: Strategies for holding more items in short-term memory involve coding, avoiding distractors, and chunking:
- Coding: Coding allows you to recode items into a different form. For example, you can recode written information to acoustic codes, through verbal rehearsal. So, explaining what you're doing to someone, or finding a way to put it into verbal form and rehearse, can be very helpful.
- Avoiding Distractors: What's the best way to forget something? Interruptions and distractions are probably the most destructive elements to short-term memory. So, if you're trying to remember something, do not let anything interrupt you as you rehearse.
- Chunking: Storing easy-to-remember groups of information rather than every single individual item is called "chunking" and it is extremely helpful when it is necessary to remember details.
Working Memory
It's one thing to discuss how to store information in short-term memory. However, what is most important is how to use the information. To understand how the mind makes use of short-term memory, we have to look at "working memory," explained Renata's mom.
The working memory manages information. It is assumed to consist of a central executive and two subsystems -- phonological loop (verbal) and visuospatial (visual). The central executive helps coordinate the two subsystems, and makes it possible to both access and use information from memory.
Being able to work actively with one's short-term memory, or working memory, are both vital in online courses, particularly in the daily navigation of the interface.
* * * * *
Renata looked at her mom.
"Do you think it's possible to do well with in an online course if something happens to your short-term memory?" she asked.
Her mom said "Frankly, I think you'd have a very difficult time if your short-term memory is constantly being interfered with, and you're always distracted. For that reason, I advocate studying in a quiet, distraction-free environment."
"No tweeting while I'm studing online?" asked Renata
"That's right. Save Twitter for another day." Her mom smiled. "I'm all for your getting an education, and I want to help you in every way I can."
"Thanks, Mom," said Renata. "You're great. I couldn't do it without you! It's great to think I have a support team as I take online courses."