Memory, short term
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Definition and Description
Short-term memory is that part of memory corresponding to your active consciousness or awareness. (Mayer 2003) Your short term memory is a system for temporarily storing and managing information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. A portion of short term memory can be used for performing mental manipulations such as mental arithmetic – this portion is referred to as working memory. The storage of information in short term memory is limited and only lasts a short amount of time.
Short term memory’s capacity, according to Miller (1956), has a span of seven “chunks�? of information, plus or minus two. A “chunk�? is referred to as an integrated piece of information such as using a number sequence of “1776-1492-1941�? to represent three easily-remembered chunks instead of twelve separate digits, which would be beyond someone’s short term capacity of seven. Thus, the short-term memory span as measured in terms of items can be increased by increasing the number of items in each chunk. (Baddely 1990)
Information can be put into short-term memory from information processed through the sensory memory, by retrieving information from long-term memory, or by any information that is presently being processed in working memory. Information from short-term memory has the probability of being stored in long-term memory if the information is rehearsed or repeated.
Short-term memory’s involvement in education, three basic learning processes (Mayer 2003):
Selecting – This involves focusing attention on the relevant pieces of the information that is presented through your eyes and ears and selecting them for further processing into short-term memory.
Organizing – This involves constructing among the incoming pieces of information in short-term memory. This is necessary in being able to construct information into a coherent whole.
Integrating – This involves constructing external connections between the newly organized knowledge in short-term memory and existing relevant knowledge that the learner retrieves from long-term memory. The process is combining familiar knowledge with new knowledge.
Physiological Model of Short-Term Memories
Short term memories are thought in some cases to be caused by changes in the amount of neurotransmitter released. There are two forms of changes associated with this: Habituation and Sensitization. In Habituation, after a large number of stimulations, a nerve cell will release less neurotransmitter in response to being fired causing a decreased response. In Sensitization the response is exactly the opposite, when the nerve cell is fired, it releases more neurotransmitter resulting in a greater response from the next cell in the line of communication. In either case, this change in synaptic strength is not based on large structural changes in the cell as Long-Term Potentiation is, and does not last nearly as long.
Working memory,
Articulatory Loop (Baddeley), Modal memory model, (Atkinson and Schiffrin)
Applications in the classroom and similar settings
As most all teachers know, some children may find difficulties with short term memory or at least claim to suffer from short term memory loss. Here are a few hints to improve short term memory in the classroom: Find a way to focus the attention of your students, Use prior learning or background knowledge to help mantain the interest of your students, Be sure to present your information in an organized way, Teach your students to use memory strageties (chunking, elaboration, and mnemonic devices), Review important information from previous lessons, and of course be sure to track each student's progress. (Chapter Objectives, 2004)
Interactive experiments for use in the classroom exhibiting:
- Capacity, chunking, and encoding in short term memory
- Teaching your child to improve short term memory
Short term memory tests: Remember, these are for fun.
Critics and their rationale
Cowan (2000) targeted Miller’s (1956) results for short-term memory capacity of seven chunks, saying that it was meant more to be a rough estimate and a rhetorical device than a real capacity limit. In his article, The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity, Cowan’s research attempted to prove that a person’s memory pure capacity is more likely to store four chunks of information rather than Miller’s proposal of seven. (Cowan 2000)
Personal Testimonies
I have been suffering from perimenopause and have been reading about the effects through research, medical books and articles. one of the hardest things to cope with is memory problems. I not only ecperience TOT's (tip of tongue), short term memory loss and what I call blanking. The only thing I can figure out becuase I am not sure how hormones affect memory but I know I suffer from estrgen overload. This causes a rushing feeling where you feel like you have to do everything for everybody NOW. You feel like you can not even take a breath. My thoughts are it affects working memory because you have so much rushing through your mind that your concentration is severely affected. Progesterone helps but, in my case, my cycle keeps coming so I do not usually get to take it long for it to work. Teresa Hibler
In music, I had a couple professors talk about Miller's seven chunks of short-term memory storage capacity. They would tell me that while I played or conducted that we need the focus of all seven chunks to be able to play or conduct effectively. They always insisted on getting comfortable with yourself because fear or anxiety, playing mistakes, or maybe other things being on the mind can take up over half of your short term memory leaving minimal capacity left for musical aspects. With most of the short-term memory being occupied by other factors could leave more room for error. -Tim Hatcher
I worry about the effects of a short-term memory and how we need to keep more on our feet and on task. I also think about how it effects students as well because students are always forgetful about their homework, does that mean they have short term memory or is it just because they are developing adults? C.McCulley
Links of Interest
Related Links: Sensory Memory, Long Term Memory, Working Memory
Article: Coffee Boosts Short Term Memory
References
Baddely, A. (1990). Human Memory: Theory and Practice. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon
Cowan, N. (2000). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 87–185
Mayer, R. E. (2003). Learning and Instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Miller, G. (1956): "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two", Psychological Review, vol. 63 pp. 81-97
Chapter objectives. Retrieved November 9, 2004, from [1]
