Memory and the Brain

We all rely on memory to get us through life. Whether we are learning or trying to remember a simple grocery list, memory is something we rely heavily on. Tied to memory is the information processing theory. The are many theories about information processing. One that I found interesting was levels of processing theory. Levels of process theory says "...learners utilize different levels of elaboration as they process information."(Huitt, W 2003)  The way we process information depends on how we receive the information. It is kind of like the light bulb effect. Something stimulates learning and we began to process it. Something else I found interesting was the assumption of a limited capacity. It the thought that we have a capacity to how much information we can process. Honesty, I do feel sometimes my brain has met its capacity because I'm trying to retain so much information. There is a difference in between remembering something short term and processing it into long term memory.
Memory and learning is very important in the classroom. As a teacher, I would have to find way to help my student retain the information they are learning. I have to plan my lessons to play on their emotions. "Information is easiest to digest when there is emotional "seasoning" — humor, empathy, sadness, and fear all make "dry" facts easier to swallow." (Dr. Bruce Perry) Also want my students to be able to connect the lesson to something they can remember to allow retrieval to be easier.
Both article I read very very informative. I learn a lot of information I can use in the future. I would refer to these sources again.

References

 

Huitt, W. (2003).The Information Processing Approah to Cognition. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [ November 9, 2012], from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/infoproc.htm

 

Perry, B. (2012). How the brain learns best. Scholastic Journal. Retrieved [November 9, 2012] from http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/brainlearns.htm