Well-Known Techniques Lead to Memory Improvement in Students

A person’s ability to remember is something that was relied upon heavily centuries ago. Today, technology allows individuals to access endless amounts of information without relying on their own abilities. However, there are many situations in which a good memory is still needed and many are not aware of basic strategies that could lead to memory improvement. In the current study, students enrolled in a Human Memory course were asked to complete 3 Personal Memory assessments: one at the beginning of the course, a second at the mid-term, and a third during the final week of the course. This assessment contained a variety of basic memory tasks that examine working memory span, operation span, short- term memory, and the students own subjective understanding of their memory. These students were simultaneously engaging in well-known strategies to improve their memory. The goal of the assessment was to determine whether students’ memory would improve based on course learning. After analyzing the data collected, the results have shown for some of the assessment tasks, student memories have significantly improved from assessment one to assessment three. Results demonstrated benefits of learning course strategies to improve memory. This was evidenced by students’ memories significantly improving on several of the assessment tasks from assessment one to assessment three. These results suggest that memory techniques learned by students within the Human Memory course are being utilized. Results will be used to inform others on how basic memory tools, with some effort, can be used to reliably improve memory