I took a class in college called "Memory Development". I looooved the class and I learned dozens of mnemonics that have served me to this day. The professor, Higbee, stressed that the more something appeals to the 5 senses, the more likely you are to remember it. This has become my motto for teaching. Take a moment to to think about how this applies to your own life. Why are some things so easy for you to remember? Do you remember the first time you experienced dry ice? Do you remember the first time you READ about it? (probably not) Felling, seeing, inhaling and hearing dry ice leaves a stronger impression on your memory than just reading about it. Also, have you ever heard that a scent will bring back a memory faster than a photograph? Every person is different, but this is absolutely true for me. And because every person is different it is important that the information taught is presented in a variety of ways so that a variety of learners can take it in. With every lesson that I teach I try to add just one more aspect that will appeal to another one of the senses because maybe there is just one student that needs to receive the information differently than everyone else. Aside from all these wonderful benefits, my 5 senses motto just makes everything more fun and won't that help the learning stick with you too?
By the way here is the book by Higbee and I highly recommend it.
