By Angela Rose
Emmanuel Manalo, Ph.D., will speak on ?Some Useful Applications of Mnemonics in Educational Settings? at a psychology department forum next week.
?We are encouraging the students to attend,? said Kenneth Higbee a professor of psychology. ?They will come away with a general appreciation for the fact that it is possible for them to learn and remember more effectively.?
Manalo is the director of the Student Learning Centre at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He will be in Provo all next week and will speak at the forum Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. in Room 275 of the Thomas L. Martin Classroom Building.
?We are taking advantage of him being in town and his expertise,? Higbee said.
Mnemonics are methods for assisting memory and often referred to as mental filing systems. Manalo?s presentations will review the many applications of mnemonics for students.
He will also discuss research on effective mnemonic strategies that assist students in recalling information they normally find difficult to remember, and on teaching those with special learning needs.
?Most techniques give some kind of a way of organizing information so you have a way of finding it,? Higbee said. ?Much of what we know is random and so it makes it difficult to find. If we can have a systematic orderly way to find it, that can help.?
Manalo will highlight various mnemonic strategies in the forum such as simple keywords for remembering new vocabulary and a sophisticated method for remembering procedures that was developed in Japan.
?Most mnemonic strategies involve some kind of associating of something new with something you already know, like using a rhyme or recognition that Italy looks like a boot,? Higbee said.
Another mnemonic strategy is visual imagery, which is very powerful for most people, he said.
Manalo has published research on the use of mnemonics for teaching students with math learning difficulties, and for helping beginners learn Japanese script characters.
?I?ve been teaching mnemonics for over 35 years, and people get a general insight that ?hey, I am capable of doing more than I thought I was,? Higbee said.
BYU offers the course Student Development 110 to help students with memory improvement. In addition, the Career Learning Center holds workshops on memory improvement to assist students with their needs.
?Memory improvement isn?t a magic pill,? said Marissa Crandell a graduate assistant in the University Advisement Center. ?Students have to find what works for them.?