2. Meet the Team
Michelle O’Dea
Katie Sheahan
Hannah O’Reilly
We worked as a team throughout this project process
and helped each other whenever we needed it. We all
contributed to the creation and research of the
mnemonics
Hi, I’m Michelle.Iwas in
charge of making the surveys
and distributingand
collectingthem.I also
contributedto the report
book.
Hi I’m Hannah. I was in
charge of creating the lists
of facts and mnemonicsand
distributingthem.I also
contributedto the report
book.
Hi I’m Katie. I was in charge
of making the test that was
carried out after the facts
and mnemonicswere
learned.I also contributed
to the report book.
6. The Effectiveness of Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a learning device or technique that aids you to memorise
information. Mnemonics aim to translate information into a form that the
human brain can retain better than its original form. Mnemonics mainly
come in the form of lists, short poems, acronyms, or memorable phrases,
but mnemonics can also be for other types of information and come in
visual forms eg. a diagram. Their use is based on the idea that the human
mind more easily remembers personal, physical, humorous, or other
'relatable' information, rather than more abstract or difficult forms of
information.
History
The word mnemonic comes from the Ancient Greek word meaning "of
memory" and is related to Mnemosyne ("remembrance"), the name of the
goddess of memory in Greek mythology. Ancient Greeks and Romans
distinguished between two types of memory: the 'natural' memory and
the 'artificial' memory. The natural memory is the one they believed you
were born with and is the one that everyone uses automatically and
without thinking. The artificial memory has to be trained and developed
through the learning and practicing of a variety of mnemonic techniques.
Application of Mnemonics
A variety of mnemonics are used for an even wider range of different
purposes. The most commonly used mnemonics are those for lists and
numerical sequences.
7. For lists
A common mnemonic for remembering lists is to create an easily
remembered acronym which is taking each of the initial letters of the
words in the list and creating a memorable phrase with each word starting
with the same letter as those in the list. Example: The colours of the
rainbow. "Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain" is used - each of the initial
letters matches the colours of the rainbow in order (Red, Orange, Yellow,
Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).
For Numerical sequences
Mnemonic phrases can be used to encode numeric sequences by various
methods, one common one is to create a new phrase in which the number
of letters in each word represents the according digit. Example, the first 15
digits of the Pi (3.14159265358979) can be encoded as "Now I need a
drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum
mechanics"; "Now", having 3 letters, represents the first number, 3.
Effectiveness
Academic study of the use of mnemonics has shown their effectiveness.
Mnemonics vary in effectiveness for several groups ranging from young
children to the elderly. Mnemonic learning strategies require time and
resources by educators to develop creative and effective devices. The
most simple and creative mnemonic devices usually are the most effective
for teaching. In 1967 from a study by Gerald R. Miller, it showed that
mnemonics increased remembrance of what was learned. He found that
students who regularly used mnemonic devices increased test scores up to
77%!
Many types of mnemonics exist and which type works best is limited only
by the imagination of each individual learner.
