| Memory tasks are often seen as good homework or | | | | in from the external world is filtered and then proceeds |
| independent work. Where this is certainly true for | | | | to the short-term working memory area. Here its |
| older learners with good memory strategies, are we | | | | essence is either retained by repetition in the auditory |
| leaving younger learners to 'teach themselves'? | | | | circuit in the brain or manipulated by the visual-spatial |
| | | | | one. The effectiveness of either of these processes |
| According to Atkinson and Shiffrin, (1968, 1971) the | | | | determines whether something is remembered or |
| recall process requires the brain to filter incoming | | | | forgotten. |
| information as it passes through one of the sensory | | | | |
| registers, where it can remain for up to a second | | | | If we understand the above to be true, it has significant |
| (Hayes, N. 2000:71) If attention is given to it, information | | | | implications for the way that we teach our children in |
| proceeds to short-term-memory. Here, according to | | | | schools in Australia and around the world. In primary |
| the working memory model, retention can be extended | | | | education in particular, children are often asked to take |
| in consciousness by way of auditory rehearsal in the | | | | home memory and learning tasks because they are |
| articulatory loop or by visual-spatial memory | | | | considered to be time-consuming or impractical to |
| conservation in the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and then | | | | teach in the classroom. However, if we understand |
| be recalled or forgotten. (Baddeley and Hitch 1974 and | | | | the above cognitive psychology, educators should be |
| Baddeley 1986) | | | | teaching children how to utilise both auditory rehearsal |
| | | | | and visuo-spatial strategies, rather than leaving this |
| Simplistically, this means that the information one takes | | | | important task to chance. |