Transcript Raveet Jacob and Denise Redmond

WELCOME
ONCE YOU SIT DOWN, TAKE A MOMENT
TO FILL OUT A QUICK SURVEY
Quick Survey
For each set of statements, circle the letter before the statement
that is more typical of you.

Example:
1. Thinking about events . . .
A. Faces and people’s appearance are easy for me to recall
B. Names, dates, and times are easy for me to recall
Episodic or Semantic?
Activating ESL Learner’s
Memory Potential
TESL-WW AGM, SPRING 2015
Presented by Denise Redmond & Raveet Jacob
What teachers/students say
about memory
T: We just studied this last week.
ST: I wish I could just draw
everything I know about chemistry.
T: Do they remember that concept
from last term at all?
ST: I study hard every night,
but I can’t remember very much.
Why a Presentation on Memory?

To address needs of ESL students from a variety of cultural,
educational, and experiential backgrounds – how they acquire
language relates to memory use

To understand how the memory access process varies by individual

To increase memory access variety for language acquisition

To explore listening/speaking skills to activate/strengthen memory
Why do the short survey?

Demonstrate different systems of long term memory

Find personal preference for Semantic or Episodic memory

Sort participants by memory style for teaching/learning tasks
(workshop activities)
USING THE NEXT SLIDE, RECORD YOUR RESULTS.
Label each statement set S or E in the numbered boxes.
Survey Results



Numbered
statement pairs
A.
B.
1.
Episodic
Semantic
Do you think Episodic or
Semantic memory use is
more prevalent?
2.
S
E
3.
S
E
4.
E
S
Results for Workshop 1:
5.
S
E
Episodic preferred = 11
6.
S
E
Semantic preferred = 5
7.
S
E
8.
S
E
Episodic preferred = 7
9.
E
S
Semantic preferred = 9
10.
S
E
11.
E
S
Results for Workshop 2:
Episodic versus Semantic

Two primary systems are used in long term memory
(defined by Psychologist Endel Tulving c. 1972)

The distinction:
“Whether the rememberer is aware of the learning episode…”
(Kelley, Neath & Suprenant, 2013, p. 600)
Example:
When you think of Canada Day, you remember . . .
- where you were and what you did on a specific Canada Day?
- the date, general characteristics of the day, and its
importance?
From Episodic to Semantic

Repeated experiences typically become generic representations

This process of reducing connections is known as pruning
Pruning is necessary for speeding up memory retrieval by reducing the number of
connections.

Steven Pinker on Use of Memory
“We humans place two very different demands on our memory system
at the same time.”
“We have to remember individual episodes of who did what to whom,
when, where, and why … that requires stamping each episode with a
time, date and serial number.”
“But we also must extract generic knowledge about people, work, and
how the world works.”
(Pinker, S., 1997, p. 124)
Features of the 2 Memory Systems
EPISODIC
Big picture oriented – gets the gist
Associative – interrelation of parts
Chunks words – may miss syllables
Distinguishes – pattern separation
Improvises – may skip rules
Often very visual – or hands on
Inquisitive & concrete – often
present in STEM fields
SEMANTIC
Detail oriented – values precision
Categorizes – deductive reasoning
Phonetically capable – spelling
Generalizes – pattern completion
Process oriented – follows the rules
Evaluative & abstract – in highly
semantic fields, ie. communications
Enjoys using abstract language
Raveetpreference
favoured inductive
learning
but developed
a
Memory system
is
both
innate
and
acquired;
preference for deductive teaching when she studied
it can be altered
throughmath.
experience.
undergraduate
Memory preferences as Personas
Lauryn Hill
Everything is Everything
Leonard Nimoy as Spock
“…this unit is different; it is well-ordered”
(an alien commenting on Spock)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_dOWYHS7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldezDyDDhRg
How memory shapes input
NO
HST
NO
SHT
How the input is interpreted (with memory) determines
what the learner sees and how new information is stored.
Denise’s son misread a sign in a store and started
laughing. His reference point for interpretation was
experience with peers versus taxation on goods.
What name do you actually see?
Auditory verification and contextual use of a word
will help reinforce correct memory retention.
Poutine
Pirouline
Extremes of Episodic v.s. Semantic

Preferences and strengths for one memory system depend on the task

One system predominates in two extreme cases of brain organization.
Big picture oriented
Detailed visual recall
Word chunking (omitting letters)
Lateral associations
Expressive language use difficult,
but handles metaphors well
Slower processing speeds
Procedural recall – processes
Phonetic accuracy varies
Categorical, patterned thinking
Literal use of precise terminology,
but finds subtle meaning difficult
Rote memorization of facts
Rapid recall of factual info
(Williams & Casanova, 2010.)
Challenges Learning
with Episodic memory
Movement towards semantic abstraction in …
 higher education
 conceptual-technological fields
 in English language generally
For instance, in the March 2015 quarterly update to the Oxford English
Dictionary, 500 new words were added and include terms such as XL
and white stuff.
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2015)

One advantage:
Employers in progressive fields prefer employees who are creative,
tangential thinkers (e.g. software, engineering, technology & research)
Williams & Casanova:
Organization of Memory
Semantic Memories
Stacked, closely linked,
cortical connections
Williams & Casanova, 2010
Episodic Memories
Scattered data, reassembled
like jumbled puzzle pieces
Challenges for Learning
with Episodic memory

Recollection of events can change over time.
For instance:
NBC newscaster Brian Williams recalled being in a helicopter over Iraq that was
struck by rocket fire when, in fact, he was in a helicopter following the struck aircraft.
Psychologist Christopher Chabris on the Current (CBC Radio, Feb. 11, 2015) noted
that episodes can easily be unintentionally reformulated.

Memory degradation occurs more often in Episodic versus Semantic memory
systems – e.g. onset of memory loss with aging (Eide & Eide, 2012).

However, the Episodic system works best when the learner creates the
context – not through memories/contexts of others.

Learning a random context can be a distraction (Eide & Eide, 2012).
The systems work best together

Semantic memory is activated during memory retrieval

Recall with episodic cuing helps learners assimilate past with present
experience – more episodic cues aid retrieval

Recalling of episodes allows updating (pruning and elaboration)

New information is built with past information
Based on Research Report by Lehman, Smith and Karpicke, 2014.
Challenges for Today’s
ESL Instructors

Providing learning contexts that address both Semantic and Episodic
memory activation

Encouraging learners to stretch their limits in applying less favoured
approaches to remembering

Creating materials that are multimodal, authentic and engaging for topic
salience

Reflecting with learners on what memory aids were applied in learning and
why they failed or succeeded
Designing an Activity for both
Semantic and Episodic learners
In your groups, brainstorm an activity you could use to teach your
given teaching point to a class of semantic and episodic learners.
You will have 15 minutes to discuss and record notes.
Consider:
(1) How does your activity address the needs of both a semantic
and/or episodic learner?
 See handout on Semantic/Episodic
(2) What instructions would you give your learners to guide them
through the activity?
Possible activities for
semantic/episodic learners:
(1)
Presentation Skills: Teaching students the introduction portion of a presentation

Ss recount previous presentations/speeches they have given previously

Ss brainstorm good English-speaking speakers
OR show a few short clips of different presenters (Obama, TED Talk presenters, etc.)

Ss find out about a speaker’s background/career
_________________________________________________________________
Ss observe and categorize positive speaking features:
Delivery
Organization

Teacher highlights organizational features of a speech/presentation  give
structure/procedure

Ss choose a familiar topic and practice preparing and delivering introductions in
pairs.
What questions do you have?
Denise and Raveet thank you for
participating in the memory workshop!
Please leave us your e-mail if you’d like a copy
of the presentation sent to you.
References:
Eide, B., & Eide, F. (2012). The Dyslexic Advantage. New York, NY: The Penguin Group.
Kelley, M., Neath, I., & Suprenant, A. (2013). Three more sematic serial position functions and a SIMPLE explanation. Memory Cognition, 41, 600-610. doi:
10.3758/s13421-012-0286-1
Lehman, M., Smith, M., & Karpicke, J. (2014). Toward an Episodic Context Account of Retrieval-Based Learning: Dissociating Retrieval Practice and
Elaboration. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Learning, Memory and Cognition, 40(6), 1787-1794. doi: 10.1037/xlm0000012
Oxford English Dictionary. (2015) Retrieved April 7, 2015 from http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/march-2015-update/
Pinker, S. (1997). How the Mind Works. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
The Current. (Feb. 11, 2015) (program host) Tremonte, A. M. Memories are malleable': Looking for truth behind false memory, CBC Radio.
Williams, N. E. & Casanova, M.(2010), Autism and dyslexia: A spectrum of cognitive styles as defined by minicolumnar morphometry. Medical Hypotheses,
74 (2010): 59-62.
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