The NLP Pattern of the Month:

The purpose of this set of exercises is to help you to explore which of your senses or combination of representational systems is most highly developed for memory. This will be done by leading you through the same learning task three times but limiting your input and output channel to a different representational system each time.

The Memory Strategy exercises also give you an opportunity to compare your memory strategy to that of other people, and learn to expand an enrich your memory abilities by trying out other processes.

Preparation

Make a copy of the Memory Strategy Worksheet. At the top of the sheet are printed the digits from 0-9 and the letters from A-Z. Starting with the segment labeled "VISUAL," fill in the blank spaces provided under the heading "CORRECT SEQUENCE," with a series of randomly chosen letters and digits. You should end up with a total of ten random characters. Be sure to write legibly so someone else can read it.

Repeat this same process for the sections titled "AUDITORY" and "KINESTHETIC" choosing a different sequence of random characters for each "CORRECT SEQUENCE." Leave the spaces under the heading "GUESS" blank for now. Divide the worksheet into four parts by tearing or cutting along the dotted lines in between each segment.

ORIGINAL SEQUENCE: VISUAL

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

GUESS:

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

ORIGINAL SEQUENCE: AUDITORY

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

GUESS:

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

ORIGINAL SEQUENCE: KINESTHETIC

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

GUESS:

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

PROCEDURE

Get together with two other people (making a group of three) and test each other's memory strategies with the following procedure:

A. Part 1 - VISUAL

1. INPUTTING - Start with the section of paper marked "VISUAL." The 'teacher' will show the 'learner' a sequence of 10 characters for up to 30 seconds, no longer. During this time, the 'observer' is to carefully watch the learner for any significant patterns of micro-behavioral cues. If the 'learner' thinks that he or she has memorized the sequence in less time you may stop before 30 seconds. Record the time in the box marked "Time(s) Presented" on the MEMORY STRATEGY PROGRESS REPORT provided on the previous page.
2. RETRIEVING - Have the 'learner' point (without speaking) to the sequence of characters in the order he or she remembers them on the segment of paper containing the list of all the numbers and letters. Write down the sequence in the spaces under the heading "GUESS" as the 'learner' points it out. Then compare it to the ORIGINAL SEQUENCE.
3. SCORING - Record the number of characters the 'learner' remembered correctly (regardless of whether or not they were in the right order) in the box marked "Number Correct" on your MEMORY STRATEGY PROGRESS REPORT. Then record the number of characters that were in the wrong sequence in the box marked "Number Out Of Order."

   [NOTE: If the 'learner' has simply left out a character it does not mean that all of the ones following it are in the wrong sequence. So if your sequence is: DLC65W7U8N and the 'learner' forgets the "W" and points to DLC657U8N their score is 9 guessed correctly and 1 in the wrong place (the "7" is out of order). If the 'learner' points to a character that was not in the original sequence that is counted as a character that is "Out of Order."]

4. ELICITATION - Find out what kind of memory strategy the 'learner' used to try to remember the characters by discussing what she or he did mentally during the time you were showing the characters. The observer begins by recounting what he or she saw happening while the 'learner' was attempting to commit the characters to memory. It is important that the observer simply report what he or she has seen or heard, and not attempt to interpret those observations. Then both the observer and the 'teacher' may start asking the 'learner' what was happening internally in relation to the observed behavioral cues. What was the 'learner' aware of? Did the 'learner' attempt to make a picture of the characters in his or her mind's eye? Did s/he say them to his/herself? Observe the eye movements and other non-verbal behaviors that can help you tell which representational system(s) the 'learner' was using. Note how well this strategy worked by referring to the score. Discuss how the strategy could be refined or improved.

   When you have finished, switch roles so that a different person is 'learner', 'teacher' and 'observer'. Repeat the process until all three members of the group have been in each role. (The process should take about ten minutes per person.)

B. PART 2 - AUDITORY

The 'teacher' is to sit behind the 'learner' and the 'observer' will sit facing the 'learner'. The 'teacher' is to read aloud the sequence of characters on the section of paper marked "AUDITORY." The 'teacher' should read the characters at a consistent rhythm (without any attempt to chunk them for the 'learner'_so that the 'learner' may chunk them in his or her own way). The 'learner' may request to hear the sequence again (either faster, slower or at the same rate) but may hear it no more than three times. The 'teacher' is to record how many times the 'learner' needed to hear the sequence in the box marked "Time(s) Presented." Without looking at the characters, the 'learner' will then verbally repeat the sequence that was previously read aloud by the 'teacher'. The 'teacher will write down the 'learner's' recollection in the spaces beneath "GUESS" and score it as you did in the previous exercise. Then the 'observer' will make his or her observations and the group will explore the 'learners' mental strategy for memorizing this sequence. For instance, you can ask, "Does it differ from the strategy used for the visual task? How well did it work for this type of memory?"

Once again, rotate the roles until all three group members have had a chance to try the auditory memory task.

C. Part 3 - KINESTHETIC

The 'teacher' instructs the 'learner' to close his or her eyes and is to guide the 'learner's' hand through the act of writing the sequence of characters. The character to be used will be the set that you created for the section marked "KINESTHETIC" on the Memory Strategy Worksheet. The 'learner' may choose to use a pen or his or her index finger. The 'learner' could also choose to have the 'teacher' write out the sequence of characters on his or her back or the palm of the hand. As with the auditory test, up to three repetitions may be requested. Then, with eyes closed, the 'learner' is to write out the sequence of characters on a piece of paper.

Scoring is done the same way as in the previous exercises.

When you are finished, the observer is make comments on what he or she has observed. The 'observer' and the 'teacher' will then help to elicit the memory strategy that the 'learner' used for this task and compare the process and results to the previous exercises.

Repeat this process over several days in order to measure how much your memory ability expands. You may extend your memory ability by either 1) adding more characters to your memory task, or 2) shortening the time it takes you to commit characters to memory. Use Round 2 and Round 3 of the MEMORY STRATEGY PROGRESS REPORT to keep track of your improvement.

References

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