IRVING-BELL, DAWNE

WRIGHT, SARAH-JANE

The use of mnemonics to aid memory recall are widely used within education, and while the effective use of techniques including acronyms, songs and rhymes, as well as patterns in letters or numbers are well-known, the advantages of drawing as an effective cognitive mnemonic strategy are not as well documented.There is however a growing body of research that suggests that when combined with traditional style written notes the use of visual imagery can be an effective tool to aid memory recall.Taking visual notes or as it more commonly known ‘sketchnoting’ can help learners to manage unfamiliar ideas and concepts, assimilate information and to build bridges between concepts, helping to internally process information and recall it more easily.Exploring the concept of self-generated mnemonic codes this research seeks to support those wishing to explore the technique for themselves, or to support others to develop their own personal visual mnemonic ‘shorthand’, a series of personalised images, icons and symbols as a strategy to enhance the process of memory recall. By capturing information in this way ‘purposeful doodling’ can support a learner’s interaction with content on a deeper level, to enhance the effective retention and retrieval of information

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Dawne Irving-Bell and Sarah wright, Edge Hill University The use of mnemonics to aid memory recall are widely usedwithin education, and while the effective use of techniquesincluding acronyms, songs and rhymes, as well as patterns inletters or numbers are well-known (Wammes et al., 2016), theadvantages of drawing as an effective cognitive mnemonicstrategy are not as well documented (Wammes, 2017; Wammeset al., 2018).There is however a growing body of research that suggests that when combined with traditional style written notes the use of visual imagery can be an effectivetool to aid memory recall (Boggs et al., 2010; Fernandes et al., 2018; Wammes et al., 2018; Meade et al., 2019).Taking visual notes or as it more commonly known ‘sketchnoting’ can help learners to manage unfamiliar ideas and concepts, assimilate information and to buildbridges between concepts, helping to internally process information and recall it more easily (Andrade, 2009; Rhode, 2012).Exploring the concept of self-generated mnemonic codes this research seeks to support those wishing to explore the technique for themselves, or to supportothers to develop their own personal visual mnemonic ‘shorthand’, a series of personalised images, icons and symbols as a strategy to enhance the process ofmemory recall (Schott, 2011).Theoretically underpinned by symbolic interactionism, which aligns with the authors’ epistemological and ontological position, the approach adopted for this smallscale research study was informed by grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014). Work at this stage engaged 12 participants, who at the time of participation were lecturersworking within Higher Education in the United Kingdom (UK). Data for this first phase took the form of a combination of evaluations, completed followingparticipants attendance in a sketchnoting workshop, with follow up email discourse. Work at this stage sought to illuminate the participants rationale for attendanceand to establish their lived experiences post attendance.Verbal and written discourse were used as the primary research tools to gather empirically grounded data relating to the perceptions, understanding, and livedexperiences. Analysis was undertaken in accordance with procedures advocated by Bowden and Green (2005), and ethical practices as outlined by the BritishEducational Research Association (BERA, 2018) were adhered to throughout.Developing Visual Mnemonic Codes as an Aid to Effective Memory RecallAndrade, J. (2010). What does doodling do? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24, 100-106. http://dx.doi.org.edgehill.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/acp.1561Boggs, JB, Cohen, JL, & Merchant, GC (2017). The effects of doodling on recall ability. Psychological Thought, 10, 206-216. http://dx.doi.org.edgehill.idm.oclc.org/10.5964/psyct.v10i1.217Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage.Fernandes, M. A., Wammes, J. D., & Meade, M. E. (2018). The surprisingly powerful influence of drawing on memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(5), 302-308. doi:10.1177/0963721418755385Meade, M. E., Wammes, J. D., & Fernandes, M. A. (2019). Comparing the influence of doodling, drawing, and writing at encoding on memory. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology = Revue Canadienne De Psychologie Experimentale, 73(1), 28-36. doi:10.1037/cep0000170Rhode, M. (2012). The Sketchnote handbook. Peachpit Press.Schott, GD (2011, September 24). Doodling and the default network of the brain. Lancet, 378, 1133-1134. http://dx.doi.org.edgehill.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/S01406736(11)61496-7Wammes, J. D. (2017). On the mnemonic benefits of drawing. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net.edgehill.idm.oclc.org/10012/12114.Wammes, J. D., Roberts, B. R. T., & Fernandes, M. A. (2018). Task preparation as a mnemonic: The benefits of drawing (and not drawing). Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25(6), 2365-2372. doi:10.3758/s13423-018-1477-yWammes, JD, Meade, ME, & Fernandes, MA (2016). The drawing effect: Evidence for reliable and robust memory benefits in free recall. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69, 1752-1776. http://dx.doi.org.edgehill.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1094494In conclusion, analysis would suggest that where adoption of visual note taking is most effective the learner uses the technique to capture ‘key concepts’ and the‘big picture’ of what is being said, rather than to record individual words. To do this participants (in this study) described the development of their own visual‘shorthand’ using a series of personalised images, icons and symbols which held meaning to them as a strategy to enhance their own recall.Based upon the findings, moving forward, future phases of this work may seek to explore the potential (additional benefits) to participants who actively seek togenerate and use their own mnemonic codes, to help establish if the development of personal mnemonics leads to increased adoption of the technique, and alsoserves to further aid effective memory recall.Analysis of the data revealed that all participants (100%) attended the workshop because they wanted to know more about how they could use the technique inorder to support their own memory recall, but also to understand the potential benefits of encouraging their students to use visual thinking when taking notesduring lecturers. When asked about how they had used outcomes from the workshop while all participants (100%) perceived the technique to be of value inaiding memory recall analysis, for themselves and for their students, the data revealed several tensions which may present as barriers to the full adoption of thetechnique in practice. While it was apparent that some participants had become comfortable with the technique, others cited barriers, which as perceived byparticipants in their own practice, and as they perceive it in use by their students, included the following concerns:• The quality of outcome. This arose from personal concerns around an ability to draw and perceptions of how others may perceive their outputs.• Missing key information. Some participants reported instances of reverted back to writing only note taking because of the time taken to draw.Echoing larger studies (Wammes et al., 2018; Mead et al., 2019)findings from the first phase of this small scale research studyindicate that when capturing verbal information using visualnotetaking during lectures and seminars, participants perceivedvisual thinking (sketchnoting) to be an effective tool to supportlearner’s interaction with content on a deeper level and enhancethe effective retention and retrieval of information.“while it is a good technique, personally I spend too much time drawing and miss out on what is being said, so for me it’s quicker to write rather than try to than draw each word” Participant 5While some participants said they were using the technique(both personally and with their students) on a regular basis sinceattending the workshop (n=5/12) the majority (n=7/12) while stillcognisant of the benefits, articulated tensions around adoptionof the technique. Following further analysis these tensionsfocused specifically around participants concerns relating to theaesthetical appeal of the final outcome, and also the additionaltime taken to draw, which as this quotation illustrates, someparticipants noting it was quicker to write.An example of a visual mnemonicAnalysis revealed that where the technique was in effective use,those participants (n=5/12) had become comfortable withsketching, and used their drawings as visual prompts to recall keyconcepts, rather than individual words. This was in stark contrastto participants who expressed difficulty with the technique, whoin addition to replacing words with drawings, appeared also to beconcerned with the visual aesthetic appeal of their notes.2019 SOLSTICE eLearning and Centre for Learning and Teaching Conference

Developing visual mnemonic codes as an aid to effective memory recall

https://research.edgehill.ac.uk/ws/files/20775225/SOLSTICE_e_Learning_and_CLT_Conference_2019_Mnemonics_Sketchnoting_Poster_.pdf

Developing visual mnemonic codes as an aid to effective memory recall

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