Best Practice

Mnemonics in your lessons: A cautionary overview

Pedagogy In the classroom Lesson planning
Various mnemonic techniques are proposed for use by teachers to help their students retain key information, but how effective are they and which options are the most likely to achieve results? Andrew Jones takes a look

I often wake up in the middle of the night and remember, with some anxiety, something I have forgotten to do. However, I am somewhat reluctant to get out of bed and make a note of this.

As a temporary solution, I throw something from my bedside table, such as a coaster or book, onto the floor and hope that – when I step on it the next morning – my memory will be jogged.

This spontaneous action is essentially a form of mnemonics known as the “method of loci”, which involves remembering items based on their locations. Sometimes called the “memory palace technique”, it is often attributed to the Greek polymath Simonides of Ceos (for an intriguing historical overview, see Kelly, 2013). Of course, it is also synonymous with Sherlock Holmes.

Nevertheless, aside from the odd out-of-place coaster in the morning, I find the memory palace technique somewhat daunting. For example, trying to map out complicated theories or chronological events in relation to an unconnected location is somewhat mind-boggling. Therefore, despite its advocacy in the uber popular Make It Stick (Brown et al, 2014), I think the jury is out on its use in the classroom.


Mnemonic techniques

Various other mnemonic techniques have been used and championed throughout history. In fact, mnemonic is a word derived from the Greek word mnemonikos – “of memory” – and its use dates back to 477 BCE (Yates, 2014). Mnemonic techniques, or devices, are processes for improving and assisting the memory, especially by making use of structured retrieval cues, elaborate encoding, and imagery.

According to Worthen & Hunt (2008), mnemonic techniques can be separated into two general types: formal and organisational.


Formal

Formal mnemonic techniques provide a framework on which to “hang”, or incorporate, information to be remembered (Sugar, 1996). These mnemonic techniques can include:

  • The method of loci (as discussed). Despite being used by nine out of 10 world memory champions and being useful for recalling episodic memories (Maguire et al, 2003; Dalgleish et al, 2013), I am not sure how applicable this is in the classroom. Some examples seem pretty convoluted (see Brewer, 2012).
  • The keyword method refers to connecting new vocabulary to students’ prior knowledge by using a mental image linking a new word with a word already known. Evidence suggests that this has some impact in modern foreign languages (Wyra & Lawson, 2018). For instance, the French for umbrella is “parapluie” and sounds similar to the English “parachute”. You could imagine using an umbrella as a parachute (Didau & Rose, 2016).
  • The peg-word method refers to creating “pegs” that rhyme with a number to create a pre-memorised list, such as “one is gun, two is shoe”. Used for shopping lists, but its practical use in the classroom is honestly beyond me.


Organisational

Organisational mnemonic techniques, such as analogical, categorical, and schematic processes, provide a cognitive cueing structure in which to recall information (Carney, 2011). Some common techniques include:

  • Acronyms – an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word. An obvious example is ROYGBIV (or Roy G. Biv) as a mnemonic technique for remembering the colours of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). Common classroom adaptations include PEA (point, explain, analyse) paragraphs in humanities or FANBOYS for coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
  • Acrostic sentences: Similar to acronyms, but they generate a sentence that helps students remember the information. For instance, they can help with spelling difficult words, such as “rhythm” (rhythm helps your two hips move), or the order of operations in algebra via “please excuse my dear aunt sally” (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction).
  • Rhyme: Rhyming words can be used as a mnemonic technique to help retain and retrieve information. For example, I could recall the rhymes Hey Diddle Diddle and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe to my infant son, but cannot recall the non-rhyming Scouting motto or national anthem now he is a teenager. The rhyme “I before E except after C” is another example of a mnemonic technique we can remember from childhood.
  • Music: Similar to the above, a musical tune and lyrics can structure information to be recalled. The obvious example is singing the alphabet at school, but more complex research suggests that singing can improve verbal retrieval of vocabulary and impact foreign language accusation (Knott & Thaut, 2018; Noelliste & Noelliste, 2018).

Worthen and Hunt go on to suggest that each of the mnemonic techniques represent simple applications of well-researched cognitive processes. Moreover, they also state that “...examination of mnemonic techniques in light of basic research suggests that a specific combination of processes is necessary for the effectiveness of any given mnemonic” (2008).


Caution is needed

Nonetheless, research on mnemonic techniques is problematic. First, many studies are conducted on small sample groups – often adults – in controlled environments and not the secondary classroom.

Second, a lot of research seems to be highly contextual or inconclusive, which suggests the impact of the strategies outlined above are not guaranteed (Putnam, 2015; Carney et al, 1994).

Third, some researchers have argued that old fashioned rote learning is more effective than mnemonics (González et al, 2021).

Finally, and most importantly, some studies suggest that other retrieval strategies are superior, such as practice testing, elaborative-interrogation, and self-explanation (Dunlosky, 2013).

In my own practice, I tend to use acronym mnemonic techniques when teaching subject-specific written skills, such as the aforementioned PEA in key stage 3 humanities lessons and PEEL (point, example, evidence, link back to the question) for A level sociology paragraphs.

With my year 13s, I also use the somewhat edgy PERVERT (practical, evidence, reliability, validity, ethical, representative, theoretical) for answering methodology questions, which students find particularly difficult. The questionable nature of the acronym helps with retention and recall. Otherwise, I tend to stick to more general retrieval strategies.

Nonetheless, here are some key tips for using mnemonics:

  • Choose your techniques wisely. Ensure they are relevant, pitched well and not overly complicated. This is particularly important in terms of cognitive load.
  • Following on from the above, these techniques will need to be recited and practised regularly in order to have the desired effect. You do not want students learning a mnemonic technique at the expense of subject content.
  • In a similar vein, do not use too many. Students will simply get confused and spend more time remembering the differing acronyms, acrostic sentences, or keywords instead of recalling key information or applying their knowledge in assessments and exams. Only use them if they are really, really helpful. It might even be worth checking with departmental colleagues and, possibly, other subject specialists, in order to streamline their use.
  • They are simply cues and do not necessarily elaborate on particular aspects of subject knowledge. Therefore, while supporting recall, most mnemonic techniques do not demonstrate a deeper understanding of the content learnt.


Final thoughts

On a personal note, I find some usefulness in organisational mnemonic techniques, but find the formal techniques listed above positively bemusing and over-complicated. However, I think in some contexts they may find a use, as argued by the authors of Make It Stick.

That said, I still lobbed a coaster across the bedroom yesterday when I remembered I needed to send this article to SecEd in time to meet the editor’s deadline.


Further information & resources

  • Brewer: Improving your students’ memorization skills with the method of loci, Woo! (blog), 2012: https://bit.ly/3YIfTwn
  • Brown, Roediger & McDaniel: Make it Stick: The science of successful learning, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014.
  • Carney: Mnemonic device. In Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development, Goldstein & Naglieri (eds), Springer, 2011: https://bit.ly/405owCs
  • Carney, Levin & Levin: Enhancing the psychology of memory by enhancing memory of psychology, Teaching of Psychology (21,3), 1994: https://bit.ly/3Losbab
  • Dalgleish et al: Method-of-loci as a mnemonic device to facilitate access to self-affirming personal memories for individuals with depression, Clinical Psychological Science (1,2), 2013: https://bit.ly/420YWA6
  • Didau & Rose: What Every Teacher Needs To Know About Psychology, John Catt Educational, 2016.
  • Dunlosky: Strengthening the student toolbox: Study strategies to boost learning. American Educator (37,3), 2013: https://bit.ly/426uXqC
  • González, Goñi-Artola & Campos: Keyword mnemonics: Effects of immediate recall on delayed recall, Imagination, Cognition and Personality (40,4), 2021: https://bit.ly/3YGsBf3
  • Kelly: Memories, The Ulster Medical Journal (82,3), 2013: https://bit.ly/3yAf7a9
  • Knott & Thaut: Musical mnemonics enhance verbal memory in typically developing children, Frontiers in Education (3,31), 2018: https://bit.ly/42bp7UI
  • Maguire et al: Routes to remembering: The brains behind superior memory, Nature Neuroscience 6, 2003: https://go.nature.com/3Fkqoz2
  • Noelliste & Noelliste: Joyful, joyful, we love singing: Teaching foreign language and culture with musical mnemonics, Scenario: A Journal of Performative Teaching, Learning, Research (2), 2018: https://bit.ly/404W1EN
  • Putnam: Mnemonics in education: Current research and applications, Translational Issues in Psychological Science (1,2), 2015: https://bit.ly/3TfPjK8
  • Sugar: Memory Strategies. In Encyclopaedia of Gerontology: Age, ageing, and the aged, Vol. 1 & 2, Birren (ed), Academic Press, 1996.
  • Worthen & Hunt: Mnemonics: Underlying processes and practical applications, Learning and Memory (2), 2008: https://bit.ly/3T9wnfX
  • Wyra & Lawson: Foreign language vocabulary learning using the keyword method: Strategy and meta-strategy knowledge, The Language Learning Journal (46,5), 2018: https://bit.ly/3YDWTz6
  • Yates: The Art of Memory, Bodley Head, 2014.