General Classroom Strategies to Aid in Comprehension and Memory

Strategies for Teachers To Aid In Student Compression and Memory

The following suggestions may be beneficial to teachers to aid in their students’ comprehension and memory of classroom material:

■ Gain Attention – Always gain the student’s attention before giving directions or initiating class instruction. Call the student by name or use a gentle touch to alert the student to the classroom activity and to focus attention on the task at hand.

■ Delivery Style – The teacher should slightly decrease the rate of speech to improve the student’s comprehension. Use words that are within the youth’s vocabulary, and define new terms as necessary.  Information should be presented in grammatically simple and short utterances. 

It is often helpful to slightly exaggerate the verbal stress and pausing pattern, as well as to speak at a comfortably loud volume.  (Do not shout, though, as these youth are not hard of hearing!)  Gestures and nonverbal communication that supplements the spoken message may be useful (e.g., facial expression, body language, vocal tone, and inflection).

■ Check Comprehension – Employ frequent comprehension checks by questioning key concepts or having the student repeat or preferably rephrase what was said. In the case of directions, the student may rephrase what it is he/she is to do, or demonstrate his/her understanding through his/her appropriate actions.

■ Paraphrasing – Instructions may need to be repeated on an individual basis if the student has not been able to comprehend the material. The teacher is encouraged to have the student repeat what they think was said (paraphrase), rather than asking the student whether or not they have understood the material.

■ Modify the Message – If you get no response or an incorrect response, repeat or change the message, or say something else that adds information. (The original response of the youth will determine which procedure is best.)

■ Sequence Instruction – Multi-step directions should be presented one at a time. For example, consider:  “The answer to this question can be found on the last line of paragraph four if you turn to page 61,” versus “Turn to page 61.  (pause)  Find paragraph four.  (pause)  Find the last line.  (pause)  The answer is there.”

■ Visual Aids – Pictures, gestures, and objects capitalize upon the student’s visual processing abilities and provide the auditory/visual associations often necessary for learning new concepts and language. For older students who can read, help them by writing assignments on the board for them to copy into a notebook.

■ Instructional Transitions – It is helpful if the teacher moves into new instructional topics gradually. Briefly review past material during the transition to increase the student’s success during the learning process.

■ Pre-Tutor Student – Have the student read ahead on a subject to be discussed in class so that they are familiar with new vocabulary and concepts. In this way, they can more easily follow and participate in classroom discussion.  Parents can easily undertake pre-tutoring at home. As well, list key vocabulary on the blackboard before discussing new material.

■ Delay Responding – Give the student time to respond, since this can be a simple and effective way to encourage them to process more deeply what has been said.

Formal Memory Strategies

Encourage the use of formal memory strategies:

■ Reauditorization/Rehearsal Strategies: Repeat the relevant information that has been presented. Initially, the youth may need to repeat the instructions subvocally several times.  Gradually, they should be able to reauditorize quietly under their breath or even do so internally.

■ Visual Imagery: Create visual images of the spoken information with the goal of recalling these images to aid in later recall.

■ Auditory Focusing: Identify the important details to be remembered.  The youth must learn to ignore “filler” information and focus on relevant facts.

■ Written Focusing and Mnemonics for Older Students: Use written focusing (summaries or notes on paper), which can also include images, such as drawings, Venn diagrams, or other memory triggers.  Mnemonic devices are often helpful, such as the use of acronyms, catch phrases, etc.