Paragraph based on memory
Memory Homework / Demonstration
To complete this exercise, you will need a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Please follow the instructions exactly. DO NOT GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THIS PAGE.
Step 1: Spend 3 to 5 seconds reading each of the sentences below, and read through the list only once. As soon as you have finished, cover the list and write down as many of the sentences as you can remember (you need not write “can be used” each time). Begin now.
A brick can be used as a doorstop.
A ladder can be used as a bookshelf.
A wine bottle can be used as a candleholder.
A pan can be used as a drum.
A record can be used to serve potato chips.
A guitar can be used as a canoe paddle.
A leaf can be used as a bookmark.
An orange can be used to play catch.
A newspaper can be used to swat flies.
A TV antenna can be used as a clothes rack.
A sheet can be used as a sail.
A boat can be used as a shelter.
A bathtub can be used as a punch bowl.
A flashlight can be used to hold water.
A rock can be used as a paperweight.
A knife can be used to stir paint.
A pen can be used as an arrow.
A barrel can be used as a chair.
A rug can be used as a bedspread.
A phone can be used as an alarm clock.
A scissors can be used to cut grass.
A board can be used as a ruler.
A balloon can be used as a pillow.
A shoe can be used to pound nails.
A dime can be used as a screwdriver.
A lampshade can be used as a hat.
After you have recalled as many sentences as you can on a separate sheet of paper, scroll to the next page and follow the instructions.
Source: From The ideal problem solver by J. D. Bransfordand B. S. Stein (p. 37). © 1984 by W. H. Freeman & Co. Used by permission.
Step 2:Do not look back at the list of sentences on the reverse side. Instead, using the following list as retrieval cues, write down at the bottom of this page as many sentences (from the previous page) as you can remember. Use an additional sheet of paper if you need it. After you have finished, compare the list below with your earlier recall performance (from step 1). Begin now.
flashlight
lampshade
sheet
shoe
rock
guitar
phone
scissors
boat
leaf
dime
brick
wine bottle
knife
board
newspaper
pen
pan
balloon
barrel
ladder
rug
record
orange
TV antenna
Bathtub
Homework Instructions: Complete this activity. When finished, discuss your results and your experience. Then explain your understanding of retrieval cues using the class material and textbook as a reference. You should also find that you can relate your experience to several effortful encoding strategies that were discussed in the memory chapter. Discuss how you can use the information you learned in this exercise to adjust your study habits in the future. Your response should be approximately 1 page, double spaced, with one inch margins.
Only one paragraph about how you did and your suggestions
Solution Preview
Memory based paragraph
Based on the exercise above, I have experienced difficulties in remembering most of the sentences. This type of reading where one spends at least four seconds on a sentence is a type of rote learning and thus recognizing the whole concept is a challenge. From the text, I have noticed that most of the sentences are based on giving alternatives for a particular object example; a wine bottle being used as a candleholder. One cannot recall all the sentences but can at least provide a general comment on the theme or the idea about all the sentences.
(323 words)