SMARTER UK – RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS

Please feel free to use this PowerPoint presentation in the classroom. It is intended to support the KS3 & KS4 curriculum and the Scottish S3-S4 curriculum.

KEY LEARNING: How memory works from sensory input, to sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory, through to forgetting.

Specific curriculum areas include:

KS4 Links to GCSE Biology Syllabuses

OCR 21st Century ScienceMODULE B6: BRAIN AND MIND – OVERVIEW B6.1 How do organisms respond to changes in their environment? Co-ordination of responses to stimuli via the central nervous system.B6.4 How do humans develop more complex behaviour? Formation of neuron pathways and learning through repetition.B6.5 What do we know about the way in which the brain co-ordinates our senses? Mapping brain function; models for understanding memory.

AQA11.1 How do human bodies respond to changes inside them and their environment?• The nervous system enables humans to react to their surroundings and

coordinate their behaviour.• Receptors detect stimuli which include light, sound, changes in position,

chemicals, touch, pressure, pain and temperature. (The structure and functions of sense organs such as the eye and the ear are not required.)

• Information from receptors passes along cells (neurones) in nerves to the brain. The brain coordinates the response.

• Reflex actions are automatic and rapid. They often involve sensory, relay and motor neurones.

• The role of receptors, sensory neurones, motor neurones, relay neurones, synapses and effectors in simple reflex actions.

Scottish Certificate in Education, Standard Grade BiologyTopic 5: The body in action. Subtopic c: Coordination19) Obtain and present information on the flow of information in the nervous system. • State that the nerves carry information from the senses to the central

nervous system and from the central nervous system to the muscles. Describe how a reflex action works, using a simple model of a reflex arc.

• State that the central nervous system sorts out information from the senses and sends messages to those muscles which make the appropriate response.

20) Obtain and present information on the three main parts of the brain.Identify the cerebrum, cerebellum and the medulla and state their functions in simple terms.

Memory

How does it work?

Smarter UK

Memory"In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice-skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals... this number comes up again and again. Ten thousand hours is equivalent to roughly three hours a day, or 20 hours a week, of practice over 10 years... No one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.“

Professor Daniel J. Levitin, neuroscientist and musician

To truly master something takes 10,000 hours of practice

forgetting

Smarter UK

scientists have created different models to try to understand memory

sensory input

sensory memory

long term memory

Multi store model of memory

short term memory

rehearsal

attentionattention rehearsal

recall

sensory input

Stimuli are received from the senses:

sight; hearing; taste; smell; touch;

Credit ; N. Seery, W

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ages

forgetting

Smarter UK

scientists have created different models to try to understand memory

sensory input

sensory memory

long term memory

Multi store model of memory

short term memory

rehearsal

attentionattention rehearsal

recall

sensory memory

By paying attention to these stimuli, they enter sensory memory

Sensory memory lasts 0.25-2 seconds

Credit ; N. Seery, W

ellcome Im

ages

forgetting

Smarter UK

scientists have created different models to try to understand memory

sensory input

sensory memory

long term memory

Multi store model of memory

short term memory

rehearsal

attentionattention rehearsal

recall

short term memory

Short term memory lasts up to 30 seconds

It can store 5-9 items at a time

“chunking” information makes it easier to remember

• 313546578889 is hard to remember• 313 546 578 889 is much easier to remember

Information must be rehearsed to be remembered.

Ifa distraction stops you from rehearsing, you will forget in just a few seconds Credit ; N

. Seery, Wellcom

e Images

forgetting

Smarter UK

scientists have created different models to try to understand memory

sensory input

sensory memory

long term memory

Multi store model of memory

short term memory

rehearsal

attentionattention rehearsal

recall

long term memory

There is no limit to how much you can store in long term memory

Memories can be stored there for your whole lifetime

Rehearsal and recall make things more likely to be remembered

Long term memory can be divided into different aspects such as:• how to do tasks• facts and information• how things are related to each other

Credit ; N. Seery, W

ellcome Im

ages

forgetting

Smarter UK

scientists have created different models to try to understand memory

sensory input

sensory memory

long term memory

Multi store model of memory

short term memory

rehearsal

attentionattention rehearsal

recall

forgetting

Without recall and rehearsal, memories are likely to be forgotten

Brain damage and some diseases can also affect memory.

Alzheimer’s disease sufferers lose their short term memory at first. The disease often progresses to affect long term memory too.

Sometimes brain damage can cause loss of long term memory, but short term memory can still be working well

Credit ; N. Seery, W

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ages