Active learning ideas
Memory models provide the structural framework for understanding how we process, store, and retrieve information. Students compare the Multi-Store Model (MSM), which views memory as a linear sequence of stores, with the Working Memory Model (WMM), which focuses on the active processing within short-term memory. This topic is fundamental for Year 12 Psychology as it introduces the cognitive approach and the use of case studies, such as HM and KF, as evidence.
Activity 01
Students read a summary of the case of HM. In pairs, they identify which parts of the Multi-Store Model his symptoms support and which parts they might challenge, before sharing with the class.
How does information transfer from short-term to long-term memory?
Activity 02
Students attempt to perform two verbal tasks at once, then one verbal and one visual task. They record their success rates to see how this supports the Working Memory Model's idea of separate slave systems.
What are the components of the Working Memory Model?
Activity 03
Set up stations for the Central Executive, Phonological Loop, and Visuo-spatial Sketchpad. At each station, students complete a task specific to that component and note its capacity and duration.
What clinical evidence supports the existence of separate memory stores?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Short-term memory is just a single 'waiting room' for information.
Explain that the Working Memory Model shows short-term memory is an active processor with different components for different types of information. Dual-task experiments help students see that we can do two things at once if they use different systems.
The Multi-Store Model is completely outdated.
Clarify that while the MSM is simplified, its basic structure of sensory, short-term, and long-term stores is still a useful foundation. Comparing the MSM and WMM side-by-side helps students see how science builds upon earlier models.
Methods used in this brief
Explanations for Forgetting
Students will explore why we forget information, focusing on proactive and retroactive interference, as well as retrieval failure due to the absence of cues.
8 methodologies
Eyewitness Testimony
An evaluation of the factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, including misleading information and anxiety. Students will also learn about the cognitive interview technique used by police.
8 methodologies