by Carla Coleman

According to my end-of-semester course evaluations, the majority of my Brit lit students enjoy my class. However, the same can’t always be said for me. It’s not that my students aren’t overall a great group, but I often find myself frustrated with the superficial and temporary things they’re taking away from our lectures and discussions. I want them to think deeply and make connections! I want them to remember what we covered beyond the discussion, beyond the test, and beyond (dare I say it?) the end of the semester.

Ah—memory. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my participation in the FCTL’s Project ACC, it’s that memory is a tricky thing, particularly the task of getting students to move things out of their working memory and into long-term storage, and just as importantly, getting them to successfully retrieve that information when necessary. (After all, practically limitless headspace to store things doesn’t help if they can’t find it when they need it.)

What new techniques have I been playing with to help improve student memory? Several, but the one of the biggest related to course notes. I held a student focus group last semester, and the participants almost uniformly said they want and need help with notes in all their classes. I suspect that most of us professorial types are naturally good at effective note-taking, and we often take it for granted that our students are, too. But, far too often, they simply aren’t.

So I’ve been giving out “note templates” this semester to help guide students regarding what to write down in-class, as well as when they’re reading their Wordsworth or their Dickens for homework. This way, they know what to look for before they read, they know what to write down in-class, and they have something organized to review after. This multi-step process (if they actively participate in it) helps build and strengthen neural pathways… memory.

But I haven’t stopped at assisted note-taking. I’m also allowing time for ungraded in-class writing either asking them to recall information from a previous class or encouraging them to connect our readings to their own lives, as building on previous knowledge is another memory aid. I’m pairing them up so they can talk about the material, and fill in the gaps in each other’s knowledge. And I’m giving them the opportunity to help design the tests by telling me what connections they see are important.

The end result? Well, my students are still not remembering everything I’d like them to—no teaching technique, no matter how well-designed, is a panacea. But, I’m absolutely seeing deeper responses in their weekly writings, and noticeably stronger exam essays. And I’m having more moments of enthusiastic discussion rather than blank stares. I think they’re working harder, and I know I am. That’s the final thing I’ve learned, I think. Active and engaged learning by necessity involves active and engaged teaching. It’s a bit more time-consuming on the front end, but ultimately, I’m finding it worth it.