Mnemonic Device
Overview
Creating patterns through mnemonic devices, such as acronyms, categorizing items, visual images, or rhyming, supports the development of memories, including learned content knowledge. As adults age, many cognitive skills begin to decline, and adults begin to more heavily rely on mnemonic devices to help to organize information and support learners' memory, higher order Reasoning, and creative Problem Solving.
It is important to note that some mnemonics may allow memorization but remove deeper level understanding (e.g., the acronym “PEMDAS” to remember the order of operations in math), so it is important that these devices are not introduced until after conceptual understanding is achieved.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
