Attaching Meaning to Information Allows
Students to Retain Information Much More Effectively
By: Alexis Smith
Student at North Central College
On this website, I will be explaining a research finding as well as providing you with specific strategies on how to apply it in the classroom and to the students within it. Read the content on this page and then proceed to click on each link under    "Strategies for Classroom Application" in order to read about the tactics presented for usage in school.
If you have any questions feel free to email me at ahsmith@noctrl.edu
-Alexis
Meaning Matters
     Students need to be able to attach meaning and organize information in order to effectively store it in their long-term memory. Students can construct meaning from personal experiences in the classroom, thinking about information that was presented it in class and connecting it to their own lives, as well as many other methods; meaning and understanding come from the students themselves. They are able to use meaning in order to connect current information to prior knowledge presented in class or in grades before, to comprehend the significance of the information taught, to understand its relevance to their life, and to derive the relationship it has to other ideas. Connecting ideas from class to class or chapter to chapter is very important in creating meaning because it gives the information a larger context in which the student is able to relate it to. By doing this, students can reference the information when discussion details of that specific topic. Understanding the meaning of information also allows the the significance of the information to be encompassed. If the significance is understood, the student will be more likely to see the information as important to them as well as the world and will learn it at a deeper level. Connecting information to one's life is possibly the most effective way to give it meaning. A student will be much more likely to remember information if they are able to link it to their own personal experiences, even those that occur outside of the classroom. The meaning behind it will strengthen the information they are learning. Finally, giving information meaning will help them to discover the relationships that information has with other concepts or even other disciplines. This will give them a larger scope of knowledge and further their thinking skills. 

Why is it Important?
For the Student:
    Research finds that if we associate information with meaning, we will be able to store it more effectively, retrieve it with ease, and retain it for a much longer span of time. Research has also shown that meaningful learning is a very effective form to be used in school; it has been noted that it can be extremely successful when learners are able to relate the information to themselves, as well as to the knowledge that they already have (Bransford &Johnson, 1972; Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker, 1977). By connecting information to themselves, students can retain information at a dramatically improved successs rate. In attaching meaning to information, the student will transfer the content into their long-term memory which has an unlimited duration; however, if a student does not find meaning right after the learning episode, there is a low chance that the information will be stored in their long-term memory, which will inhibit their potential to retain this information for a long time or be able to apply it to other content areas. Teachers should use meaningful in learning in their classrooms, which according to Robert E. Slavin is, "mental processing of new information that relates to previously learned knowledge." By utilizing this, giving students a base of information then asking them to create a meaning for it makes perfect sense as a strategy for storing information and knowledge in long-term memory.
  
For the Teacher:
     Being able to teach in a meaning oriented fashion is something that develops over time for a teacher; because it is a difficult task, its value is endless in the classroom setting. By giving students activities that cultivate meaning, the teacher will be contributing to the idea that meaning matters; providing the students with a "basis of interaction" with the material will allow them to learn and grow within the classroom. By preparing active tasks and authentic assessments, students can create their own knowledge, which is vital to the meaning construction process and learning as whole (Singleton 10-11).  In the article entitled, "The development of learning patterns of student teachers: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study." by Vincent Donche and Peter Petegem, it is explained that  student teachers' abilities to teach in a meaning oriented way grows over time while undirected learning becomes less prevalent (464). The skills of the teacher will also play a role in the construction of meaning; therefore, the better understanding that a teacher has of the construction of meaning the more beneficial they will be to the student.  As stated by Resnick, "Oftentimes we (teachers) can promote meaningful learning by reminding student of things they know that bear directly on a topic of classroom study..known as prior knowledge activation" (Ormrod, 2006 in reviewing the research of L.B. Resnick).Teachers can present situations in a way that they will have more meaning for students by prefacing it with information that they have already learned. The teacher can also present the information using methods that will lead the students to creating meaning based on the information. Students need to be able to construct meaning for themselves; however, it is the teacher's vital role to facilitate an environment and instruction to allow them to do so.

In essence, MEANING MATTERS. It can make information easier to remember and better stored for future use. It can help turn information into knowledge, allowing for the student to have a better understanding now that the information holds some importance to their personal thoughts. Teachers should foster this method of learning and information processing in their classrooms in order to encourage student success. Examples of how to do this are listed below.
 
References
Strategies for Classroom Application
Group Discussions
Using Authentic Assessment
Field Trips!!!


Works Cited