Learning theories offer resources, tools for the teacher to better accomplish his duty and also to understand

the manifestations of learners. It is in this light that it is often said, Psychology is a vital resource for the teacher. In

this chapter, before studying the different learning theories, attention will be focused on the concepts of pedagogy,

learning, teaching and the pedagogical triangle of Jean Houssaye.

CONCEPTS USED IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS

TEACHING

Teaching according to Laberge, M.F (2003) is the process of imparting knowledge, skills, attitudes and

values. Teaching can be considered as a process of instilling, transmitting or constructing knowledge. Teaching can

also be defined as a process of transmitting knowledge to learners; it involves several kinds of skills, classroom

lesson planning, classroom management, selecting subject content, use of specific methods to transmit the content,

evaluating students and discussing with students.

Teaching can be viewed from three angles:

 If the relation Knowledge is privilege, then teaching becomes the act of transmitting knowledge through

exposes in clear and concise manner. Giving privilege to the relation knowledge is giving privilege to the relation to

the transmission of knowledge. This is relation is the most dominant in secondary schools: the Tran missive model

of teaching. In this model what is important is the quality of what is transmitted to the learners. The major problem

here is how to put knowledge at the disposition of the students to ease their work of learners. This is referred to as

didactic transposition. The quality of what taught, the way it is taught is determinant for the quality of what is

received.

Teaching is a process whereby automatism is acquired. In this light teaching becomes a process during

which the reactions, attitudes, professional gestures and behaviours are instilled into some one. The purpose of

teaching is to train students to produce answers according to the problems encountered. Here the teaching effort is

centred on the activities that could bring changes to the learner’s behaviour. The behaviourist theory tends to instill

behaviour and automatisms in the manner of resolving issues.

If the student relation is considered, then teaching becomes making someone learn, study, guide or

accompanying students carry out the activities proposed. When privilege is given to the student’s relation, it is also

a way of giving privilege to the acquisition process and knowledge construction by the students. It also insists on

the student’s activities in which they put in practice the knowledge acquire through mastering of how to do. This is

easily seen theories of constructivism and socio-constructivism.

LEARNING

According to Encarta (2009) learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills. It also defines learning as a

relatively permanent change in, or acquisition of knowledge, understanding or behaviour. Learning is involved in

acquiring new competences, changing the way of reacting. Learning should be organized in such a way that, the

learner always acquire knowledge in an ascending order, that is going from the less complex situation to more

complex or from the known concept to the unknown. Learning can be considered as a stable and durable

modification of knowledge, know to do and know how to be of an individual. These modifications are a result of

training, apprentice or exercises carried out by the individual. According to LD. Crow and A. crow (1963) learning

supposes a changes, it has links with the acquisition of abilities, knowledge and attitudes. It brings personal and

social adjustment to individuals. The concept of change is very important to learning; it implies any change in

behaviour implies learning took place.  

It is important to know the different phases of learning, so as to better structure learning and attain

objectives envisaged in a coherent manner. Robert Gagne suggested an approach in which he says a learner passes

through eight phases when learning. A judicious usage of these phases will facilitate the work of the instructor.

These phases are: - motivation, attention and perception, codification, memorization, recognition, transfer and

generalization, performance, feed-back.

When these phases are applied by the teacher,

It arouses and maintains motivation of the learners

Facilitates the acquisition of new concepts

Facilitates information retention

Promotes transfer of knowledge

Enable performance

Enable feed- back of performance to be seen.

Some of the learning methods applied in education are: 

LEARNING METHODS

Learning by teaching

Students act as teachers in order to improve the learning process, students teach other students the subject

using certain content, but also choose their own methods and didactic approaches in teaching. The first attempts

using the learning by teaching method in order to improve learning started at the end of the 19th century.

Project-oriented learning

Probably the most difficult aspect of project-oriented learning is the initial definition of the project (and

corresponding formulation of teams). The instructor can provide a list of suggested topics which helps to give

students an idea of possible projects. Alternatively, the instructor can provide lists/descriptions of past projects

(including links to the actual project materials if available on the web).

In addition, students should be provided with a description of the criteria that will be used to evaluate the

projects to help them determine the appropriateness of their project ideas.

 Collaboration learning

Collaboration can be as simple as a two-minute in-class exercise involving pairs of students or as elaborate

as a multi-year curriculum development project involving many groups of students. Term-length projects done

primarily outside the classroom are the most popular form of collaboration since they require minimal changes to

the usual classroom routine. This method of learning can be applied in different domains for example, English

students can review each other's work, Computer Science students can develop or debug programs together, and

soon. E-mail is one of the most important collaborative tools and it usually serves as the communication backbone

for all activities.

 Cooperative learning

This method of learning involves hand on tasks in which students can develop their professional skills. The

crucial point is the modeling of learning as a byproduct of comprehension. This underpins the constructivist

approach to education. Learning by doing works best because performing a task requires learner to think and

comprehend at the most testing level associated with problem solving and action.

PEDAGOGY

DEFINITION:

            According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary third edition, pedagogy is defined as the study

of the methods and activities of teaching. Pedagogy is sometimes seen as a nebulous concept, it is essentially a

combination of knowledge and skills required for effective teaching. Pedagogy includes “the complexity of

relational, personal, moral and emotional, aspects of teachers’ everyday acting with children or young people they

teach” (Van Manen 2002).

THE PEDAGOGIC TRIANGLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1 Pedagogic triangle of Jean Houssaye

             This triangle is essentially based on three pedagogic relations:

The learning process relation: it shows the direct relationship between Learner- knowledge. This

relationship is favoured and the teacher is the organiser of external learning processes. He is a mediator

and there is a stronger bond between the learner and knowledge.

The teaching process relation: the relationship privileged here is the teacher-knowledge relationship. The

teacher structures lessons for the learner. He looks for the content.

The training process relation: this relation is centred on the relation teacher-learner. They are constantly in

interaction. The teacher presents situations for the learner to resolve and when the learner can’t he turns

to the teacher for remediation

DIFFERENT THEORIES APPLIED IN TEACHING AND LEARNING.

THE TRANSMISIVE THEORY OF LEARNING

The transmisive model is the most renowned form of teaching theory put in place by John Locke. For this

theory; learning requires the attention of the learner. This therefore means that for a child to learn, he should be

attentive; listen, imitate; repeat and apply.

           The teacher has a predominant and important role since he transmits know through his lectures,

demonstrations. Each notion is explain to the students. The student’s role is to listen attentively and copy notes

dictated by the teacher according to the level. The teacher’s role is to transform knowledge such that it will be

understood by the students by explaining every notion. The teacher detains all the knowledge and has to transmit it

to the student since the students knows nothing.  The student is just an empty vessel that the teacher fills

progressively.

1.3.1.1 Conditions for implementation of the transmisive theory

This theory can only be implemented efficiently if the students are attentive, listen; relatively motivated and

already familiar with this mode of teaching. It requires students having the pre-requisites to retain the speech of the

teacher. It requires students having a mode of functioning closer or similar to that of the teacher for the message to

go through easily (emission-reception). It requires students having autonomy during learning.

1.3.1.2 Advantages of the transmisive theory

Despite the criticisms of this theory; it how ever has some advantages. This model is suitable for teaching

and transmitting knowledge to a larger number of learners. The teacher has to structure his lesson to be taught, this

is why with this model the teacher has the obligation to prepare his lesson very well. No interaction with students so

less time consuming.

1.3.1.3 Disadvantages of the transmisive theory

             The rhythm is imposed by the teacher; there is no individualization of the learning rhythm for the learner.

The learner is passive has no contribution to make.  There student’s spirit of criticism is dormant in this theory.

BEHAVIOURISTS THEORY OF LEARNING

This theory is based on observable changes in behaviour. Behaviourism focuses on a new behavioral pattern

being repeated until it becomes automatic.The behaviourist school of thought influenced by Thorndike (1913),

Pavlov (1987) and Skinner (1974) stipulates as a principle that learning takes place when there is a change in

behaviour of the learner caused by an external stimulus from the environment. This school of thought sees the

human mind as a dark box it he sense that the response to a stimulus can be observed in quantitative manner

ignoring the mental process that takes place. The experiments of the Behaviourists have identified conditioning as a

learning process. There are two types of conditioning: classic conditioning which occurs when a natural reflex

responds to a stimulus. The most popular example is Pavlov’s observation that dogs salivate when they see food and

operant conditioning which occurs when a response to a stimulus is reinforced. A common example is Skinner’s

experiment with a pigeon placed in a box that showed a change in behaviour from random movements in search of

food to the capability to pressing just the lever to obtain food when hungry.

This theory has some advantages and disadvantages which could be grouped as follows: 

1.3.2.1 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BEHAVIOURISM.

Behaviourism has some advantages and disadvantages.

1.3.2.1.1 Advantages of behaviourism:

Its enables a learner to know the objectives of a lesson that is he knows exactly what is expected by the

teacher. The pedagogy of slow movements facilitates comprehension. Teachers go from  least complex notions to

more complex notions. It is an efficient theory for overcrowded classes.

 

1.3.2.1.2 Disadvantages of behaviourism.

This theory is essentially interested on teaching rather than on learning and on observable results rather than

on learning process. Here the learner is passive; he is a receiver of external reality. There is no creativity from

the learner. The learner does not take part in the discovery of the content to be taught, the teacher is the principal

actor and the learner just at a permanent receiving end. The psychological learning conditions are not taken into

account.

 There is mental representation of models or knowledge (e.g. if a process is taught using

abehavioural approach, and there is any system failure, learners will not necessarily have the skills to interpret or

adapt to the situation) The teacher uses the positive or negative reinforcement to credit or discredit students

activities .This theory is criticized for not considering the processes that take place in the mind.

COGNITIVIST LEARNING THEORY

 “Cognitive theorists recognize that much learning involves associations established through contiguity and

repetition. They also acknowledge the importance of reinforcement, although they stress its role in providing

feedback about the correctness of responses over its role as a motivator. However, even while accepting such

behaviouristic concepts, cognitive theorists view learning as involving the acquisition or reorganization of the

cognitive structures through which humans process and store information." (Good and Brophy, 1990, pp. 187).

The cognitive theory which has as founding father Jean Piaget (1896-1980) stipulates that learning takes

place using memory, motivation and reasoning. Cognitive psychologists ‘support the view that the amount of

intelligence acquired depend on the capacity of the learner to treat information. Piaget is known for his longitudinal

studies on child development and learning which he has developed into four stages. These include:

Sensory motor stage (birth-2years old). At this stage the child builds concepts about the realities of his contact with

his or her environment and how these realities work. This is the stage where a child does not know that physical

objects still exist even when out of sight.

The preoperational stage (ages 2-7) during which the child is not yet able to conceptualize abstractly and needs

concrete physical situations.

Concrete operations (7-11). Here, as physical experience accumulates, the child starts to Conceptualize, creating

logical structures that explain his or her physical experiences. Abstract problem solving such as arithmetic equations

with numbers not just with objects is also possible at this stage. Last stage which is the formal operation stage

(beginning at ages 11-15) is the stage when the child’s cognitive structures are like those of an adult and include

conceptual reasoning. This theory influences learning in that the age and environment in which a child finds himself

are taken into consideration when designing curriculum and even when teaching.

Constructivism approach calls for the elimination of grades and standardized testing. Instead, assessment

becomes part of the learning process so that students play a larger role in judging their progress.

CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY OF LEARNING

This theory resulted from the works of Jean Piaget (1964) whose theory says an individual confronted to a

given situation will mobilize a number of cognitive structures which he calls operational designs. The learning of

operational designs is done through two complementary processes:

    - Assimilation which is the process whereby the individual incorporates information from the environment into

the cognitive structure.

    - Accommodation which transforms the cognitive structure of the individual in order to incorporate new elements

of experience.

In this case, knowledge is not given but it is being constructed by the learner through mental activities. The

learner adapts itself to knowledge through active learning and exploration. The learner has to think and explain his

way of reasoning to the teacher instead of memorizing what was taught to him by the teacher. The learner is at the

center of the learning process and his knowledge is formed by his abilities to treat and interpret information.

Teaching thus becomes an interdisciplinary and the teacher plays only the role of a guide, facilitator. As suggested

by Isidore Lauzier and alii (2007), < The teacher (to remain in uniformity with what preceded) is an adviser; it is

the student that looks for means of acquisition of his knowledge>.

In this light, the role of the teacher is not to block the internal development process of the student by

imposing a teaching program, but rather consist in observing, diagnosing and practice formative evaluation and

differential pedagogy. Teaching should therefore be adapted to the needs of the child. When constructivist theory is

applied in the learning environment, the educator’s role is to facilitate and moderate rather than dispense

information Huang (2002) used in Collins (2008).In this environment both teacher and the student take part in the

learning process. Learners develop knowledge internally rather than passively receiving information transmitted by

an instructor. The implications of the constructivist theory for the educator is that he has to take into account that

learners bring with them prior knowledge and this knowledge maybe used in constructing new meaning Proulx

(2006) taken from Collins (2008). Learners have a role to play in the learning environment, as their learning needs

direct communication of new information which is in turn individually constructed. Learning from mistakes can be

a key element of constructivist learning activities, as these mistakes provide opportunities for further learning and

are a natural part of the learning process Proulx (2006) taken from Collins

(2008).

Implications of the theory to the students

The student is actively implicated in constructing his knowledge.

Intellectual development is an internal and autonomous process, not very much sensitive to external effects

especially teaching ones

The student can assimilate new knowledge only if he has the mental structures which permit him to do so. 

Students reason logically immediately they attain the logical functioning level despite the content of knowledge.

Implications of the theory to the teacher

Provides an enabling environment for students to discover by themselves obstacles involved in learning a new

concept. He doesn’t impose knowledge on students rather he helps them in building content by themselves. He

adapts to the needs of the students.

Since the teacher is a guide, facilitator, and adviser, he defines the objectives and learning projects which will be

carried out by the learners and in so doing build knowledge on their own. He encourages student in exploring the

learning environment to look for solutions to problems to be resolved. The constructivist approached in which the

learner was actively involved in building knowledge by himself did not consider the social environment of the

learner, this paved way for another approach in learning which included the social environment and the culture of

the learner in the learning process. The social constructivist approach was brought forth.

SOCIO - CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY OF LEARNING.

The promoter of this theory being Vygotsky emphasized on the social aspects of the learner. To him the

right direction of development of individuals is to go from the social to the individual rather than from the

individual to the social. In addition to the constructivist concepts, the socio-constructivist theory introduces other

dimensions, such as interactions, co-construction, co-elaboration, team spirit in learning. Learning is therefore

considered as the product of socio-cognitive activities link to the didactic exchanges between teacher - students and

students- students. In this light, the social construction of knowledge is reinforced by the fact that knowledge is self-

constructed by the learners. We noticed that to Vygotsky the social interaction plays an important role in the process

of cognitive  development, this is contrary to Piaget who say child  development precedes learning, Vygotsky says

learning   precedes development. This theory considers that each function in the cultural development of the child

appears twice: starting with social aspect then the individual aspects. The development theory considers two

principles: the proximal zone of development and the more knowledgeable order.

The proximal zone of development refers to the situation where a learner can carry out a task with the help

of a teacher or collaborator and what the learner can do on its own. It is believe that learning takes place in this

zone. That is why Vygotsky calls it the zone of proximal development. Here the task assign to the learner should not

be complex or difficult, that is why the term proximal is used to avoid discouragement or failure.

The more knowledgeable order refers to any person having a higher level of reasoning than the learner. The more

knowledgeable order is considered to be the teacher, the guide, the facilitator an aged person’ it could equally be a

younger person or even the computer.

Implications of the theory to learners

It gives an opportunity for the teacher to work in partnership with learner so they develop their proper

knowledge. The teacher is no longer the person who knows everything but rather a guide or facilitator

in the construction process by the students.

The teacher constitutes his learning environment into small groups to ease management or forming a

community of learners.

Implications of the theory to teachers.

The theory is totally against the traditional methods of teaching and learning, that is why Vygotsky shows

that teaching and learning strategies based on this theory are very efficient. The theory proposes scaffolding,

reciprocal and guided teachings. Scaffolding being a tentative structure put in place by the teacher to enable a

student carry out a task which he could not do on his own. Reciprocal teaching is one in which students consider the

teacher as a collaborator as he poses questions or facilitates understanding.

From the theories outlined above and the different learning methods, is now clear that the teaching of ICT

must apply these theories and pedagogy to maximize the learner’s outcome. The theories seen above will pave way

to the next chapter which will treat the teaching of ICT and will be particular concern with the didactics of ICT.

 

  SUMMARY

This chapter deals with the fundamental elements used in teaching. The key elements are teaching, learning

and learning methods. After which the concept of pedagogy is elaborated which leads to the presentation of the

various theories used in teaching such as the Transmisive theory, the behaviourist theory, the cognitive theory, the

constructivist theory and the socio-constructivist theory.

Principles of LearningPrinciples of LearningThe principles of learning provide additional insight into what makes people learn most effectively.The principles have been discovered, tested, and used in practical situations.Edward Thorndike has developed the first three laws and three more had been added ever since.Thorndike’s First Three LawsLaw of readiness – implies the degree of preparedness and eagerness to learn.Law of exercise – things that are most often repeated are best remembered.Law of effect – based on the emotional reaction and motivation of the student. Learning is strengthened with pleasant or satisfying feeling while unpleasant feelings tend to do otherwise.The Additional Three LawsLaw of primacy – learning should be done correctly for the first time since it is difficult to “unlearn” or change an incorrectly learned material.Law of recency – things that are most recently learned are often best remembered.Law of intensity – the more intense something is taught, the more likely it will be retained.Three Major Schools of LearningBehavioral Theory

Learning takes place when there is a change in behavior.Field and Gestalt TheoryObservational learning, imitation and modeling.Cognitive TheoryLearning by thinking, reasoning and transferring.Educational ImplicationsLearning by doing is a good advice.One learns to do what one does.The amount of reinforcement necessary for learning is relative to the students’ needs and abilities.The principle of readiness is related to the learners’ stage of development and their previous learning.The students’ self-concept and beliefs about their abilities are essentially important.Teachers should provide opportunities for meaning and appropriate practice.Educational ImplicationsTransfer of learning to new situations can be horizontal (across subject matter) or vertical (increased complexity of the same subject).Learning should be goal-directed and focused.Positive feedback, realistic praise, and encouragement are motivating to the teaching learning process.Metacognition is an advanced cognitive process whereby students apply learning strategies and also helps them sense if they are learning or not.

Once information has been encoded and stored in memory, it must be retrieved in order to be used. Memory retrieval is important in virtually every aspect of daily life, from remembering where you parked your car to learning new skills. There are many factors that can influence how memories are retrieved from long-term memory. In order to fully understand this process, it is important to learn more about exactly what retrieval is as well as the many factors that can impact how memories are retrieved.

Memory Retrieval Basics

So what exactly is retrieval? Simply put, it is a process of accessing stored memories. When you are taking an exam, you need to be able to retrieve learned information from your memory in order to answer the test questions. There are four basic ways in which information can be pulled from long-term memory. The type of retrieval cues that are available can have an impact on how information is retrieved. A retrieval cue is a clue or prompt that is used to trigger the retrieval of long-term memory.

Recall: This type of memory retrieval involves being able to access the information without being cued. Answering a question on a fill-in-the-blank test is a good example of recall.

Recollection: This type of memory retrieval involves reconstructing memory, often utilizing logical structures, partial memories, narratives or clues. For example, writing an answer on an essay exam often involves remembering bits on information, and then restructuring the remaining information based on these partial memories.

Recognition: This type of memory retrieval involves identifying information after experiencing it again. For example, taking a multiple-choice quiz requires that you recognize the correct answer out of a group of available answers.

Relearning: This type of memory retrieval involves relearning information that has been previously learned. This often makes it easier to remember and retrieve information in the future and can improve the strength of memories.Problems with Retrieval

Of course, the retrieval process doesn't always work perfectly. Have you ever felt like you knew the answer to a question, but couldn't quite remember the information? This phenomenon is known as a 'tip of the tongue'

experience. You might feel certain that this information is stored somewhere in your memory, but you are unable to access and retrieve it.

While it may be irritating or even troubling, research has shown that these experiences are extremely common, typically occurring at least once each week for most younger individuals and two to four times per week for elderly adults (Schacter, 2001). In many cases, people can even remember details such as the first letter that the word starts with. (Brown, 1991).

Even though memory retrieval is not flawless, there are things that you can do to improve your ability to remember information. Check out some of these great ideas for how to improve your memory.

 Theories of forgetting1. Introduction to forgetting theory2. Encoding failure theory3. Storage decay theory4. Retrieval failure (Interference)5. Motivated forgetting theory1. Introduction to forgettingIn the cartoon above, Peppermint Patty endures her memory failure. Myers argues that itis blessing to remember and forget. In terms of the latter, forgetting is a blessing if wehave so much useless information in our heads. The mind “clutter” contributes to our memory failure. Memory failure is a common experience. Daniel Schacter identifiesseven ways our memories fail us. Myers lists them in module #27.Cited in Myers, Daniel Schacter identifies seven ways our memories fail us. Theseinclude the 3 sins of forgetting.1. Absent-mindedness (inattention to details produces encoding failure).2. Transience (storage decay, unused information fades).3. Blocking (inaccessibility of stored information)4. Misattribution (confusing the source of information).5. Suggestibility (lingering effects of misinformation)6. Bias (belief-colored recollections).7. Persistence (unwanted memories haunt us).All of these sins remind us how limited our memory processes can be. We will nowexamine all of these processes!2. Encoding failure theoryEncoding failure is one of many theories of forgetting. Encoding failure theory simplyasserts that we cannot remember what we never encoded in the first place, a “pseudoforgetting” so to speak. Myers notes that encoding failure may be one of the primaryreasons why older adults suffer from more memory breakdowns than younger persons.3. Storage decay theoryStorage decay theory of forgetting proposes that forgetting occurs because memory tracesfade with time. According to this view, time is the culprit. The passage of time causesforgetting. Ebbinghaus discovered this years ago with his famous forgetting curve.Years later, Bahrick (above) found the same trend among students who completed aSpanish course. Students who are retested 3 years later forget a substantial amount.Though a common sense view, storage decay theory has yet to be substantiated. Mosttheorists believe that it is not time but rather what one does with the memory thatdetermines whether the degree of forgetting. The curve above might look different if students lived in Spain or read Spanish magazines on consistent basis. 4. Retrieval failure theoryRetrieval failure theory proposes that forgetting occurs because of breakdown inretrieval. Inconsistency between how we encode and retrieval cues negatively affectsrecall. This can be explained by the encoding specificity principle. The encodingspecificity principle states that the value of a retrieval cue depends on how well itcorresponds to the original memory code. Transfer appropriate processing is an exampleof encoding specificity. This process occurs when the initial processing of information issimilar to the type of processing required by the subsequent measure of retention(Retrieve the months of the year alphabetically).5. Interference theoryInterference theory proposes that people forget information because of competition fromother material. Studies have shown that test material that is similar to material studiedduring the intervening period, the greater interference and poorer the retention of testmaterial. Two types of interference have been identified. These are

proactive andretroactive interference.Interference theory has received reasonable empirical support. As cited in Myers,Jenkins and Dallenbach found that sleep and minimal activity after studying can have a profound positive effect on later recall of nonsense syllables (see above). They suggestedthat an hour before one falls asleep may be the best time for one to commit informationto memory. Interference theory asserts that memories are forgotten because of competition among bits of information. If one stays awake, one is more at risk for competing information.6. Motivated forgetting theoryMotivated theories of forgetting suggest that we have a tendency to forget things that aretoo painful to think about. Sigmund Freud used the term repression to explain thiscommon memory phenomenon. Repression refers to keeping distressing thoughts andfeelings buried in one’s unconscious. However, other researchers argue that repressionmay not exist. Instead, we might reconstruct or revise painful memories so they are lessdistressing.Activity (9)

Sensory MemorySensory Memory is a very brief recall of a sensory experience, such as what we just saw or heard.Short-Term MemoryShort-term memory is that brief period of time where you can recall information you were just exposed to.Short-Term often encompasses anywhere from 30 seconds to a few days, depending on who is using the term.Working MemorySome researchers use the term working memory and distinguish it from short-term memory, though the two overlap. Working memory can be defined as the ability of our brains to keep a limited amount of information available long enough to use it. Working memory helps process thoughts and plans, as well as carries out ideas. You can think of the working memory as the short-term memory combining strategies and knowledge from the long-term memory bank to assist in making a decision or calculation.Long-Term MemoryLong-term memory encompasses memories that range from a few days to decades. In order for successful learning to take place, information has to move from the sensory or the short-term memory to the long-term memory.How we form memoriesThe process of encoding a memory begins when we are born and occurs continuously. For something to become a memory, it must first be picked up by one or more of our senses. A memory starts off in short-term storage. We learn how to tie our shoe, for example. Once we have the process down, it goes into our long-term memory and we can do it without consciously thinking about the steps involved.Important memories typically move from short-term memory to long-term memory. The transfer of information to long-term memory for more permanent storage can be happen in several steps. Information can be committed to long-term memory through repetition — such as studying for a test or repeatedly taking steps until walking can be performed without thinking — or associating it with other previously acquired knowledge, like remembering a new acquaintance Mrs. Emerald by associating her name with an image of the green jewel.Motivation is also a consideration, in that information relating to something that you have a keen interest in is more likely to be stored in your long-term memory. That's why someone might be able to recall the stats of a favorite baseball player years after he has retired or where a favorite pair of shoes was purchased.We are typically not aware of what is in our memory until we need to use that bit of information. Then we use the process of retrieval to bring it to the forefront when we need to use it. Again, much of this recall happens without having concentrate on it — particularly with common tasks such as shoe tying — but there are other types of memories that take more effort to bring to the forefront.Memory loss is often associated with aging, but there are a number of things that can trigger short- and long-term memory loss, including injury, medications and witnessing a traumatic event.Types of memoryWhile experts have varying definitions for short-term memory, it is generally described as the recollection of things that happened immediately up to a few days. It is generally believed that five to nine items can be stored in active

short-term memory and can be readily recalled. Patients who suffer from short-term memory loss can't remember who walked into the room five minutes before, but can remember their childhood friend from 50 years ago.Implicit memory is sometimes referred to as unconscious memory or automatic memory. Implicit memory uses past experiences to remember things without thinking about them. Musicians and professional athletes are said to have superior ability to form procedural memories.Procedural memory, which is a subset of implicit memory, is a part of the long-term memory responsible for knowing how to do things, also known as motor skills.  You don't have to delve into your memory to recall how to walk each time you take a step.Some examples of procedural memory:

Playing piano Ice skating Playing tennis Swimming Climbing stairs

While implicit memory requires little if any effort to recall, explicit memory — sometimes referred to as declarative memory — requires a more concerted effort to bring the surface. Declarative memory involves both semantic and episodic memory.While most people can tick off the days of the week from the time they are in grade school — which is implicit memory — it takes explicit memory to remember that your mother's birthday is next Wednesday.Semantic memory is not connected to personal experience. Semantic memory includes things that are common knowledge, such as the names of states, the sounds of letters, the capitals of countries and other basic facts that are not in question. Some examples of semantic memory include:

Knowledge that the sky is blue Knowing how to use a knife and fork Remembering what dog is Recalling that President Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963

Episodic memory is a person's unique recollections of a specific event or an episode. People are usually able to associate particular details with an episodic memory, such as how they felt, the time and place, and other particulars. It is not clear as to why some memories of events in our lives are committed to memory, while others don't get recorded, but researchers believe that emotions play a critical role in what we remember.Some examples of episodic memory:

Where you were and the people you were with when you found out about the Challenger space shuttle disaster

Your beach vacation last summer The first time you traveled by plane Your first day at a new job The restaurant you went to on your first date with your spouse