CHAPTER 1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Introduction
Learning challenges are common among students and inevitable.
Larger volumes of fresh knowledge are transferred to these students as they
progress through high school and beyond, and the kinds of content they are
subjected to are frequently getting more complicated.
Currently, students are engaged in independent learning also known as
self learning, which involves studying solely on your own. Due to this,
consider how sometimes they find it difficult to recollect and retain information
when needed. For this reason, mnemonic devices are advised for students
who have trouble with their working memory.
Mnemonic, a word derived from the Greek word mnemonikos (“of
memory”or 'relating to memory), is a technique used to assist memory dating
back to 477 BCE (Yates Citation1966). Mnemonic is a memory aid or
technique used to help individuals remember information or a sequence of
information. Mnemonics can take various forms, such as acronyms, rhymes,
visual associations, and other strategies that make information easier to
remember
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Claiming
“mnemonic
instruction
delivers
the
greatest
learning
increases seen in the history of disability intervention research”, Mastropieri
and Scruggs (1990) advocated for the academic success of mnemonic
education for students with learning difficulties, According to them, two
significant areas of difficulty for students are learning and memory (Scruggs &
Mastropieri, 2000). Mnemonics can be helpful in a variety of situations,
including learning new material, studying for exams, and remembering
important details.
In the field of STEM, Mnemonics can also be useful for STEM students
who struggle with memorization or have learning disabilities. For example,
Short-term Memory that affects their memory retention. By using mnemonic
devices, STEM students can improve their recall and retention of important
information, which can ultimately lead to better performance in STEM subjects.
Alharbi and colleagues (2021) conducted a study on STEM students and
found that the Mnemonic device; keyword method was effective in improving
memory recall of technical vocabulary.
In addition, the main purpose of studying mnemonics is to advance the
understanding of how we can improve learning and memory, and to develop
evidence-based strategies for teaching that can benefit students in a variety of
contexts. Moreover this study about mnemonics can also help to promote this
strategy, for the reason that many students are not familiar with this strategy
because of lack of awareness.
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Statement of the Problem
This study would determine and observe the effects of different
mnemonic strategies for memory retention of Grade 11 STEM-C Students of
ACLC College of Taytay.
The researchers aimed to answer the following questions:
1. Does utilizing a mnemonic aid in memorization?
2. What are the various characteristics of mnemonics?
3. If there is a significant difference between using and not employing a
mnemonic device.
4. What types of mnemonic techniques do the students typically employ?
5.Does using mnemonics speed up learning compared to not utilizing
them?
6.What impact does it have on their academic performance?
Objective
This study generally aims to assess if the mnemonic device is effective
or not as memorizing method to the students.
Specifically, it aims to:
1.) to identify if mnemonic device can be a way to make it easier for
students to memorize
2). to examine its properties in terms of
a. Ability to memorize quickly (by rhyming)
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b.making a keyword (acronyms and acrostic)
c.aiding or designed to aid memory
3). to determine whether using a mnemonic device or not when
memorizing makes a difference
4). to ascertain the mnemonic devices that the pupils use
5). to find out if using mnemonics can speed up students' learning in
comparison to not using them
6). to understand how mnemonics affect pupils' academic performance
Conceptual framework
Two variables serve as the foundation of the study. Mnemonic strategy
as independent variable and memory retention as an dependent variable.
The following table will show the table of IPO format of conceptual framework:
Input
Process
Outcome
To analyse how can Collection and analysis The effect of mnemonic
mnemonic devices give of data through informal strategy
for
memory
any impact to students interview and provided retention of the students
on
their
performance
school questionnaire.
are determined.
and
memory retention.
Table 1.
Effects of mnemonic strategy on students' memory retention and to
their academic performance. Using mnemonic strategy will help students
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improve their memory retention and academic performance. The process or
method to collect and analyse the data is through informal interview and
questionnaire. The outcome of the research is show the effect of mnemonic
strategy for memory retention of the students are determined and if using
mnemonic strategy really help students and to their academic performance.
Theoretical Framework
This study was based on Enhancing School Success with Mnemonic
Strategies by Mastropieri & Scruggs (1998), where they stated that three
specific types of mnemonic strategies can be used to improve memory. These
are the keyword method, peg word method, and letter strategy. They claimed
that these three are the most effective mnemonic to use by students.
Mastropieri & Scruggs's research is relevant to this study as it allows
us to determine the effectiveness of these three mnemonics on students'
recalling information and how it helps students achieve academic success. As
they claimed that keyword, peg word, and letter strategies were proven
effective, it assures that students remember educational material with less
difficulty.
In addition, it should identify that the mnemonic strategies do not
always ease academic success as there are other factors to consider for
students to thrive in school. However, when there is a piece of educational
information to recall, STEM students can use these three mnemonic
strategies for memory retention and improve their academic performance.
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Assumptions and Hypothesis
Students are more likely to adopt study techniques, and mnemonics
are an effective tool for memorizing.
One of the challenges students face in their academic achievement is
memorization. These mnemonic devices were built to help and enhance
student memory skills. Therefore mnemonic devices are consequently useful
for enhancing students' memory performances.
Scope and Limitations
It’s identify the goal of this research on how mnemonic strategy
affects the academic performance of Grade 11 STEM-C Students. This study
will be conducted in ACLC College of Taytay. The target respondents are 5
students from Grade 11 STEM-C S.Y 2022-2023.
The study will not cover any other strategies that are not considered
mnemonic strategy. The same questionnaires are given to all of the
respondents for completion.
The findings of this study will only be relevant to the respondents of
this survey, and they will not be utilized to assess how the mnemonic strategy
affects the academic performance of students who do not comprise the
study's population. The questionnaire that the researchers created will serve
as the primary source of data.
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The Effects of Mnemonic Strategies for Memory Retention of Grade-11
STEM-C Students of ACLC College of Taytay
Flores, Cherrelyn Mae
Guevarra, Lloyd Kirby
Laoyon, John Mark
Montes, Keziah
Mutoc, Ariana Rose
Nuite, Angel
Oguing, Elaine
Palaran, Anna Jenn
Tumibay, Deanise Margarette