Mnemonic Devices and Wonderful Ideas

[Anastasia Romanova]

The image that immediately comes to mind is an interaction between a promise fellow, Sebastian, and a student that I witnessed during my fourth week of tutoring. The students, let’s class her Angelica, struggled with preparing for a history exam. She seemed to have trouble with getting the order of the events right and memorizing their respective significance. Sebastian, as evident from his B.S. in History from Grinnell, is extremely passionate about history of any community or time period. He always gets excited when a student wants to work on a history assignment, and this occasion was no exception. Angelica, knowing Sebastian’s specialty, sat down at our table as soon as she walked into SSC during the flex period. She was really stressed about the test that was coming up in her APUSH class because it would determine whether or not she would pass that class.

Sebastian listened to her very carefully, acknowledging and validating her struggling with memorization. He said that despite being a history major in college, he too had a hard time with memorizing large chunks of information for exams and such. This put Angelica a little more at ease because Sebastian immediately became less intimidating and more relatable; not a person who would judge her for falling behind, but somebody who was invested in her success. Sebastian’s idea was simple and elegant. He told Angelica that what helps him memorize historical events is creating some sort of a story – a mnemonic device – that somehow connected all the pieces, events, and dates that he was required to know. So they started coming up with a story. To an outsider, that story would probably make no sense. They created their own characters that would experience those random historical events and respond to them in a way that would reflect the implications of those events. Angelica would throw in her personal experiences, especially when it came to figuring out a way to memorize the years and the dates; some of those she associated to the birthdays of the people that she knew, others she somehow connected to the room numbers of her favorite classrooms. Importantly, building a story was a lot more fun than it was effortful, and Angelica seemed to be genuinely enjoying working on it with Sebastian.

As I see it, Sebastian’s idea had four major benefits: (1) it improved the bond between Sebastian and Angelica, making her more likely to ask him for help in the future, (2) it showed her that studying (even for a test) can be fun, exciting, and rewarding, (3) she actually learned the material in a way that is likely to help her retain it over longer period of time, and, of course, (4) she will most likely pass her APUSH test. I think this instance is fairly representative of my time at the SSC. All the tutors, including myself, seem to want to show the students the most efficient and the least stressful ways of learning within the existing education system, which may often occur in the form of a game or a relatively relaxed back-and-forth. Additionally, I think the more permanent tutors at the SSC do seek to form lasting and solid bonds with the students, which I think is important for the students’ and center’s success. Sebastian’s willingness to play this story-building game with Angelica shows his determination to be a helpful and reliable resource for the students. Also, despite this activity seeming relaxed and playful, it achieved the goal it was meant to achieve – help Angelica pass the class, which is precisely what SSC specializes in. I think I learned a lot from witnessing this type of tutoring because it reminded me of the importance of trying to make the material more appealing and genuinely interesting for the students, rather than simply rushing through a dry curriculum. It also helped me understand that in order to learn best, the student needs to be comfortable around the tutor or the teacher, which can be achieved through telling them about a relatable experience I’ve had, just like Sebastian did when Angelica expressed her struggle.

One overarching conclusion that I can draw based on this interaction is that it is important for the student to take control over their learning and construct their own ways of comprehending the material (with external assistance, if needed). In a way, Angelica was building a story or a narrative that combined and connected all the things she needed to memorize. The process of building that narrative involved “having wonderful ideas” that were supported by an authority figure or a more knowledgeable other (i.e., Sebastian). Encouraging wonderful ideas, in ways that may have not been obvious from the get-go, is one of the conclusions I will be discussing in my final paper, and I think Sebastian’s method illustrates that idea quite well.

[Lauren Bundy]

Your blog post offers such a helpful example of the multiple factors that go into creating a great MKO. Expertise is one component, of course, and Sebastian clearly demonstrated that by holding a degree in the subject that Angelica was working on. But I think you go a step further in showing what makes a role model to whom students will actually be receptive. He’s relatable, he’s fun, and he’s a good listener. Your description of Sebastian reminds me of the positive language students used to describe the men from PROJECT 2000: “they’re nice,” “they’re fun,” “talk to us,” “care for us,” “friendly.”

I wonder if I’m oversimplifying though, because I do think that great teachers can also be strict or demanding or command respect from students in ways other than friendliness. Still, I think that in an environment like the SSC, it’s really important to create a space where students can grow more comfortable with the work they’re doing, and the MKOs present are instrumental in creating that environment. Is there a distinction between the role of “tutor” and “teacher,” and should the two have different characteristics?

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