From Sensory to Long-Term: A Classroom Reenactment of Memory Models

 From Sensory to Long-Term: A Classroom Reenactment of Memory Models

Bringing Psychology to Life at Philip M Russell Ltd – Hemel Private Tuition
#ALevelPsychology #MemoryModels #ActiveLearning #CognitivePsychology

This week, our A-Level Psychology students didn’t just learn about memory models—they acted them out. And it turns out, becoming the sensory register or long-term memory store yourself is one of the most effective ways to understand how memory works.

We brought the Multi-Store Model of Memory (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968) off the page and into the classroom—with students physically taking on the roles of key memory components. The result? Engagement, laughter, and most importantly—deep understanding.

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🧠 The Setup: Turning Theory into Theatre

We divided the room into three zones:

• Sensory Memory (SM) – flashcards quickly shown and hidden

• Short-Term Memory (STM) – a student acting as a temporary processing hub, holding a small number of items

• Long-Term Memory (LTM) – a seated student with a “file cabinet” (real or imagined)

Other students became:

• Rehearsal Mechanism – deciding which information is worth transferring

• Retrieval Pathways – passing notes or signals back from LTM to STM

• Distractions – students deliberately interfering with STM by adding noise or irrelevant information

Each participant had a role in demonstrating how information moves from fleeting sensory input to potentially lifelong storage—and how easily it can be disrupted or forgotten.

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🔄 What Students Learned:

• Capacity & Duration of each store: Sensory memory is fleeting; STM is limited; LTM can last a lifetime.

• Encoding Differences: We illustrated how information changes format between stores—e.g., iconic to acoustic.

• The Role of Rehearsal: Without rehearsal, STM information was quickly “lost” (or eaten by the classroom bin labelled “Decay”).

• Forgetting & Retrieval: Interference and retrieval failure were acted out in real time, with students misplacing "files" or returning the wrong memory.

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🧑‍🏫 Why This Works:

Active learning taps into deeper cognitive processing. Instead of memorising the model, students were living it.
They debated, defended, and discussed their roles—effectively rehearsing the information into their own long-term memory.

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Student Feedback:

🗨️ "I finally get why rehearsal is so important—it’s literally the difference between remembering and forgetting!"
🗨️ "Playing STM was stressful—I couldn’t hold more than 5 things before I dropped one. Just like in real life."

Exactly the point.

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Want to Try It?

All you need:

• Post-it notes or cards as "memories"

• Printed labels for each store and pathway

• A few willing students to act out retrieval, rehearsal, and interference

• A bit of imagination and a lot of participation

It’s a perfect activity before tackling exam-style questions on memory—especially AO1 and AO3 evaluation.

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Psychology isn’t just theory—it’s experience. Let’s make memory memorable.
#ALevelPsychology #MemoryModels #CognitivePsychology #PhilipMRussellLtd #HemelPrivateTuition #PsychologyClassroom #ActiveLearning