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Mnemonic Devices in CLSU

Janrozl Campo
Mariel Moro
Central Luzon State University







March 18, 2014
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Abstract
Memorization methods are often used in school especially in the collegiate level hence
this study identified which of the methods are most used and effective for students. The research
surveyed a total of 90 students from different colleges of the university. The method found to be
most used and effective was Acronyms and Acrostics. Easier methods of memorization were
widely used as opposed to those that needed listing, association and spatial cognition.












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Mnemonic Devices in CLSU
One important skill that students need today is the skill in mnemonic, a learning
technique that aids information retention. Most if not all courses require the students to
remember terms, ideas, theories, formulas, etc. to be able to understand lessons and be able to
move. Some students may have been unknowingly using famous methods in memorization and
some may have modified a method of their own. This point kindled the idea that students may be
familiar to a particular mnemonic device.
The effectiveness of the use of mnemonic devices in memorization and information
retrieval has been probe in many studies. One study showed a group that applied different
mnemonic techniques in memorization outperformed control groups that applied contextual
learning and free-learning styles (Levin & Nordwall, 1992). However, different mnemonic
techniques effectiveness varies on different from different age groups (McAlum & Seay, 2010).
Various studies showed that mnemonic devices as a study technique can improve long-
term memory retention (Legge, Madan, Ng & Caplan, 2012; Ng, Legge, & Caplan, 2010; Grin,
n.d.). These methods have been used by Eight-time World Memory Champion, Dominic O'Brien
(1997 World Memory Championships, 2014). The 2006 World Memory Champion, Clemens
Mayer from Germany, used a 300-point-long journey through his house for his world record in
"number half marathon", memorizing 1040 random digits in a half hour. Gary Shang has used
the method of loci to memorize pi to over 65,536 digits (Raz, Packard, Alexander, Buhle, Zhu,
Yu & Peterson, 2009).
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Thus, the objectives of the study are: To find out if students are aware of the Mnemonic;
to find out other mnemonic devices used by the students; to find which is mostly used; and to
find out which mnemonic device is most effective for students.
This study will contribute in the increasing studies concerning memory and learning, and
other studies in mnemonic devices.













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Methodology
Participants
Participants of the study will be students in Central Luzon State University. A total of
100 students from different course disciplines will be purposively given the questionnaire.
Twenty respondents shall be taken from each of the following courses Accountancy students,
Veterinary students, Engineering students, Literature Students and Psychology Students. This
will be done to ensure stratification of the data.
Data Gathering Procedure
Participants will be approached by the researchers in their available time. After giving the
questionnaire the respondents will be given enough privacy or guidance for answering the items.
Purposive sampling will be done.
Instrumentation
A research developed self-evaluation questionnaire will be given to the respondents. It is
composed of three parts wherein the first parts simply check the awareness of students regarding
the Mnemonic Devices, while the second part asks them to enumerate their personal methods in
memorization and the third part asks the respondents to rank their known and used methods
according to effectiveness.
Analysis
The data will be encoded and analyzed using the SPSS 20. The frequencies will be
computed for the level of awareness regarding the Mnemonic devices. The same computation
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will be done to analyze the questions regarding the most used method and the most effective
method for students.


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Results and Discussion
Table 1 presents that most (52.2%) students are aware of the mnemonic devices.
Students (47.8%) that said that they were not aware of such devices said that they do not use any
device in memorization (students who never memorize at school at all) or they do not know that
there is a term for the processes they use.
According to these results students are aware that there are memorization methods but
not all are aware of their proper names or the term mnemonics.
Table 1. Students response on the question: are you aware of the Mnemonic Devices.
Are you aware of the
Mnemonic Devices?
Frequency Percent (%)
Yes 47 52.2
No 43 47.8
Total 90 100.0

Table 2 presents the mnemonic devices students use in memorization. The mostly used
mnemonic device is the Acronym and Acrostics scoring 92.2%. Next most used devices are
Rhymes (81.1%) and Mnemonic Major System (72.2%). Least used devices are the Method
of Loci (27.8%) and Mnemonic Goroawase System (12.2%). Contrary to the students
awareness of the mnemonic devices (Table 1), Table 2 showed that almost all of the students in
the population of respondents use the listed devices.
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It could be said that the most used mnemonic devices are the easiest to create since they
require only one to two levels of organization (listing and or wordplay) while the least used
requires at least three levels of organization (listing, association, spatial / visual cognition).
Table 2. Mnemonic Devices used by the Students
Mnemonic Devices Frequency Percent (%)
Method of Loci 25 27.8
Mnemonic Dominic System 42 46.7
Mnemonic Goroawase System 11 12.2
Mnemonic Link System 51 56.7
Mnemonic Major System 65 72.2
Mnemonic Peg System 53 58.9
Rhymes 73 81.1
Grouping 35 38.9
Acronyms and Acrostics 83 92.2

Table 3 presents the top five most effective mnemonic devices as perceived by the
students. Ranking first is the Acronym and Acrostics (53.3%), followed by Rhymes (27.8%)
and Mnemonic Major System (20%).
These results suggest that the basic mnemonic devices are said to be most effective by
majority of the respondents. This could be related to the fact that most of the respondents use the
basic methods (Table 2) hence most of them voted the basic to be the most effective. There are
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still those who find other intricate methods more effective (Table 3.1) but due to their low
frequency was not ranked as the top most effective method in the study.
The popularity of a method like Acronyms and Acrostics could be attributed to its ease of
creation. It only requires word play on a list of words or concepts one has to commit into
memory. It easily and quickly serves the purpose of storing information for quizzes, recitations
or exams but not for long term memory. While for a mnemonic like Method of Loci, it requires
time and a lot of imagination, hence its being the least used in academics.
Table 3. Perceived most effective Mnemonic Devices used by the Students
Mnemonic Devices Frequency Percent (%)
Acronyms and Acrostics 48 53.3
Rhymes 25 27.8
Mnemonic Major System 18 20
Mnemonic Peg System 14 15.6
Grouping 11 12.2

The following tables present the individual scores of the students perceived effectiveness
of mnemonic devices by rank.



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Table 3.1 presents most effective mnemonic device as perceived by the students. Most of
the students (53.3%) ranked Acronyms and Acrostics as the most effective mnemonic device
they use in memorization. Though some students considered other mnemonic devices as their top
device in memorization, the next device ranked first (Rhymes, 11.1%) scored far from the top
device (Acronyms and Acrostics, 53.3%).
Table 3.1. Rank 1 Most Effective Mnemonic Devices
Frequency Percent (%)
Method of Loci 4 4.4
Mnemonic Dominic System 4 4.4
Mnemonic Goroawase System 1 1.1
Mnemonic Link System 6 6.7
Mnemonic Major System 9 10.0
Mnemonic Peg System 7 7.8
Rhymes 10 11.1
Grouping 1 1.1
Acronyms and Acrostics 48 53.3
Total 90 100.0





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Table 3.2 presents the second most effective mnemonic device as perceived by the
students. The mnemonic device Rhymes scored 27.8% making it the rank 2 most effective
device used in memorization.
Table 3.2. Rank 2 Most Effective Mnemonic Device
Frequency Percent (%)
Method of Loci 11 12.2
Mnemonic Dominic System 6 6.7
Mnemonic Goroawase System 1 1.1
Mnemonic Link System 9 10.0
Mnemonic Major System 10 11.1
Mnemonic Peg System 7 7.8
Rhymes 25 27.8
Grouping 8 8.9
Acronyms and Acrostics 13 14.4
Total 90 100


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Table 3.3 presents the third most effective mnemonic device as perceived by the students.
The mnemonic device Mnemonic Major System ranked third as the most effective mnemonic
device in memorization scoring 20%.
Table 3.3. Rank 3 Most Effective Mnemonic Device
Frequency Percent (%)
No ranking for 3
rd
place 6 6.7
Method of Loci 5 5.6
Mnemonic Dominic System 11 12.2
Mnemonic Goroawase System 1 1.1
Mnemonic Link System 14 15.6
Mnemonic Major System 18 20.0
Mnemonic Peg System 5 5.6
Rhymes 17 18.9
Grouping 7 7.8
Acronyms and Acrostics 6 6.7
Total 90 100.0


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Table 3.4 presents the fourth most effective mnemonic device as perceived by the
students. The mnemonic device ranked fourth by the students was the mnemonic major system
(17.8%), but since the device was already ranked as the third most effective mnemonic device
(Table 3.3), the next device Mnemonic Peg System (15.6%) will be taken as the fourth
most effective.
Table 3.4. Rank 4 Most Effective Mnemonic Device
Frequency Percent (%)
No Ranking for 4
th
place 18 20.0
Method of Loci 5 5.6
Mnemonic Dominic System 5 5.6
Mnemonic Goroawase System 1 1.1
Mnemonic Link System 10 11.1
Mnemonic Major System 16 17.8
Mnemonic Peg System 14 15.6
Rhymes 8 8.9
Grouping 8 8.9
Acronyms and Acrostics 5 5.6
Total 90 100.0


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Table 3.5 presents the fifth most effective mnemonic device as perceived by the students.
The mnemonic device ranked fifth by the students was the Rhymes (17.8%), but since the
device was already ranked as the second most effective mnemonic device (Table 3.2), the next
device was considered to take the place. Two devices ranked next to Rhymes Mnemonic
Dominic System (10%) and Mnemonic Peg System (10%). Crossing out Mnemonic Peg
system (rank 4, Table 3.4), Mnemonic Dominic System takes the fifth rank.
Table 3.5. Rank 5 Most Effective Mnemonic Device
Frequency Percent (%)
No ranking for 5
th
place 32 35.6
Method of Loci 5 5.6
Mnemonic Dominic System 9 10.0
Mnemonic Goroawase System 2 2.2
Mnemonic Link System 7 7.8
Mnemonic Major System 4 4.4
Mnemonic Peg System 9 10.0
Rhymes 11 12.2
Grouping 7 7.8
Acronyms and Acrostics 4 4.4
Total 90 100.0



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The study found that students are indeed aware of memorization methods and their uses
but are not aware of their proper terms. Students were found to use all listed methods of
memorization or Mnemonic Methods and that the method regarding Acronyms and Acrostics was
the most used and the most effective. No personal mnemonic method was found to be used by
any of the respondents.
It would be recommended for this study to survey a larger sample of the population, if
not the population itself to get more conclusive results. Workshops on Mnemonic Methods
would also be recommended for the utilization of the more intricate but more efficient methods
that can work for long term memory.


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