When teaching and learning new information such as vocabulary, rote memorization (i.e. repetition) is often the first option. However, this doesn’t work well for most students. Based on the knowledge I gained from my previous studies, I instead suggest learning through association, and here is why: 

Although much of the biology of our brain has been well studied, the connection between memory and the biological mechanisms involved remains unclear. Unravelling the mysteries of how our brain processes and stores information is an ongoing scientific endeavor, one that my neurobiology professor has been partaking in. However, from observation and previous research, a couple of key features can be deduced. Neurons, the specialized cells of the nervous system that transfer signals, work in tandem to form neural pathways. Research has shown that certain neural pathways trigger because of a certain stimulus, and when the memory of that stimulus is recalled, a similar set of neural pathways is also triggered; in other words, our brain encodes our experiences as a pattern of signals that are fired simultaneously. Furthermore, these networks of communication between neurons are malleable (i.e. neuroplastic) – they can be rebuilt and remodeled. In fact, the current understanding is that this is how we learn – by forming new connections and reinforcing old ones. So how can we apply this in education? 

Mnemonic devices, techniques that aid in retention and retrieval of information, take advantage of how our brain works by associating new information with something familiar. It’s akin to adding onto an established network rather than starting a new one from scratch. As my old professor would often say, “The brain is a pattern-recognizing machine.” By associating new information with the old, we are taking a shortcut to learning by adding new connections onto preexisting neural pathways. It is how I still remember the basic ratios in trigonometry – SOH CAH TOA – to this day.