In order to learn, store, retain, and be able to retrieve new content and skills, students need to organize the knowledge in their minds. Categorizing new information logically and in a manner that students can conceptualize it is critical to moving the knowledge from short term memory to long term memory.
Teaching isolated, unconnected details and facts does not give students a system for fitting information together in their minds and makes it difficult for them to understand the importance or relevance of what they are learning.
Every time you need students to acquire new knowledge and skills, have them use a Graphic Organizer. One of the reasons Graphic Organizers are so effective is that they enable students to remember spatially where specific information is located on the organizer, which enables them to visualize it for a longer period of time.
