Adult student says she has memory problems
Found in: Adult Students
Heidi M., Canada
Any tips for teaching someone who has memory problems? She is otherwise a “normal” middle-aged adult, very intelligent, but she can never remember any artistic things (i.e. dance moves) that others teach her, so she thinks she will forget whatever she learns in the workshop I am planning – though she has decided to attend it “just for fun”. She does not have dementia but it seems in the area of the arts/music there is block that makes her forget. The only thought that comes to me at the moment is just let her experience the joy of learning even if she “forgets” some parts. The multisensory approach in SM will definitely help. But I welcome feedback especially from those of you who had experience with this.
Ian M., Indiana
My first thought is to tell her that she’s just learning patterns for her fingers to do. Make sure she tries everything on the paper keyboard first. “See? It’s just a pattern It’s not artistic at all!” Take the psychology out of it as much as possible.
Terah W., Kansas
I always tell my students that when they say negative things about their ability to learn, or “I’ll never be able to do this!” or anything else, “Be careful! 3 trillion cells are listening. They just pulled out their yellow legal pads and are taking notes saying you don’t know anything, therefore do not help you. You’ve got to keep those little guys busy, so keep saying good things to yourself about your abilities, and they will all be busy and staying active and therefore healthy to keep you alive and engaged”.
There are lots of versions of this – if you’re 10, you get the 10-year-old version, and if you’re 50, you get the 50-year-old version. There’s science to back this up! In any case, it seems to lighten the atmosphere and give an element of fun and “hey, let’s try this!”.
Cate R., Australia
If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get the same result.
Jeanne W., Connecticut
A technique that always seems to bring a powerful result and awareness as well as new memory is to play the sentence or section or piece with eyes closed. It focuses the brain in an entirely different way and reveals so much to the student. There’s a new internal visual and kinesthetic connection somehow between the fingers and the brain, and the experiencing of the patterns in each of the hands is clarified and focused.
Laurie Richards, Nebraska
Speaking instructions aloud (external speaker) can help a lot too. She will need to do it consistently. Speaking instructions gives her brain something specific to lock onto/recall, she is generating the instructions rather than only receiving them, her ears hear the words, and speaking instructions makes it impossible for her to focus on those thoughts related to “I won’t remember this”.
Heidi M., Canada
Laurie, I agree. Actually I often do this with my students, especially on the rhythm part as it does help them to “get it” better. Good reminder about this. I think speaking it aloud keeps the brain more active and helps with remembering.