USE OF MNEMONICS FOR EFFECTIVE

TEACHING

Dr. A.S.Nene
Professor of Civil Engg.(Rtd)
V.N.I.T.Nagpur

Presetation based on paper presented at IGC-2009 @ Guntur

 (Pronounced "ne-mon'-ics")
The art of assisting the students memory,
by using a system of artificial aids
Artificial aids
• Rhymes,
• Rules,
• Phrases
• Diagrams,
• Acronyms
• Other devices
 From childhood to old age
we use this technique knowingly or unknowingly.

Government also uses this technique

Abstract concepts, principles and ideas are

Hard for students to comprehend.

 Remove a misconception that
Geotechnical engineering subjects

are descriptive and less scoring

 Teaching-learning is a two way process
Unless every student learns, the process is incomplete.

You said you taught

tables, but
it is not reciting I said I taught but never
said it has leant !
One picture is worth thousand words
a Chinese proverb.
MAIN LEARNING STYLES

Visual

Auditory

Kinesthetic
 Visual Learners

Visual learners relate most effectively to

written information, notes, diagrams and

pictures.

Visual learners make up around 65% of the

population.

You will find such learners sitting on first

5 to 6 benches
Auditory Learners

Auditory learners relate most effectively

to the spoken word.

Auditory learners make up about

30% of the population.

You will find such learners sitting on Middle

three benches
 Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic Learners learn effectively

through touch and movement and space,
and learn skills by imitation and practice
Kinesthetic learners make up around
5% of the population.

You will find such learners sitting on

Last benches
Senses of Perception

Use all the senses to code information or

dress up an image.
Ask the students to use all senses
of perceptions to learn new things,

Plasticity of fine grained soils

Knead and roll a wet soil mass

Use clay and fly-ash samples
 Innovative Questions

Use humor, Funny or peculiar things

Name the curve which is plotted

as a straight line!

Flow curve
 Enigmatic questions
Enigmatic questions are very difficult to forget!

What is common / uncommon between

Foot & Footing?
Both transfer loads to earth but one is above and
other is below the ground
 Rude Rhymes

Rude rhymes are easy to remember.

A for Atterberg,
B for Boussinesq,
C for Coulomb and
D for Darcy
Models
Bringing three dimensions & movement to an
image
makes it more vivid.

Show models in the class room itself.

Arrange model competitions with subjects such

as
• Plate/pile load test,
• Dewatering techniques,
• Construction with Geosynthetics etc.
 Use Positive, Pleasant Images
The brain often blocks out unpleasant ones.

But Vivid, colorful images are easier to remember

than drab ones.
Use well drawn colored charts. Use cartoons
 Exaggeration

Exaggerate or Magnify the size of

important parts of the image

Use Appropriate Symbols and maintain

the same symbols.
c (Not C) for unit cohesion
Three Dimensions and Movement
Three dimensions and movement

to an image makes it more vivid.

 Mnemonics of Ancient India

 Vedic literature (Veda, Puranas & Upnishadas)

could be preserved as it is in poetic form with
strict grammatical rules.
 Things were named to indicate its quality
Copper Sulphate - Mayurgriva- Green as neck
of a peacock
 Each of Digits 0 to 9 has hundreds of alternate
names 1- Sun, Moon, 2 Hands, eyes etc
 CONCLUSION

Mnemonics is a very useful tool

for educators and students
 For any suggestions

Contact
Dr.A.S.Nene
M4 Laxmi Nagar,
Nagpur (India) 440022
Email: nene_ashok@yahoo.com