USE OF MNEMONICS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING Dr. A.S.Nene Professor of Civil Engg.(Rtd) V.N.I.T.Nagpur

1. 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

2. (Pronounced "ne-mon'-ics") The art of assisting the students memory, by using a system of artificial aids

3. Artificial aids • Rhymes, • Rules, • Phrases • Diagrams, • Acronyms • Other devices

4. From childhood to old age we use this technique knowingly or unknowingly. Government also uses this technique

5. Abstract concepts, principles and ideas are Hard for students to comprehend.

6. Remove a misconception that Geotechnical engineering subjects are descriptive and less scoring

7. 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 !

8. One picture is worth thousand words a Chinese proverb.

9. MAIN LEARNING STYLES Visual Auditory Kinesthetic

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Innovative Questions Use humor, Funny or peculiar things Name the curve which is plotted as a straight line! Flow curve

15. Enigmatic questions Enigmatic questions are very difficult to forget! What iscommon / uncommon between Foot & Footing? Both transfer loads to earth but one is above and other is below the ground

16. Rude Rhymes Rude rhymes are easy to remember. A for Atterberg, B for Boussinesq, C for Coulomb and D for Darcy

17. 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.

18. 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

19. 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

20. Three Dimensions and Movement Three dimensions and movement to an image makes it more vivid.

21. 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

22. CONCLUSION Mnemonics is a very useful tool for educators and students

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