Date and time

Thursday 15 June 2023, 9.30 am to 3.30 pm

Delivery mode

In person at ISV, 40 Rosslyn St, West Melbourne

Audience

Secondary Teacher, Leader

Description

The techniques Dr Lynne Kelly has adapted from Indigenous memory methods are applicable in every subject area. Through learning from Indigenous cultures, students gain more respect for a different way of knowing while gaining invaluable personal skills. Indigenous narrative trails, such as Australian Songlines, are now included in the VCE Psychology Study Design.

This one-day program will teach you some of the extraordinary memory techniques that have been used throughout millennia and around the world by Indigenous cultures who have been dependent on their memories for everything they learned. With an emphasis on Australian Aboriginal intellectual achievements, you will also venture into early literate cultures to learn how to make written notes more memorable. These methods are hardwired into our brains, which explains why they are so effective for even the most abstract of information.

You will learn how Aboriginal songlines, like the simpler version known as memory palaces, use the brain’s natural ability to associate information with physical locations, while art, music, characters and decorated objects are invaluable memory aids. Having reliably grounded the basic information of any topic in memory, students are far better able to layer higher-level thinking skills.

This workshop is based on Dr Lynne Kelly’s PhD research and five subsequent books on memory techniques.

Key takeaways

• memory techniques we can learn from Indigenous cultures
• understanding of how music and dance can be used to make information memorable
• appreciation of the value of adding characters and narrative in learning
• knowledge of how to use buildings and grounds as memory palaces
• techniques for making memory boards and using them in class
• memory techniques that aid teachers as well as students.

Presenter information

Dr Lynne Kelly AM         

Dr Lynne Kelly has over 40 years’ experience in education. Teaching mostly in secondary schools, she has also offered programs at primary and tertiary levels. The author of 20 books, mostly for education, Lynne has lectured in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom on topics including enrichment programs and memory. With degrees in engineering, information technology and education, she completed a doctorate researching Indigenous memory methods and their application for archaeology and contemporary life. Lynne’s thesis was published by Cambridge University Press. Her subsequent books, The Memory Code, Memory Craft and co-authored books, Songlines: the power and promise and A Guide to Songlines (for children), have been published in Australia and internationally.

Link(s) to relevant VRQA Standards 

• Curriculum and Student Learning – Student learning outcomes