On Memory

Researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand discovered an important link between the ability to tell stories, memory and the way mother's tell their children stories. I'm really interested in this right now because in class, we're covering Features of a Good Story. Specifically, we're discussing how students can become great writers by: 1) telling stories with a lot of descriptive language and 2) using their ability to recall what they already know and merge it with what they're learning from reading to make inferences.

The study by the Department of Psychology researchers found that Māori mothers appear to talk with their children in richer ways about significant events involving them, such as their birth.

Study co-author Associate Professor Elaine Reese says discussing past events in richer detail during early childhood has previously been linked to children more effectively storing their early memories.

"This new study provides the first evidence that Māori children experience a richer narrative environment than New Zealand European children and that these rich stories transfer to children's storytelling skill," Associate Professor Reese says. Read Full Article