Human Memory
The human memory is one of the most interesting things to learn about but also one of the most challenging. In this essay I will explore the human memory and how it relates to the following things: information processing theory, nature of sensory register, and the role of attention. I will also explain to the best of my ability the nature of the working memory, how the brain connect new information with prior knowledge and the nature of long term memory. Finally I will provide strategies as to how a person can transfers something to their long term memory and how a person can enhance retrieval of information from their long term memory.
As technology has advanced thorough the years the human brain has been compared to many things most recently it has been compared to a computer. The theory of information processing is a key part to how our brain functions. Information processing starts with input from the sensory organs, which change physical stimuli such as touch into electrochemical signals. Then algorithms of the brain changes the sensory information in both bottom-up and top-down processing. An example of these two types of processing would be bottom-up me feeling something crawling on my arm or leg and without seeing it freaking out, while in top-down processing stage I would see a spider and immediately kill it. In this example during the top-down I thought more about my reaction due to previous knowledge about spiders. Sensory register is the first and most immediate form of memory you have, the sensory register is your short term memory that takes in information using your five senses and only holds on to it for a couple of seconds. Our senses wake up when we are exposed to new stimuli such as a strong odor. It is because of our sensory register that we have the ability to remember those things. The role of attention plays an important part in what we put into our memory. When we are beginning to process or learn something it needs to grab our attention in order for us to transfer it to our working memory.
Our working memory is a system for storing and managing the information to carry out complex tasks such as learning and comprehension. The working memory is also involved when we are storing or retrieving data. Some tasks we perform on a daily basis involve our working memory include reading and problem solving. Our prior knowledge of things is very important in the learning process. When we are learning something new we have a tendency to associate it to things we have previous knowledge of. An example of how our connects new information with prior knowledge would be the concept of math. When we are around 2 or 3 years old we learn the concept of numbers, when we go into kindergarten we use those same numbers and begin to learn the next step in math which is addition and subtraction as we continue through school even in college those numbers a major part of our education. One way to help our students successfully connect new information with prior knowledge would be to use a KWL Chart. KWL gives the students the opportunity to list what they already know about the subject, what they want to learn about the subject and what they learned. This is an excellent resource for a teacher as well because you can see if you reached your goal of what your lesson was focused on. Every person also has a part of their brain that hold their long term memories ,unlike your short term memory where you sometimes only remember something for a short time, your long term memory helps you remember experiences and things for longer periods of time sometimes even for the rest of your life. Long term memory is divided in to two types of memory-explicit(conscious) and implicit(unconscious). Some examples of things that might be embedded in your long term memory might include-a favorite vacation from your childhood, your wedding day or the birth of your child.
Some of your memories will always be in the front of your brain but others you might have to work a little harder to retrieve. There are several things a person can do to transfer something from their short term memory into a long term memory. One way to transfer information into long term memory is to keep repeating it. For example i before e is a helpful spelling pattern we learn as children. We apply it whenever we are trying to spell words and those two letter are next to each other. Another way to transfer information into our long term memory is to use acronyms i.e. PEMDAS is used when completing math problems with multiple steps. Having the ability to retrieve information from our long term memory is something we learn to do better as we get older. Children are asked to remember a lot more information then we are as adults. Here are some strategies that will help anyone retrieve things from their long term memory: prior to a test allowing them to take a practice test, and when trying to complete complicated things write them down in steps.
There are two main types of memory, short term and long term. The key part to our brain functioning is called information processing. There are two types of processing bottom-up and top-down. Sensory register also known as sensory memory is the first and most immediate form of memory you have. The role of attention also has an important part of our memory process, in order to remember something it has to attract our attention. Our working memory is a system for storing and managing the information to carry out complex tasks such as learning and comprehension. When we are learning something new we have a tendency to associate it to things we have previous knowledge of. There are some strategies a person can use to transfer something from their short term memory to their long term memory and also how to retrieve it from their long term memory. Using acronyms such as PEMDAS can help us complete complicated math problems and being allowed to take a practice test will help us retrieve previously learned information.

References
How does the brain process information: retrieved from http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/methods/info_processing/
Sensory Register of Memory Definition and Overview retrieved from: http://study.com/academy/lesson/sensory-register-of-memory-definition-lesson-quiz.html

The Role of Attention Boundless retrieved from: https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/memory-8/step-1-memory-encoding-54/the-role-of-attention-in-memory-215-12750/
Working Memory Saul McLeod published 2008 updated 2012 retrieved from : http://www.simplypsychology.org/working%20memory.html
Are You Tapping into Prior Knowledge Often Enough in Your Classroom? Rebecca Alber July 19th 2011 retrieve from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/prior-knowledge-tapping-into-often-classroom-rebecca-alber

What is Long-Term Memory- The Duration, Capacity, and Types of Long-Term Memory by Kendra Cherry retrieved from: http://psychology.about.com/od/memory/f/long-term-memory.htm

Strategies for Improving Memory by Cherri Straus retrieved from: http://psychcentral.com/lib/strategies-for-improving-memory/