The Guardian – Melanie Macleod
“You’ve got your lesson plans nailed, have mastered the interactive white board and know all of your teaching techniques; but there’s still one nagging doubt at the back of your mind: “What if I can’t remember the names of my students?” Memorising monikers can be a minefield; there’s nothing like an indignant eight-year-old scolding you for getting their name wrong to make you feel like you’re the one being schooled. One teacher who isn’t struggling to remember the names of his students is James Paterson, psychology teacher at LVS Ascot, and finalist in the World Memory Championships. “My top advice for recalling names is to create a visual association between the student’s name and their face, no matter how weird or illogical it might seem,” he says. “If your student is called Oliver for example, you could imagine him begging for more marks, like Oliver Twist – it’s incredible how easily the full name can be recalled with only the most tenuous of associations.” Patterson adds that the same technique will work for surnames: “Oliver Jackson could be begging for more marks holding Michael Jackson’s white hat instead of a bowl. If you actually take a few seconds to look at your students and imagine them doing this then you’ll be amazed at how easy recall can be.”(more)