Education and demonstration – Psychology
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-25
2001-02-13
Nguyen, Kien T. (Department: 3712)
Education and demonstration
Psychology
C434S130000, C434S131000, C434S133000, C434S150000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186795
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to teaching aids. More particularly, the invention relates to teaching aids for assisting reading handicaps and memorization.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Not all students are able to effectively and quickly memorize ideas and facts simply by having the idea described to them by a teacher. Most are able to cope with the word association system presently employed in the school systems; however, many cannot learn or remember in this manner.
In prior art systems, increasing memory and linguistic understanding has been accomplished through associating new information with established knowledge. Some mnemonic techniques have been utilized that coordinate consonant sounds with numbers to create the basis for word association. For example, “The Memory Book” by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas discloses a “memory graph” to help a person remember locations as well as other information, based on letter
umber combinations often used to help pinpoint a location on a map. Letters can be arranged down the left side of a map and numbers across the top to establish a letter
umber combination. The memorization of the locations can be enhanced by creating a word to represent each location with a word beginning with the letter on the left side of the map with the next consonant following representing the number associated across the top of the map with all vowels ignored.
This system is limited in that it does not coordinate letters in a generally alphabetical order relative to numerical order. Also, the system is largely limited to non-visual memorization and can be difficult for those having underlying difficulties in understanding letters and numbers.
Systems have also been developed for coordinating letters with numbers. However, none have combined color coding with phonetics and numbers to provide a visual aid to memorize numeric and textual information and to assist those who have functional illiteracy challenges that may make reading text difficult or impossible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved system for memorizing information, and particularly geographic or numeric information, through visually reinforced mnemonics.
It is another object of the invention to provide a sight learning method for users having difficulties with numbers and letters.
It is also an object of the invention to provide multiple memorization cues to reinforce the memory of the underlying information.
It is yet another object of the invention to utilize a visually reinforced memorizing system for geographic information.
It is a further object of the invention to assign a specific coordinate to each surface area section of an organized globe for use with the memorization system.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a apparatus to assist in the creation of mnemonics by applying visual assistance of the memorizing system.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by a visually reinforced learning and memorization system, which can include improved techniques and apparatus for assisting in using the system, and a geographic coordinate system for facilitating use of the system with earth or other geographies, and smaller regions as well.
The invention relates to a communication and learning system. In various embodiments, the invention has applications relating to advertising, educational teaching aids, telephone numbering, map organization, street signage, filing systems, organized store layouts and other areas in which a correlation of numbers, color and phonetics can be useful.
According to the invention, a coordinate system for providing numbering of various geographical locations, for example of the earth, can be provided to provide an organized numbering system down to areas as small as one square foot, or smaller. The resulting number reference for the geographic location can then be coordinated with the mnemonic system of the invention to provide a mechanism for not only providing an alphabetic representation of the numbers but also a color coordination to further visually reinforce the memory of the geographic reference number.
The use of the coordinate system and mnemonic system to teach memorization and geographic locations can further be enhanced through the use of a mnemonic apparatus generally comprising slide translators. Each slide translator can include a sleeve surrounding a slidable insert that reveals various information through a window in the sleeve. Each sleeve can be associated with a particular mnemonic group within the mnemonic set so as to bear a particular color, number and associated mnemonic subset. The translators can then be selected based on numbers to correspond to the individual digits of the reference numbers representing the geographic location and can then be arranged adjacent to each other to visually identify the letters in the construction of a mnemonic sentence or other phase for memorization of the associated numbers.
The application of the mnemonic system to memorize various spatial information can be extended to global coordinate systems and can include geography such as of the United States or smaller spacial areas. Various regions of the geographic area can also be colored according to the system.
The mnemonic system of the invention can also have other applications in which alphanumeric information must be memorized. The address of an individual, for example, can be colored and associated with particular phonetic groupings to create mnemonic sentences for memorization of the address. Similar approaches can be utilized for memorization of telephone numbers. Further, the mnemonic system can be selectively used within advertisements to color certain words or numbers to enable the viewer to construct mnemonic sentences with the associated phonetic group to memorize the particular advertising message conveyed by the advertisement.
Different aspects of the inventive system can be combined to provide further advantages. For example, the geography of an area, either a municipality, state, county, or continent can be organized according to the invention to identify specific location coordinates by number, color or both, combined with mnemonic cues corresponding to the number established for the location. The telephone numbers of individuals residing at the specific coordinate also can be selected to have the digits of the telephone number correspond to the area's geographical coordinate. Therefore, if one is able to memorize the telephone number of a residence, the actual location of the residence on the globe will simultaneously be memorized.
Thus, the invention provides method and apparatus for improving understanding and memorization, and particularly for geographic information. The learning aid can also be used for other non-educational applications to enable users familiar with the system to enjoy the benefits in various situations.
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Fernstrom Kurt
Nguyen Kien T.
Quarles & Brady
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