OTHER ACCOMMODATIONS: MEMORY AIDS

The “Memo to Faculty” lists the accommodations to which this student is entitled.  Under “Other”, you will find  “Memory aids, approved by professor,  for tests and exams involving rote material.” 

Professors might think of a proper memory aid as a sort of “pocket reference” or “address book” that will not be useful to the student unless that student has solid knowledge of how to use the information it contains.  

Memory aids provide help to students with documented deficits in rote memory, sequencing memory, working memory, and /or long-term memory to recall information that would otherwise be inaccessible to them in a testing situation.  The memory aid allows the student to demonstrate his or her knowledge of course material without taxing already compromised memory function.

A proper memory aid will not be useful to the student unless the student knows and understands how to use the information it refers to. If the student doesn’t understand the course material, a proper memory aid will not help.   

The memory aid allows the student to demonstrate knowledge of course material by helping to trigger the student’s memory. The professor must approve the memory aid in advance of the test.   

[1] How Are Memory Aids Provided?

The student must devise the memory aid and have it approved by the professor in advance. The professor must approve the memory aid (to make sure it is not giving away answers, and so on). Then the professor puts both the test and the memory aid in either the College Test Centre or the SSD Test Area.  The student will not write a test using a memory aid in the classroom unless the entire class is using a memory aid.  

Professors are not responsible for devising memory aids.  The student selects  the information for which cues are needed.  The student and the professor work out the final version. 

The student is not allowed to bring materials of any sort into the test areas without the professor’s approval.  Any materials permitted for use will be submitted with the test by the professor.

 [2]  What is Not a Memory Aid?

Memory aids are not:

·	answer sheets
·	substitutes for studying
·	an exemption from knowing the course material
·	full course notes
·	open textbooks

[3] What Does a Memory Aid Look Like?

On half a page of 8 ½” X 11” paper or a large file-card, the student records anything that will allow her or him to remember key information necessary for the test.   Acronyms, pictures, certain word-for-word definitions, and certain formulae, are among the items most frequently found on memory aids.  

Memory aids are often small for two main reasons: 
1)  the small size means that the aid could be used at a workplace,
2)  the small size requires the student to choose information carefully and efficiently.  This process is also a powerful form of studying. 

[4]  When Should Professors Approve Memory Aids?

What is a memory aid in one situation could be an answer sheet in another.  If, for instance, the purpose of a test is to discover whether or not the student knows the definitions of certain terms, having those words and terms on a memory aid would make it an answer sheet and, therefore, not allowable.  If the definitions were written but not connected to the terms to be defined in any way, this may be allowable, since it will trigger the student’s memory of the correct term. 

The ideal memory aid would make no sense to anyone but that specific student. If it is useful only to one student, the more likely it is not an answer sheet for another student.  

[5]  Who Requires Memory Aids?

Memory aids may be recommended for students with documented disabilities characterized by deficits in rote memory, sequencing memory, working memory, and/or long-term memory.  Disabilities that may affect memory include:

·	head injury
·	psychiatric disability
·	specific learning disability
·	ADD/ADHD
·	medical condition

Questions? Concerns? Contact us: disability.services@humber.ca