Memory Aid
A memory aid is a single sheet of paper that students with significant memory deficits use to prompt information recall.
Who is this for?
A memory aid is an accommodation for students with a documented medical condition, learning disability, or neurological impairment that impacts spontaneous retrieval of information from long-term memory. Only students with a significant memory deficit, verified by specific medical documentation, are considered for a memory aid accommodation.
This accommodation supports students to:
- Equitably demonstrate knowledge of course material by helping to prompt and guide the student’s memory.
- Use an alternative method of effectively accessing previously learned information.
- Retrieve information from memory they have already learned, studied, and understood, but which they may have difficulty accessing.
What it is
A memory aid is a single sheet of paper created by the student and approved in advanced by the instructor.
A handwritten or typed document including:
- Acronyms
- Acrostics
- Categories
- Diagrams
- Drawings
- Formulae
- Mind Maps
- Mnemonics
- Pictures
- Rhymes
The contents of a memory aid are cues to assist student’s recollection of previously learned information.
A formula sheet may contain symbols, figures, and equations. Formula sheets may be permitted when assessing the application, as opposed to recollection, of formula.
What it’s not
A memory aid is not:
- A substitute for studying or exemption from learning course material
- An answer sheet
- Course notes or copies of course material
- List(s) of facts, details, definitions, or concepts
- Instructions, steps, or specific examples
- A list of conversions
- Specific examples of how formulas are used
- Pre-conceived answers to potential questions
If a learner does not know the course material, a memory aid will not help them.
A memory aid does not alter academic requirements or standards by which performance is assessed.
How can I support this in my classroom?
Instructors are within their right to disallow a student the use of a memory aid, or specific content within a memory aid, that presents any risk to academic integrity or if they were not given sufficient time for review.
