Abstract:

Learning and memory are two closely related processes that are closely related and guide students throughout their academic life, enabling adaptive changes and the acquisition of competences. Although it is true that there are multiple definitions of memory, all of them highlight that this skill consists of the ability to acquire, store, retrieve and use information. In this sense, without memory, human beings would not be able to learn, perceive or think, so it would not be possible to perform learning tasks, acquire problem-solving skills and understand the outside world.
Nowadays, neurological evidence highlights the existence of different regions involved in memory and learning processes, with specific and well-defined functions. In this research, different graphic organisers that can be used to facilitate memorisation and improve students' academic performance are presented. In this way, tools such as concept maps for the acquisition of knowledge are included, as well as different methodologies that favour thinking in the classroom. All of this is carried out with a strong practical character, exposing firstly the theoretical foundations involved in the process and then the examples of application in the classroom for its implementation with students.
Thus, this research work aims to serve as a framework of reference and help for teachers involved in the development of cognitive skills in the classroom. The results are structured in an orderly and schematic way, presenting the adaptation of tools such as: numerical, sequential, linear, horizontal diagrams, Ishikawa diagrams, etc. All of them, used with a high grade of satisfaction among the students and specially designed for students of Compulsory Secondary Education, so that through these tools their academic performance is improved, and study tasks are made lighter.
Finally, it should be noted that, although the examples chosen have been specially designed for pre-university students, these cognitive tools can be applied at later stages and accompany the student throughout their academic life. For all these reasons, the examples presented can be extrapolated to university teachers, highlighting the importance that the student must be the protagonist of his or her learning, and the teacher must act as a guide in the process and not as a "possessor of knowledge". In this sense, it is the students' ultimate responsibility to search for, process, interact and use information in order to solve problems in a critical and creative way.

Keywords:

Memory, compulsory secondary education, teaching tools, competences, teaching-learning.