Memory + Athletics = Memletics.

Catchy, right? And oh-so-cutesy, too.

Yes, really, that's exactly where this particular approach to learning got its name. Created by Sean Whiteley, Memletics is (according to its website) an accelerated learning program that promises to help people improve their learning and memory abilities through the same method athletes use to build muscle tone and physical fitness.

That's right: working out. Ready to pump some mental iron?

The difference in Memletics, of course, is that the workout is primarily in your brain. Though it's worth noting that the program recognizes the importance of maintaining good physical health (like, exercising and eating well) in order to be in the best possible state for learning.

We know, you're probably trying to figure out whether to grab your jogging shorts or your thinking cap. So let's assess.

Is This for Real?

Admittedly, Memletics sounds a lot like a product that might be hawked on late-night television or come with a free set of Ginsu knives if you order now. But take a look at the learning styles associated with the program (visual, aural, logical, physical, verbal, solitary, and social) as well as the learning approaches it professes to teach practitioners (visualization, association, repetition, performance, and simulation techniques).

Those nice long lists suggest that this idea has actually been developed based on other sound models: namely, Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Neil Fleming's VAK/VARK profiles. Oh, and it has some legit grounding in educational psychology, where mnemonics, visualization, and other techniques have long been considered effective approaches.

You can, in fact, purchase copies of Whiteley's Memletics Manual if you want it in print, and you can also access the entire manual online and free of charge. So no—you're not likely to be offered a super-exclusive deal on three-for-one shakeweights by acting now.

Sorry to burst that bubble.

Which isn't to say there isn't more where that came from. Inside that manual, your students can take a self-assessment to determine their learning preferences and read about techniques that will help them to improve their learning and memory using their chosen methods. We know, almost as good as a shakeweight.

Let's get a for instance up in here. If the preferred Memletics learning style is physical, the Memletics Manual includes the following among its suggestions for learners:

• Use touch, action, movement, and hands-on work in your learning activities.
• For visualization, focus on the sensations you would expect in each scenario.
• For assertions and scripting, describe the physical feelings of your actions.
• And, in general, use physical objects as much as possible.

For visual learners, some of the included suggestions are:

• Use images, pictures, color, and other visual media to help you learn.
• Incorporate plenty of imagery into your visualizations.
• Use color, layout, and spatial organization in your associations, and use lots of "visual words" in your assertions.
• Use mind maps.
• Use color and pictures in place of text, wherever possible.

And these are only partial lists, so imagine how much more there is where that came from. Plus, for every learning style, the strategies are elaborated upon with more specific examples.

So, yeah. There's some good stuff here that may be helpful to you and your students, even though Memletics doesn't appear to be a concept that was extensively researched, field-tested, or peer-reviewed (in the manner of Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, for example).

In fact, the whole manual appears to be self-published, since it's the only book we can find that was ever published by Advanogy Publishing. And the reviews on Amazon in the UK? Well, they range from laudatory to scathing.

But hey—we'll let you be the judge. Who knows? Memletics could resonate with some of your students (or with you), and it can offer some tips and tricks—and maybe even some insight—that might just help your students to understand and capitalize upon their preferred learning approaches.

And if that's not enough for you, you've always got the Ginsu knives.