The serial position effect refers to the relative ease of recalling items at different positions on a list. I remember students names more easily if they don't move around in the room. An encoded memory may include more than the specific piece of info that was being learned, such as environmental stimuli present at the time of learning. These stimuli can serve as cues to aid in the retrieval of the learned information. I have an easier time remembering students' names in class than in the grocery store.
Students do better on exams when tested in the room where they learned.
A flashbulb memory is proposed to involve the retrieval of a number of details surrounding a rare and striking event. Three years later, they were asked to recall the same things. Most of the students were very confident of their recollections, but about a third were wrong. Seeing the proof of their errors, these students still felt confident that their memories were correct. Schemas are helpful when we form new memories.