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Memory Techniques I

The document provides memory techniques and tips for improving memory. It discusses learning from the general to specific, making information meaningful, creating associations, learning actively, relaxing, creating pictures, reciting and repeating information, writing things down, reducing interference, overlearning, escaping the short-term memory trap, using daylight, distributing learning over time, remembering related ideas, using information before it gets lost, and using mnemonic devices like acronyms and rhymes.

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Jay Jayasankar
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
302 views

Memory Techniques I

The document provides memory techniques and tips for improving memory. It discusses learning from the general to specific, making information meaningful, creating associations, learning actively, relaxing, creating pictures, reciting and repeating information, writing things down, reducing interference, overlearning, escaping the short-term memory trap, using daylight, distributing learning over time, remembering related ideas, using information before it gets lost, and using mnemonic devices like acronyms and rhymes.

Uploaded by

Jay Jayasankar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Improving your memory will make you a better student.

Good
memory skills can help you process information quickly and
efficiently, and can save you hours of cramming before tests.
Developing an effective memory takes practice and the techniques
you use need to fit your style of learning. Experiment with the
following memory techniques to find the ones that will help you
store and recall information more easily.
Learn from the general to specific
Survey the chapter you are about to read by first reading major titles and
headings. How is the chapter organized? What are the major areas being
emphasized? Next, skim the chapter or the main ideas. By getting a look
at the big picture, you'll be able to better understand and retain the
details.

Make it meaningful
Try to remember why you are in college and how the information you are
learning will help you in your future plans. If you can keep in mind the
importance of what you are learning, you will be more motivated to retain
the information.

Create Associations
Try associating new information with data already stored in your
memory. This works well with names. For example, if you meet someone
named Lisa, try picturing this person standing next to another person
you know named Lisa. When you see the new Lisa, your mind is more
likely to associate her with a Lisa you already know.

Learn it once, actively


For some, standing or walking around while studying can enhance
memory and recall by providing needed energy and alleviating boredom.
Action is a great memory enhancer.

Relax
When you are relaxed, you absorb new information more quickly and
recall it with greater accuracy. Relaxation is a state of alertness, free of
tension, during which your mind can use the techniques for recalling.

Create Pictures
Draw diagrams. Make cartoons. Use them to connect facts and illustrate
relationships. For example, to remember the date of the treaty that
declared peace between the American colonies and England, ending the
Revolutionary War, you could try the following visualization. Picture a
dove (the symbol of peace) carrying a red, white, and blue sign (the
symbol of the United States) with the year 1783 on it.

Recite and Repeat


This may be the most important technique you can learn. Verbally repeat
information you want to retain. If you are reading a chapter, write a
summarization of the material. Skim your reading again and check your
summarization for errors. Repetition is very helpful in moving
information from short-term memory into long-term memory.

Write it down
Writing a note to yourself helps you remember an idea, even if you never
look at the note again.

Reduce interference
Doing one activity at a time increases your ability to remember. Find a
quite place that is free from distractions. For example, if theres a party
at your dorm room, go to the library.

Over learn
One way to fight mental fuzziness is to learn more than you need to
know about a subject simply to pass a test. This technique is especially
effective for problem solving. Do the assigned problems, and then do
more problems. Find another text and work similar problems. Make up
your own problems and work those. When you pretest yourself in this
way, the potential rewards are speed, accuracy, and greater confidence at
exam time.

Escape the short-term memory trap


Short-term memory can fade after a few minutes, and it rarely lasts more
than several hours. A short review within minutes or hours of a study
session can move material from short-term memory into long-term
memory. That quick mini-review can save you hours of study time when
exams roll around.

Use daylight
Study your most difficult subjects during daylight hours. Many people
can concentrate more effectively during the day.

Distribute Learning
Marathon studying sessions are not effective. It is better to study in two
or three small sessions than to study in a long six-hour session. Take
breaks between study sessions as rewards. Even while you are taking a
break, your mind will be reviewing what you have just studied.

Remember something related


If you can't remember the answer you need, try to remember a related
idea or concept. For example, if you can't remember the answer to a test
question, try to remember the example the teacher used in class to talk
about the concept. Often, this will allow your mind to begin associating
until it can recall the information you need.

Use the information before it gets lost


To remember something, access it a lot. Read it, write it, speak it, listen
to it, and apply it. Find some way to make contact with the material on a
regular basis. Study groups are an excellent means to implement this
idea.

MNEMONIC DEVICES

Mnemonic devices are ways or "tricks" to help you memorize and


recall anything from long lists to speeches and basic concepts.
Mnemonic devices do not help you to understand and therefore
learn large bodies of information. They are used only as tools for
rote memorization. Here are just a few examples. You may have
your own mnemonic devices that you already use!
Acronyms
Acronyms are words created by the first letters of a series of words. A
well-known example is Roy G. Biv, which helps students to remember

the colors of the visible spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,
and violet).

Acrostics
Acrostics are sentences that help you remember a series of letters that
stand for something. A common example is "Every good boy deserves
fudge" (E, G, B, D, and F). These letters are the musical notes of the lines
of the treble clef staff.

Rhymes and Songs


How many of us will ever forget the Alphabet Song? To this day, many people softly
sing the song when trying to alphabetize a list. Rhymes often teach basic facts, such as,
"In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." Songs and
rhymes help to burn information in your memory.

ARC/EOP Student Success Series


Information gathered from Becoming A Master Student, by Dave Ellis. Tenth Edition.
For additional information set up an appointment. Contact us at:

Advising Resource Center/EOP


Bayramian Hall 210
818.677.2108
[email protected]

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