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Improving Your Memory Anyone can improve their memory by following a 3 step process: · Paying attention · Applying constructivist methods · Making information easy to remember
Paying attention · Take an active role in learning. · Memorization is always needed but is not all. · Review information and quiz yourself for true understanding. · Stop being passive in class and when studying. · Many students equate going to class and hearing the professor, with real learning. · LWI can be dangerous. (Listening While Ignoring) · It gives the impression that you are trying but you can't remember anything later. · Thus you feel you did your job but couldn't explain anything when asked.
Constructivism · Constructivism deals with correlating new information with old information. · Thus, one constructs new understanding by fitting new information with prior understanding or experiences. · Rather than just memorizing random facts, try to relate them to prior knowledge. · Think about new information and draw comparisons to other things you know. · Think about similar information learned earlier. · Draw analogies between old information and new information. · This allows you to see the big picture and not get swamped with new information. · Identify main points. · Think about how these fit in with what you know from other experiences or classes. · Become accustomed to ’calling out’ the things you understand. · Develop your inter-personal skills as you work with peers and family members.
Make information memorable by mastering it. · Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Repetition · Read it, Write it, Say it, Explain it, Draw it, Ask questions about it, master it..... · Break down words by prefix or suffix. (Hydro relates to water) · Use memory tricks, play SCHOLARCARDS often. · Mnemonics for lists: ex. taxonomy of living things King Philip Chooses Oranges From Grandpa's Supply Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species · Make silly rhymes or sayings to remember lists. · Use silly analogies to remember examples. Humor is a powerful memory trigger; the dumber the better
Cramming WHAT IS CRAMMING? Remember, the word ‘cramming’ is a non-scientific word that we use loosely to mean different things to different people at different times. I submit that “cramming” refers to a student trying to internalize a large volume of information in a little amount of time. This student would have waited until the day before the exam and tried to cover the entire term’s work, which really needed 30 hours of study and learning time, but now he or she only has, at most 10 hours, which forces him or her to study under desperate emergency. When we compare this with other situations like a student who decides to learn off his or her definitions and formulae, or his or her eleven times tables and so on in a relaxed environment and early on in the term, then, this is not ‘cramming”. I feel the need for us to differentiate these two situations because many students shy away from memorization of key facts because they associate this with ‘cramming’ in a bad way. We are therefore having the problem of our students losing valuable marks in exams because they forgot the formula for a sum, or the 5 points needed to cover a topic and such like. We do need to find ways to increase our mastery of information (with understanding) and therefore guarantee better results at exams. RICHARD YEARWOOD– EDUGAMES LTD 2008 There are good reasons to avoid last minute ‘cramming’ for exams, they are: · Your anxiety level will go up · You will lose sleep and eat poorly because of this · You will get sick more easily because of this · You may actually miss the exam or be late because of this · You may have to take the much harder essay make-up exam because of this · You may still likely fail the exam anyway. · Seriously, at a minimum you will do worse on the exam than you would have if you prepared properly.
Avoid these problems by simply committing yourself to early and sensible preparation exercises. Why does cramming not work? There is a biological reason for this. The problem is that cramming information places it into our brains in short term storage without properly internalizing it. This is where you put everyday information that is not really worth remembering. In order to learn we have to transfer information into long term memory. Once there, you can retrieve it far easier over a longer period of time. Here's an overview the differences: Short term memory: All information is processed in the brain and stored in short term memory. The problem is that this information sort of overloads the brain and is not kept for very long. Can you remember every single event that happened to you in a given day? Think of the literally thousands of bits of information you are exposed to every day. It's not necessary to remember it all, so the brain dumps it after a time if it is not repeated. Can you remember what you had for breakfast the day before yesterday? What shirt you wore? How much lunch cost? How many steps there are in preparing for exams? No. What makes you think you will remember some factoid from class, that you never heard of before? Sure you may remember it for a day or two, but that's it. Only when you make an effort to remember something repeatedly do you transfer that information into the other kind of memory, long term memory.
Long term memory: This is the type of memory used when we want to store information in a more permanent way. This is either done by making information especially memorable (like getting burned means not to play with fire) or by repetition. Ever try to remember a new phone number? How many time do you look it up before you remember it? Course information is the same thing. If you're learning something new it's harder to remember. It takes constant review and trying to remember specific information before you actually can. Once something is transferred from short term to long term memory we say it has been learned. (or at least remembered)
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