Tips for Improving Memory

Intend to Remember: We tend to learn in accordance with how much interest, incentive, and intention we have in learning. By the same token, we remember those things that we are motivated to remember, whether we are naturally interested or have created an interest and enthusiasm in learning the subject matter because we realize the ultimate benefits. Intending to remember is, perhaps, the most vital learning task.

Selectively Choose Memory Tasks: Few can remember everything they see or hear. Selecting the important topics, facts, and ideas and disregarding the least essential elements allows maximum memory to occur. Therefore, when studying, first skim the chapter outline to identify key concepts to be remembered.

Understand the Material: A poorly understood concept is difficult to remember because it has little meaning. For long-term recall, it is necessary to understand what you are trying to remember.

Review: Immediate review (after class lectures or textbook reading), even if for a few minutes, reinforces learning and remembering of material. The greatest amount of forgetting occurs directly after finishing the learning task (psychologists say within 20 minutes). Try reviewing notes immediately before and after class period to enhance recall.

Use All of Your Senses: Sight and hearing are the most important senses in acquiring information. Although both senses should be used, decide whether you are primarily a visual or an auditory learner. A visual learner should take copious notes. Visual learners tend to deal directly with the subject matter, and by taking notes, the material is presented more often and in different forms. Auditory learners should spend more time in reciting orally. For both learning styles, however, mental recitation is important in transferring material from short-term memory. Experts suggest 80 percent of textbook study should be involved in reciting and 20 percent in reading.

Associate New Material with Prior Knowledge: Learn new material by associating the new idea with something you already know about and are interested in. An important fact to remember is that the more you learn, the easier it is to learn more because you have a broader base for anchoring new information.

Use Short Study Periods Rather Than Cramming: As a general rule, short study periods interspersed with rest intervals are to be preferred over massed practice or cram sessions. The exception to this rule would involve the writing of a paper where organizational tasks would require longer work periods and more intense concentration on the project without break.

Organize Material Meaningfully: Large masses of material are less threatening and more easily committed to memory when broken into smaller sections or categories. Envision each fact or idea as a part of that category or section, and then relate the
sections to each other. It is also helpful when remembering a list of items to give extra attention and practice to those items in the middle of the list. Those items at the first and last of a list are recalled with greater accuracy than those within the list.

Mnemonic Devices – Mnemonic devices are an effective means of organizing random or arbitrary facts into a meaningful sequence.

One such device is developing an acronym for a series of facts, that is using the first letter of each fact to make up a word . For example; HOMES is a good acronym to remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

Another technique is the peg memory system. This is a very powerful strategy for remembering random numbers by encoding them into linked images i.e. stories. To start, assign every number 0 to 9 with an image. For example, 1=Knight; 2=dragon; 3=shield; 4=sailing ship; 5=a hook; 6=battering ram; 7=flag; 8=catapult; and 9=troll. Following these images, the year Columbus discovered the New World – becomes the adventure story of a dashing Knight on a Sailing Ship who spies an ugly Troll on the shore who hurls a Dragon spear at him; 1492.

The Method of Loci or the “mental walk” is another powerful memory technique. To use this technique begin with the list of things you want to memorize. Then visualize a familiar path, neighborhood street, or the layout of a building (e.g., school) that has discrete locations (loci) along the way. Then begin a mental walk through the chosen area. As you walk, drop the items to remember at specific loci along the path or in the rooms. Retrieval of items is achieved by mentally retracing your steps through the path or building, allowing the specific loci to activate the memory of the desired items.

Candle Technique – There’s a yoga technique for developing photographic memory by exercising memory concentration. Legend tells of old yogi masters who could recite their entire historic volumes from their heads! One of their sacred techniques for photographic memory is the “Candle Technique.” This memory exercise forces you to concentrate on your visual cortex strengthening your visual photographic memory pathway. To start, place a candle in front of you in a dark room. Sit comfortably in one spot and stare at the candle for 1 minute. Do not let your eyes drift. Then close and cover your eyes. You will see a bright after image of the flame still. For 2 minutes try to keep your attention on the flame image and force it to stay in the center of your vision without moving. Then open your eyes and let it go. This photographic memory exercise forces you to develop visual concentration which is critical to getting a better memory.

StudyCram “Flash Back”™ Photographic Memory Method – The system is simple. As you’re on your way to class every minute or until your tired glance quickly at something passing by, look away, and then try to remember what you saw as vividly as you can. This tricks your brain into paying attention and storing more of what you see. Your short term memory exists because your brain doesn’t want to store everything you come across. But it doesn’t know what you’ll need and what to discard at any given moment. So it chucks everything each moment into a temporary storage bin. If you don’t recall it within a couple minutes your brain figures its useless data and dumps it to prevent clutter. By asking back for the contents of these bins before dump time your brain automatically starts hanging onto them longer in anticipation that you may need them transferring them into long term storage. It also tries to make the bins bigger as you demand more details. This practice over time forces your memory to become more effective. And don’t worry, you can’t fill up your memory in one lifetime anyway, so don’t feel badly for it. Push it to the max! http://www.studycram.com/better-memory.html