Memorization Skills

Academic success is measured in part by how well the student is able to demonstrate his or her mastery of specific material. Students who enjoy such success are able to rely upon their memory to accurately recall and articulate details and concepts.

Many students however have had the unsettling experience of doing poorly on an exam after “going blank”. Unfortunately some students then develop a belief that they do not know the material or are just not smart enough. The truth is that forgetting may have less to do with intellect and more to do with poorly developed memory skills. The good news is that a student can learn techniques to improve his or her memory!

The techniques are quite simple to use and more importantly they work. So, if you have had that unpleasant experience of studying in earnest and feeling as though you have a firm grasp on the material only to encounter “brain fade” during an exam then read on:

1. Distributed practice.
   Break up your study into smaller periods. Study a little every day instead of a lot all at once (see “procrastination”). Studying for an extended period without a break is usually unproductive and unpleasant. If you develop this technique you will quickly learn that studying does not have to be drudgery and that you actually make better use of your time.
2. Overlearn.
   Continue to study even after you feel you have attained 100% mastery of the material. This technique will produce over-learning and gives you a margin for forgetting; a margin that you will need on the exam. The rule here is: after you have learned it, keep practicing. Think of a skilled athlete or musician. Both continue to practice their craft in order to ensure a quality performance.
3. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.
   How often have you ever been able to retain information that you have seen only once? Few people have this skill. Repetition provides an added opportunity to get material into memory storage. For example, many college textbooks introduce a large number of terms and names of theories. You could engage in repetition by reviewing this vocabulary of technical terms using a flash-card method. You could also simply re-write the terms in a new order and then review the list several times during the course of a day. Another way to utilize repetition is to try to use the terms or talk about them with a friend. The point is the more you are able to see, hear, or think about terms the more likely you are to remember them.
4. Elaborative Rehearsal.
   Remember learning the alphabet as a child? Remember the song? You still remember it don’t you? You rehearsed it well but that is was still more typical of rote memorization. Elaborative rehearsal is an even more active learning process. When you rehearse material using this method, you study it by thinking of its meaning, by trying to picture it (forming a mental image of it), and by thinking of things that are associated with it. In spite of how well you learned your “A,B,C’s” material that is rehearsed in this way is remembered better than material that is rehearsed in a rote fashion. Rehearsal and critical reflection will help a great deal! Test your knowledge. Talk about your studies with friends and classmates.
5. Selective Learning.
   It is impossible for you to remember everything you are exposed to during a series of lectures or from assigned readings. Even your professor must often rely on his or her notes during a lecture. You would really possess extraordinary memory skills to retain all you hear in read during a semester or just one week! So be selective. Make decisions about what is most important to remember. Your professor may give you some clues during the course of a lecture. He or she may simply tell you that specific material must be mastered or they may be more subtle. If a professor becomes noticeably excited about certain material, repeatedly asks the class if they understand, or spends more time with certain material the chances are this is material that he or she feel is important. It is also material that is likely to appear on an exam! In deciding what is important enough to remember, your textbook can also be helpful; note what appears in boldface or italics and what is emphasized in the chapter summary.
6. Exam Perspective.
   It is quite likely that you would do better on any exam if you knew exactly how the material to be tested was to appear on the exam. Differences often exist between how material appears in an exam format compared to how it was presented in class or in the text. Of course this challenges memory. You typically do not study from an exam perspective. Yu can however adapt methods that can help you develop and exam perspective. Many text books now include sample test questions for practice. Some even provide CD’s that provide a battery of practice questions from the text. Use them. They really will help! You can also try to anticipate questions. As you study ask yourself how you might present a question related to the material. All of these techniques will help enhance your exam perspective.
7. Active Learning.
   Take charge of your learning! You are the only one responsible for your learning. Being present or reading your assignments is not enough. You must become an active and critical thinker. While in class, ask questions. Ask for clarification of concepts. Ask for information to be repeated. If you are struggling with material or want to know more talk to your professor, the teaching assistant, and other students. Learning is an active dialogue. You also need to ask yourself questions while reading. You can ask these questions to yourself quietly or even out loud (which has the extra added bonus of convincing those around you that you are quite disturbed and should be approached with caution.) Write comments, questions and criticisms in the margin of your book. Review your notes at the end of the day not only before an exam.
8. Make The Material Personally Meaningful.
   I have found this to be one of the most useful techniques to improved memorization and learning. As you listen to a lecture or read a text ask yourself how the material applies to your own experience. Can you find examples from your own life that support or challenge concepts, theories, techniques, or general information? This technique works because it makes the material real and meaningful. It also makes it much easier to remember. You will find it much easier to remember a given concept if you can relate it to the time your Aunt Gertie set her shoes on fire. Your understanding of the concept of autonomy may be easier to remember if you think of it in terms of your own struggles for independence. You should also put material into your own words. You should endeavor to be specific but initially take notes using words that have meaning to you and can serve as cues. This will make the specifics easier in the long run. The bottom line is to try to increase memory cues by forming as many personal associations with new material as possible.
9. Use Mnemonic Devises.
   This is an old familiar tool but it works. You have probably employed mnemonic devises dozens of times. Simply make up a story that uses imagery of items to be remembered or condense information into acronyms.
10. Minimize Interference.
    Find a favored spot to study where the chance of physical interference (friends, family, distracting noise, phones) is reduced. Avoid studying topics that may interfere with each other such as languages. Study when you are alert and well rested.
11. Think.
    Think critically about what you are hearing and reading. By actively and critically thinking about the material you are trying to learn you will enhance your understanding and improve your memory.

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