The Problem

The problem is usually two fold: (1) forgetting and (2) superficial understanding of the material.

The techniques and principles described below require that the student become actively involved with the material.  In contrast to passive reading and reviewing, these techniques force the student to think about the subject matter and do something with it.

Study for Short Periods

• Break large tasks down into small pieces.  Study one piece, take a break, and then study some more.
  
• You will retain more information if you learn in small manageable portions.  Most study skills programs suggest working for 10-15 minute increments, and then slowly building up to 20 and 30 minutes increments over time.

• Just remember to be realistic.  If you can no longer concentrate or remember what you have read, stop.  There’s no sense in wasting your valuable time.

• Praise yourself for studying well, learning a difficult concept, or completing part of a project.   This reinforces good study habits.

Eliminate Distractions

Put away all materials from other classes or projects.  Even the sight of a textbook from another class can serve as a reminder of other things that are competing for your attention. This can cause you to switch your focus away from the task at hand.

Relate or Associate the Material

Making associations is critical to memory.  New information tends to be remembered if it is (a) tied to information that is already filed away in the mind, or (b) associated to something that by nature is easy to remember.

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices are very simple examples of making associations to enhance memory.  A mnemonic device is a formula, phrase, rhyme, word, etc. which is easily remembered and which is associated to the information that is to be remembered.

Examples:

Acrostics

Acrostics are phrases or poems in which the first letter of each word or line functions as a cue to help you recall the words that you are trying to remember.  One popular example is the phrase “Every good boy does fine”.  This acrostic is used to remember the order of the notes on a musical scale, E-G-B-D-F.

Acronyms

Acronyms are words formed out of the first letters of a series of words you are trying to remember.  A popular acronym is “SCUBA” which is used to remember the phrase “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus”.

Narrative

Some find making up a story with the lists of words throughout the narrative aids retention.

Rhymes

Remember the phrase “i before e, except after c”?  You probably remember this well because it is a rhyme.

Imagery

There are two methods of imagery which enhance retention of material:LINKING items together visually in your mind.  For example, if you have a list of groceries such as cereal, milk, toilet paper and tangerines, you might try visualizing a dairy cow eating cereal under a tangerine tree wrapped in toilet paper.  Believe it or not the more bizarre the image, the more likely you are to remember it.

The METHOD OF LOCI. This involves taking an imaginary walk in your mind through a familiar path along which you associate items you are trying to remember.  For example, you may take the same grocery list and place the items (visually in your imagination) throughout your room.  The tangerine may be the doorknob as you open the room, the cereal appears on the TV, the milk is hanging from the ceiling fan and you may envision a large roll of toilet paper in place of the chair at your desk.

Structure the Material

The mind can remember a lot of information if the data is structured or organized.  A couple of central points are easily remembered.  They in turn trigger the recall of sub points.  The sub points in turn trigger the recall of even more detailed material and so on.

Break a definition into its component parts and determine how those parts relate to one another and to the definitions of related words.  Take for example the word photosynthesis: “the synthesis of complex organic materials, esp. carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts, using sunlight as the source of energy and with the aid of a catalyst, as chlorophyll.”

The definition has four parts:

• The synthesis of carbohydrates

• From carbon dioxide, water and salts

• By the energy of sunlight (photo)

• With chlorophyll as a catalyst

In this structure form the definition is easier to remember.  The two elements of the word itself, photo and synthesis will remind you of numbers (1) and (3).

Recite the Material

This is the most powerful technique for imprinting material on the mind and moving it to longer-term memory.

The recall method or recitation method improves memory and learning in other ways:

• It forces you to decide what is most important in what you read.

• It forces you to put the material in your own words.

• It brings you to full alertness because it is a very active and demanding technique.

• It reveals whether you really did grasp the material.

Implement the recall method gradually to keep your frustration at a tolerable level.

Do Homework Problems

Be sure to do homework problems as they are assigned or you will get too far behind to catch up.  Subject matter in courses like math and accounting tends to build on itself, so you must master each segment of the course as you go.

Review Periodically

Periodic review is necessary to keep material learned retrievable.

An important aspect of the review process is further condensing and integration of the material being reviewed.

As part of your review, be sure to recite the material.  This method is the most important technique for ensuring later recall.  Future recall will be required if you have to use the information in your field work and if your tests will be of the essay, short answer, or fill-in-the-blanks type.

Motivation and Attitude

All of the above techniques require commitment and hard work.  To sustain the motivation necessary to complete the work involved, your concerns or the goal to which they lead have to be important to you.  If you have insufficient commitment, you should reassess your educational/vocational objectives or the means of achieving those objectives.