How to get more out of your studying

and test preparation

12 PRINCIPLES OF MEMORY

1. SELECTIVITY

TRYING TO LEARN EVERYTHING IS NOT POSSIBLE AND NOT REASONABLE.

BY USING SELECTIVITY, YOU CAN IDENTIFY WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO

FOCUS ON AND WHAT CAN BE IGNORED. SELECTIVITY IS THE PROCESS

OF IDENTIFYING AND SEPARATING MAIN IDEAS AND IMPORTANT DETAILS

FROM A LARGER BODY OF INFORMATION. SELECTIVITY HELPS YOU

DECIDE WHAT TO SURVEY IN A CHAPTER, WHAT TO HIGHLIGHT IN YOUR

TEXTBOOK ,WHAT INFORMATION TO PUT IN YOUR NOTES, AND WHAT TO

STUDY FOR A TEST.

2. ASSOCIATION

ASSOCIATION IS THE PROCESS OF FORMING VISUAL OR AUDITORY CUES

TO LINK TOGETHER TWO OR MORE ITEMS OR CHUNKS OF INFORMATION

TO PROCESS IN MEMORY. ASSOCIATIONS ARE AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT

OF COGNITIVE PROCESS. WORKING MEMORY CREATES ASSOCIATIONS ON

A REGULAR BASIS. AN EXAMPLE OF ASSOCIATION IS THE MEMORY

DEVICE: “SUPER MAN HELPS EVERY ONE” TO REMEMBER THE FIVE

GREAT LAKES IN ORDER FROM WEST TO EAST (SUPERIOR, MICHIGAN,

HURON, ERIE, AND ONTARIO).

3. VISUALIZATION

VISUALIZATION IS A POWERFUL MEMORY TOOL, ESPECIALLY

FOR VISUAL LEARNERS, BECAUSE IT PRESENTS INFORMATION

IN A VISUAL OR GRAPHIC FORM. THE PROCESS OF

VISUALIZATION INVOLVES MAKING PICTURES OR “MOVIES” IN

YOUR MIND.

4. ELABORATION

ELABORATION IS THE PROCESS OF THINKING ABOUT, PONDERING, OR WORKING WITH AND ENCODING INFORMATION IN NEW WAYS. ELABORATION FORCES YOU TO MOVE BEYOND ROTE MEMORY. WHEN YOU USE ROTE MEMORY FOR RECALLING TEXTBOOK INFORMATION, SUCH AS A SERIES OF STEPS OR A FORMULA FOR A MATH EQUATION, YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF UNABLE TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS THAT PRESENT THE INFORMATION IN A FORM OTHER THAN THE EXACT FORM YOU MEMORIZED. HOWEVER, BY ELABORATING ON THE INFORMATION AND ENCODING AND USING IT IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, YOU MOVE BEYOND THE LIMITATIONS OF ROTE MEMORY.

5. CONCENTRATION

TO CONCENTRATE IS THE ABILITY TO BLOCK OUT DISTRACTIONS IN

ORDER TO STAY FOCUSED ON ONE SPECIFIC ITEM OR TASK. YOU CAN

STRENGTHEN YOU ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE BY BEING AN ACTIVE

LEARNER. ACTIVE LEARNING IS THE PROCESS OF USING A VARIETY OF

STRATEGIES THAT ACTIVELY INVOLVE OR ENGAGE YOU IN THE LEARNING

PROCESS. LEARNING TO CONCENTRATE RESULTS IN A DISCIPLINED AND

ATTENTIVE MIND THAT IS RECEPTIVE TO THE LEARNING PROCESS.

6. RECITATION

RECITATION IS A POWERFUL MEMORY TOOL THAT INVOLVES THE

PROCESS OF EXPLAINING INFORMATION CLEARLY, OUT LOUD IN YOUR

OWN WORDS, AND IN COMPLETE SENTENCES WITHOUT REFERRING TO

PRINTED MATERIALS. READING THE MATERIAL OUT LOUD ENCODES THE

INFORMATION LINGUISTICALLY AND USES AN AUDITORY CHANNEL INTO

YOUR LONG-TERM MEMORY.

7. INTENTION

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW YOU LEARN, WHAT YOU NEED TO LEARN,

AND WHICH STRATEGIES WORK BEST FOR YOU AND THE SPECIFIC

LEARNING TASK INVOLVED. ONCE YOU KNOW THIS, YOU CAN USE

ACTION-ORIENTED OR GOAL-ORIENTED BEHAVIOR TO ACTIVATE YOUR

MEMORY. INTENTION IS THE PROCESS OF CREATING A PURPOSE OR A

GOAL TO ACT OR PERFORM IN A SPECIFIC WAY. IT INVOLVES SETTING A

LEARNING GOAL THAT CLEARLY STATES WHAT YOU PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH

AND A PLAN OF ACTION THAT SHOWS HOW YOU INTEND TO ACHIEVE YOUR

GOAL.

8. BIG AND LITTLE PICTURES THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE OF BIG AND LITTLE PICTURES IS SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS SEEING “THE FOREST AND THE TREES.” IF YOU FOCUS ONLY ON THE FOREST, YOU MISS THE MEANING AND BEAUTY OF INDIVIDUAL TREES. IF YOU FOCUS ONLY ON A FEW INDIVIDUAL TREES, YOU MISS SEEING HOW ALL THE TREES TOGETHER MAKE A FOREST. THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE OF BIG AND LITTLE PICTURES IS A PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INFORMATION. THE “BIG PICTURES” ARE THE SCHEMAS, THEMES, CONCEPTS, AND MAIN IDEAS. THE “LITTLE PICTURES” ARE THE SUPPORTING DETAILS, SUCH AS FACTS, DEFINITIONS, EXAMPLES, OR PARTS OR COMPONENTS OF A LARGER CONCEPT. BOTH HIGHER AND LOWER LEVELS OF INFORMATION ARE IMPORTANT IN THE LEARNING PROCESS.

9. FEEDBACK FEEDBACK IS THE PROCESS OF VERIFYING HOW ACCURATELY AND THOROUGHLY YOU HAVE OR HAVE NOT LEARNED SPECIFIC INFORMATION. FEEDBACK INVOLVES A SEQUENCE OF STEPS: GOAL—ACTION—FEEDBACK—COMPARISON—RESULTS. SO YOU SET YOUR LEARNING GOAL, DEVELOP A PLAN OF ACTION TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, SELF-QUIZ TO TEST YOUR RECALL OF THE INFORMATION, COMPARE YOUR MEMORY WITH YOUR NOTES OR TEXTBOOK, AND EXAMINE YOUR RESULTS TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU KNOW THE INFORMATION. ONE OF THE KEY PARTS OF THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE OF FEEDBACK INVOLVES USING SELF-QUIZZING, A PROCESS OF TESTING YOURSELF SO YOU CAN RECEIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

10. ORGANIZATION THE PROCESS OF CREATING MEANINGFUL, LOGICAL STRUCTURE OR ARRANGEMENT OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION IS THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE OF ORGANIZATION. ORGANIZE INFORMATION IN NEW AND MEANINGFUL WAYS BY REORGANIZING, REGROUPING, OR REARRANGING INFORMATION IN NEW WAYS HELPS YOU EXAMINE THE INFORMATION MORE CAREFULLY, CONNECT IMPORTANT IDEAS, PERSONALIZE THE INFORMATION, HOLD INFORMATION LONGER IN YOUR MEMORY, AND INCREASE COMPREHENSION, CONCENTRATION, INTEREST, AND MOTIVATION. CATEGORIZE THE INFORMATION BY MAKING LISTS, USE A PATTERN TO ORGANIZE INFORMATION (SUCH AS CHRONOLOGICAL, SPATIAL, ETC.), AND USE A NEW METHOD TO PRESENT INFORMATION (SUCH AS VISUAL MAPPING, FORMAL OUTLINES, CORNELL NOTES, MNEMONICS, ETC.)

11. TIME ON TASK

WHEN YOU ALLOCATE SUFFICIENT TIME AND SPACE CONTACT TIME EFFECTIVELY TO LEARN COURSE MATERIAL, YOU ARE FOLLOWING THE PROCESS OF TIME ON TASK. HOW YOU USE TIME AND HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPEND ON LEARNING AFFECT THE QUALITY OF YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL REMEMBER THE INFORMATION. OBVIOUSLY THE MORE TIME YOU SPEND ON LEARNING NEW MATERIAL AND MAKING SURE YOU SPACE THAT TIME IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO CRAM AT THE LAST MINUTE, WILL ENSURE YOU REMEMBER THE INFORMATION. USE EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT TO HELP YOU MONITOR AND USE TIME EFFECTIVELY. DO NOT RUSH THE LEARNING PROCESS AND PLAN SUFFICIENT STUDY TIME FOR EACH COURSE.

12. ONGOING REVIEW

ONGOING REVIEW IS THE PROCESS OF PRACTICING PREVIOUSLY

LEARNED INFORMATION. EVEN THOUGH INFORMATION IN LONG-TERM

MEMORY IS CONSIDERED TO BE PERMANENT, WITHOUT ONGOING

REVIEW, INFORMATION CAN FADE. ONGOING REVIEW IS A CRUCIAL STEP

IN THE LEARNING PROCESS...IT IS THE FINAL STEP OF MOST READING,

NOTE TAKING, AND STUDY SKILL STRATEGIES. INCLUDE TIME EACH WEEK

TO REVIEW PREVIOUSLY LEARNED INFORMATION. REMEMBER PRACTICE

MAKES PERFECT.

SOURCE:

• Wong, Linda. Essential Study Skills. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton

Mifflin, 2009. Print.