YOUR MEMORY'S

NATURAL RHYTHMS
You  can utilize the mind's natural processes for learning information. Your
memory and memorization skills (comprehension + memory = learning) will
benefit from knowing how your brain best absorbs information (builds new
neural connections) . If you were to hear a list of 30 words and were then
asked to recall them. You would be able to recall some words from the
beginning of the list, some from the end but only a few from the middle of
the list. 

These effects are known as primacy (words from the beginning of the list)
and recency (words from the end of the list). Unless you were applying a
mnemonic technique, it is highly unlikely that you would recall all of the
words. You would however be able to recall words that were repeated or
connected in any way and any outstanding or unusual words (for example
the word "Rhinoceros" in a list of underwear is outstanding just as the word
"Underpants" sticks out in a list of large African Herbivores).

How can you use this? If you were to study for hours and hours and hours
without a break, you would find that the dip in recall between the primacy
and recency effects would be
considerable. On the other hand, if
we stopped every 5 minutes during a half hour we would not  get into the
flow of learning.

We need to  find a balance between these two extremes. You need to take
more breaks when you are studying. Split your study time into 20-50 minute
chunks with 10 minute breaks in between when it is important that you relax
or do something physical or creative.

The time chunks will mean that you create more primacy / recency high
points and will remember more from your studying. The breaks will give
your mind a chance to rest from learning and doing something different will
actually stimulate it.

Instead of poring over your notes solidly for 3 hours, if you split the time up
into 50 minute segments, you will actually remember more during your
learning periods.
How do you recall this information after you have learned it? (transferring
short term memory to long term). The ability to learn something once and
then have the ability to recall it whenever you wanted? 

It does require effort. Imagine that you went to a class, listened to the
teacher, took your notes and at the end of the lesson threw your notebook
into your bag. How much information do you think you would remember
about what you had learned by the end of the following day? Ebbinghaus
proved that within 1-2 days, we forget about 80% of what we have learned.
ite a waste doesn't it? There is a way to overcome that problem.

At the end of an hour's learning, your mind integrates the information that
you have just studied so that your ability to recall it actually rises, peaks
after about 10 minutes and then falls off dramatically. Now if you review
what you have learnt at that 10 minute point, you will reinforce the
information at its strongest in your mind. (I will be writing about a suitable
note taking technique to allow you to do this in future articles, so just bear
with me).

Your ability to recall this

information will remain at a high
point for about a day before it begins to drop off rapidly. So it is a good idea
to review what you have learnt again after a day. This second review will
mean that your ability to recall what you have learnt will remain for about a
week before it begins to tail off again so guess what we do after a week? Full
marks to those who think we should review again.

If you are worried about all these reviews, don't be because with the right
note taking technique, each review will only take a couple of minutes. After
this third review your recall will last for about a month at which your fourth
review will keep the information accessible by you for up to 6 months. A fifth
review after 6 months will meant that the information is firmly logged in
your long-term memory.

In summary then:

1. Study for as long as you like but make sure it is in 20-50 minute chunks
with breaks of 10 minutes where relaxation and/or something physical and
fun is mandatory.

2. Review what you have learned:

  10 minutes after learning
 1 day after learning
 1 week after learning
 1 month after learning
 6 months after learning.

Memory improvement

In the previous section, we have discussed memory processes and

introduced you to some basic concepts of memory. What we have
presented, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. If you review research
on memory and learning, you will find that there exist a vast amount of
information on the subject. But in learning to become more personally
and academically effective, you are probably most interested in seeing
how this knowledge can be put into practice. In other words, how can it
help you improve your memory. Thus, we focus on memory techniques
and strategies.

1. PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER. Organizing and ordering

information can significantly improve memory. Imagine, for example,
how difficult it would be to remember a random list of 62 letters. On the
other hand, it would not be difficult to memorize the first sentence in
this paragraph (consisting of 62 letters). Similarly, learning a large
amount of unconnected and unorganized information from various
classes can be very challenging. By organizing and adding meaning to
the material prior to learning it, you can facilitate both storage and
retrieval. In other words, you can learn it better and recall it easier. The
following concepts can help you pull various information together in
order to increase understanding and organization. This can mean
organizing material on paper, such as when you make an outline or idea
web, or simply organizing material in your memory, such as learning it
in a particular order or making intentional associations between ideas.

2. THE FUNNEL APPROACH. This means learning general concepts

before moving on to specific details. When you study in this manner,
you focus on getting a general framework, or overview, before filling in
the details. When you understand the general concepts first, the details
make more sense. Rather than disconnected bits of information to
memorize, such as history dates, the material fits together within the
overall framework. Seeing how the smaller details relate to one another,
you process the information more deeply (which helps you store, and
later retrieve, it from memory). This idea is probably familiar--there are
many learning strategies based on the funnel approach. For example, the
approach is used in previewing a chapter for the major ideas as a way to
enhance your comprehension of details contained in the chapter. You
may also notice that many textbook chapters are organized in a "general
to specific" format. Finally, you probably use this type of approach
when studying from an outline, matrix, or concept map. Because of their
organization, these tools are particularly well-suited for learning general
to specific.

3. ORGANIZING THROUGH MEANING AND ASSOCIATION.

Earlier, we discussed the concept of making intentional associations in
order to improve learning retention. What do we mean by "intentional
associations"? When learning, a person continually makes associations.
We make associations between what we are learning and the
environment we are in, between the information and our mental states,
and between the information and our stream of thoughts. When things
are associated in memory, thinking of one helps bring the other to mind.
Have you ever actually retraced your path when you have forgotten
where you put an object such as your keys? Often, as you approach the
place where you put them, you are suddenly able to remember the act of
laying them down on the table or putting them in your gym bag. This is
association. The memory of putting the keys down was associated with
your memory of things in the environment. You can make associations
work for you by making them intentional. When you are having
difficulty recalling new material, you can help bring it to mind by
thinking about what you have associated it with. In other words--retrace
your mental path. We will return to this idea later when we discuss
specific strategies.
a) Deep processing--relating the material to yourself. One way to
process information more deeply, and also to create meaningful
associations, is to think about how the information can be personally
meaningful. You might think about how the new material relates to your
life, your experience, or your goals. If you can link new information to
memories already stored ("mental hooks"), you'll have more cues to
recall the new material.

b) Grouping. This idea is probably best explained with an example.

Before reading ahead, take a moment to complete the following
exercise.

EXERCISE: GROUPING

Read the following list of sports one time. When you are done,
write down as many of the sports as you can without looking
back at the list.

Snow Skiing Basketball Tennis

Long Jump Bobsledding 100-Meter Dash

Hockey Baseball Ice Skate

Discus Golf High Jump

Volleyball Javelin Soccer

Luge Curling Cricket

Decathlon Hurdles

Note the number of sports you remembered correctly. We will

return to this exercise later.

You can organize material by grouping similar concepts, or related

ideas, together. Arranging the material into related groups helps your
memory by organizing the information. For example, in the exercise you
just completed, you could have grouped all of the sports into one of the
following categories: a) Winter sports, b) Track and Field sports, and
c)Sports using a ball. Keeping these categories in mind, try the exercise
again. If your are like most people, you will be able to remember more
of the sports.

Of course, in this instance, we created a list with the intention of

demonstrating grouping; thus, there were 6 or 7 sports in each category.
Still, with a little thought, this strategy can be used in a variety of ways.
For example, can you think of other ways that these sports could be
grouped? There are individual sports, team sports, sports you may enjoy,
and sports you may dislike. There are sports requiring a great deal of
equipment, and sports requiring little or none. When you are trying to
remember lists for a test, the concepts and words may or may not have a
natural organization. Therefore, you may need to be creative when
making associations. Finally, the process of organizing a list into groups
can often help you to understand the relationship between the concepts
better.

4. VIVID ASSOCIATIONS. We have already discussed the idea of

associations: aiding storage and retrieval of new information by
intentionally pairing it with something familiar. When learning
something new and unfamiliar, try pairing it with something you know
very well, such as images, puns, music, whatever. The association does
not have to make logical sense. Often times it is associations that are
particularly vivid humorous, or silly that stay in your mind. Some people
remember names this way. For example, they may remember the name
"Robert Green" by picturing Robert playing golf (on the green), wearing
green clothes, or covered in green paint. Or suppose for your anatomy
course you have to recall names of the veins in the human body, and the
first one on the list is "pancreatic" followed by "right gastroepipeloic"
and "left gastroepipeloic" and so on. You can picture a frying pan being
creative--maybe painting a picture with bright paints and bold strokes. If
the frying pan is working in a studio, picture gas pipes with little
padlocks on them (gastroepipeloic) in the left and right studio corners....

VIVID ASSOCIATIONS: LEARNING THE NAMES OF

CLASSMATES

1. Pick names of classmates with whom you are unfamiliar.

2. For each name, brainstorm some words or ideas that you can associate
with the name. For example, if one student's name is Teresa Martinez,
you might think of Mother Teresa, a Martin (a type of bird), Mars the
planet, a Martini (the drink), the word "terrific," Martinique, etc.

3. Once you have brainstormed several ideas, you can begin to think of
ways that some of the associations can be combined to remember the
name. In the above example, you could create a visual association by
picturing Mother Teresa standing on the beach at Martinique.

4. Do this for each person, and you will have a great way to remember
the names of your new classmates!

5. ACTIVE LEARNING. You will notice that the term "active

learning" has come up frequently. Active learning facilitates your
memory by helping you attend to and process information. All of the
memory techniques we have discussed require active learning. Even if
you attend every lecture and read every assignment, there is no
guarantee that you will learn and remember the information. Although
you may passively absorb some material, to ensure that you remember
important information requires being active and involved, that is
attending to and thinking about what you are learning.

6. VISUAL MEMORY. Some people remember information best when

it is encoded visually; if that is the case for you, then code information in
this manner. But even if you do not consider yourself specifically "a
visual learner," you may find that including visual memory can still
help. After all, it is one more way of encoding and storing information--
and one more way of retrieving it for a test.

There are many ways of visually encoding and retrieving information.

We have already mentioned the strategy of associating concepts with
visual images. But other aids to visual memory include diagrams, tables,
outlines, etc. Often these are provided in texts, so take advantage of
pictures, cartoons, charts, graphs, or any other visual material. You can
also draw many of these things yourself. For example, try to visualize
how the ideas relate to each other and draw a graph, chart, picture, or
some other representation of the material. You may even want to make it
a habit to convert difficult material into actual pictures or diagrams in
your notes, or to convert words into mental images on the blackboard of
your mind.

Finally, using your visual memory can be as simple as writing out

vocabulary words, theories, or algebraic formulas. This allows you to
not only practice (repeat) the information but also to see the way it looks
on the page (developing a visual memory that you may be able to
retrieve later). Another advantage is that it helps you take an active role
in learning the material. When you draw your ideas on paper or write
down things you are trying to remember, you have the opportunity to
think about the information more deeply.

7. TALK IT OUT. When trying to memorize something, it can help to

actually recite the information aloud. You might repeat ideas verbatim
(when you need to do rote memorization), or you can repeat ideas in
your own words (and thus ensure that you have a true understanding of
the information). Repeating information aloud can help you encode the
information (auditory encoding) and identify how well you have learned
it. Some students have told us that they know the test information and
are surprised when they "freeze" and cannot give adequate responses.
For some students, this "freezing" may be a result of test anxiety. For
others, however, it may be a result of overestimating how well they
know the material. If you recite the information aloud from memory
(answering questions, defining words, or using flash cards), it is often
quite clear how well you know it. If you stumble in your responses, have
to look up answers, or can only give a vague response, then you know
that you need to study more.

Although reciting aloud can be a helpful memory technique, some

people avoid it out of fear of appearing foolish ("what if someone sees
me talking to myself?"). If this applies to you, work with a friend or
study group. Another advantage of working with someone else is that
they can inform you when you are missing important concepts or
misunderstanding an idea. Keep in mind, however, that studying with
others does not work for everyone. For example, some students may
become anxious or intimidated in study groups and would be more
comfortable studying alone.

8. VISUALIZE YOURSELF TEACHING THE MATERIAL. An

effective way to enhance recall and understanding of dense material is to
teach it to an imaginary audience. By doing so, you are forced to
organize the material in a way that makes sense to you and to anticipate
potential questions that may be asked by your students. Moreover, by
articulating your lecture aloud, you will uncover gaps in your
comprehension (and recall) of the material. (Far better to discover those
"weak" areas before a test than during it.) After you have mastered a
particular section from your textbook, try delivering an organized lecture
on any topic from that section. Then check for accuracy. Don't forget to
anticipate questions that students might ask about the material as a way
of anticipating potential test questions.

The Principles of Short-Term and Long-Term Memory. This

principle of long-term memory may well be at work when you recite or
write the ideas and facts that you read. As you recite or write you are
holding each idea in mind for the four or five seconds that are needed for
the temporary memory to be converted into a permanent one. In other
words, the few minutes that it takes for you to review and think about
what you are trying to learn is the minimum length of time that
neuroscientists believe is necessary to allow thought to go into a lasting,
more easily retrievable memory.

Recognition is an easier stage of memory than the recall stage. For

example, in an examination, it is much easier to recognize an answer to a
question if five options are listed, than to recall the answer without the
options listed. But getting beyond just recognizing the correct answer
when you see it is usually necessary for long-term memory, for the more
we can recall about information the better we usually remember it.

Understanding New Material. First and most important, you must

make sure that you understand new material before trying to remember
it. A good technique to ensure understanding is to recite or write the
author's ideas in your own words. If you cannot, then you do not
understand them. The conclusion: you cannot remember what you do not
understand. In other words, you cannot form a clear and correct memory
trace from a fuzzy, poorly understood concept.

In the classroom, do not hesitate to ask the instructor to explain further a

point that is not clear to you. If the point is unclear to you, there is a
good chance that it is unclear to others, so you will not be wasting
anyone's time. Furthermore, most instructors appreciate the opportunity
to answer questions.

Getting it right the first time. We have learned that all remembering
depends on forming an original, clear neural trace in the brain in the first
place. These initial impressions are vitally important because the mind
clings just as tenaciously to incorrect impressions as it does to correct
impressions. Then we have to unlearn and relearn. Incorrect information
is so widespread that Mark Twain once wrote, "Education consists
mainly in what we have unlearned."

Evaluate the Learning. Another way to improve retention is through

evaluation. After you have studied, work the matter over in your mind.
Examine and analyze it; become familiar with it like a friend. Use
comparison or contrast: how is this topic like or different from related
topics? If the learning concerns things conjectural, do you tend to agree
or disagree? Are there aspects of the subject which you can criticize?
Analytical thinking encourages you to consider the matter from various
aspects and this kind of mental manipulation makes you more
knowledgeable. For all these reasons, recall is significantly improved.

The Principle of Over learning.

After you have recited a lesson long enough to say it perfectly, if you
continue reciting it a few times more, you will over learn it. A well
known psychologist and researcher, Ebbinghaus, has reported that each
additional recitation (after you really know the material) engraves the
mental trace deeper and deeper, thus establishing a base for long-term
retention. For many people over learning is difficult to practice because,
by the time they achieve bare mastery, there is little time left and they
are eager to drop the subject and go on to something else. But reciting
the material even just one more time significantly increases retention, so
try to remember this and utilize the technique when you can.

The Principle of Recitation

There is no principle that is more important or more effective than

recitation for transferring material from the short-term memory to the
long-term memory. For one thing, you are obviously in the process of
repeating the information. Recitation can take several forms -- thinking
about it, writing it out, or saying it out loud. "Thinking about it" is
potentially the least effective because it gives us the least amount of
reinforcement since writing or speaking involve more electrical muscle
movement messages to the brain which are known to increase mental
response and recording. Vocal, "out loud" recitation is usually the most
effective single technique for review because it employs more of the
senses than any other review technique (utilizing both auditory and
vocal senses.) If, for example, when reviewing your notes immediately
after class the reviewing is done by vocal recitation, you will not only be
consolidating the new information but also strengthening the neural
traces made to your brain.

What is recitation? Recitation is simply saying aloud the ideas that you
want to remember. For example, after you have gathered your
information in note form and have categorized and clustered your items,
you recite them. Here's how: you cover your notes, then recite aloud the
covered material. After reciting, expose the notes and check for
accuracy. You should not attempt to recite the material word for word;
rather your reciting should be in the words and manner that you would
ordinarily use if you were explaining the material to a friend. When you
can say it, then you know it. (This is why it is best NOT to recite directly
from the text.)

How recitation works. Recitation transfers material to the secondary or

long-term memory. While you are reading the words in a sentence or
paragraph, the primary memory (short-term memory) holds them in
mind long enough for you to gain the sense of the sentence or paragraph.
However, the primary memory has a very limited capacity, and as you
continue to read, you displace the words and ideas of the initial
paragraphs with the words of subsequent paragraphs. This is one reason
for not remembering everything in the first part of the chapter by the
time we reach the end of the chapter when we read continually without
taking a break or taking time to review what we have already read.

It is only when we recite or contemplate the idea conveyed by a sentence

or paragraph that the idea has a chance (not guaranteed) of moving on
into the secondary memory (a long-term storage facility).

All verbal information goes first into the primary memory (short-term
memory). When it is rehearsed (recited), part of it goes into our
secondary (long-term) memory. The rest of it, usually the part we are
least interested in, returns to the primary memory and is then forgotten.

Whether new information is "stored" or "dumped" depends, then, on our

reciting it out loud and on our interest in the information.
 

After this The amount remembered by The amount remembered

number of students who did no review by students who reviewed
days was was

7 33% 83%
63 14% 70%

Remembering. As a student, one of your main concerns is to retain old

learning's while you continue to acquire new ones. Do we remember
more when we begin to study a subject or after we already know
something about it? According to several recent studies, learning which
involves memorization of a unit of material begins slowly, then goes
faster, and finally levels off. In other words, the amount learned per unit
of time is small at first, then increases, and then becomes small again.
This finding contrasts with older studies which showed that learning was
rapid at first, then became slower until it leveled off.

Even though a person continues to study, he may expect to encounter

periods when there seems to be little or no gain. Such plateaus in
learning may be due to several causes such as fatigue, loss of interest, or
diminishing returns from using the same inefficient methods. Another
explanation of plateaus is that they represent pauses between stages of
understanding; when the student acquires a new insight, he can move on.
Sometimes the lower stage of an understanding or a skill may actually
interfere with progress to a higher level. For example, learning to read
by individual letters of the alphabet interferes with learning to read by
words. Learning to read word-by-word delays reading by phrases or
sentences.

The important thing is to recognize that plateaus or periods of slow

learning are inevitable, and they should not discourage the student
unduly. Learning may still be taking place, but at a slower pace.
Recognizing that he is at a plateau, the student should first try to analyze
and improve his study methods, if possible. Sometimes, however, an
incorrect mental set may be interfering with the necessary perception of
new relationships. Sometimes slow learning may simply be due to
fatigue. In either of these circumstances the most efficient procedure
may be to drop the activity temporarily and return to it later, after a good
night's rest.

The rate at which a student learns depends upon his learning ability, but
slow learners remember just as well as fast learners, provided that they
have learned the material equally well. The reason a bright student may
do better on examinations is that he has learned the subject matter more
effectively within the time available. But if a slower student spends
enough time on his studies, he can retain every bit as much as the faster
student. Fortunately, there is evidence that both rate of learning and rate
of retention can be improved with practice.

The Principle of Neuro-Transmitter Depletion

Often students study or attempt to read for too long a period of time
without stopping for a rest break. B.F. Skinner and other experts have
concluded that the average student cannot usually study really difficult
material efficiently for more than about four hours a day. Then
efficiency and memory begin to suffer. Research shows that the average
student cannot study effectively on the same subject for more than about
four consecutive hours, even with short breaks every hour. What occurs
is what is referred to as The Principle of Neuro-Transmitter Depletion.
Neuro-scientists have developed techniques to monitor activity (usually
defined as electrical impulses) and chemical changes in the brain during
study or thought processing. If one studies the same subject too long,
fatigue, boredom, sometimes slight disorientation may occur. It is a
common result of too much consecutive study when even the most
simple concept begins not to make sense any longer. The monitoring of
brain activity and chemical changes indicate that studying too long
results in a depletion of chemicals in the brain cells necessary for
efficient processing of information. Therefore, for effective
consolidation of material into memory storage, take frequent breaks (at
least 10 minutes every hour) and do not attempt to deal with really
difficult material for more than about four hours a day, and do not study
any easier subject area (even with breaks) for more than four
consecutive hours.