Memory Systems For Students

As students, we all need to learn and memorize information. Below are the basic concepts of learning and memorization. I can't over emphasize the importance of the spacing effect. It is one of the pillars of the Brute Force Study Guide. The mnemonic that works best for you will depend on your personal learning style. I personally like the Method of Loci http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci and acronyms, but I know students that swear by mind maps. The major source for the list below is http://en.wikipedia.org.

Recollection

Recollection is the retrieval of memory. It is not a passive process; people employ strategies to make the best use of their memory, and priming and other context can have a large effect on what is retrieved.

Rote learning

Rote learning is a learning technique which avoids understanding the inner complexities and inferences of the subject that is being learned and instead focuses on memorizing the material so that it can be recalled by the learner exactly the way it was read or heard.

The major practice involved in rote learning techniques is learning by repetition, based on the idea that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more they repeat it rather than reasoning. Rote learning often gets a bad rap, but can be very useful in the early stages of learning.

Method of Loci

Is one of the earliest techniques for memorizing lists in order as well as speeches. It dates back to 85 BC. The method involves associating lists or speeches with places or buildings.

Spacing effect

Items are better remembered, if their two presentations are separated by other activities or learning different material rather than, simply being presented back to back.

Mind Map Memory System

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radically around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, and decision making.

Acronym

Is a common Memory System or mnemonic for remembering lists and consists of an easily remembered word, phrase, or rhyme whose first letters are associated with the list items. The more emotionally charged or funny the acronym, the easier it is to remember.

Link Memory System

A mnemonic link system is a method of remembering lists, based on creating an association between the elements of that list. For example, if one wished to remember the list (dog, envelope, thirteen, yarn, window), one could create a link system, such as a story about a "dog stuck in an envelope, mailed to a thirteen yearold..."

Peg system

A peg system is a mnemonic technique for memorizing lists. It works by pre-memorizing a list of words that are easy to associate with the numbers they represent (1 to 10, 1-100, 1-1000, etc). Those objects form the "pegs" of the system. Then in the future, to rapidly memorize a list of arbitrary objects, each one is associated with the appropriate peg. Generally, a peg list only has to be memorized one time, and can then be used over and over every time a list of items needs to be memorized.

Memory Skills Links

Memory Principles What brain research has discovered about memory principles.

Human Ecology of Memory Memory is a biological function, enabling behaving organisms to learn from experience It is also a faculty of mind, allowing people to retain knowledge, reflect on the past, and anticipate the future

Effective study skills and habits Effective study habits help you to store information in long-term memory, allowing you to use the learned information in a novel setting.

Improve Your Memory and Improve Your Life (ebook $12.49). Learn methods to remember names, numbers, events, faces and facts for any exams.