Memory:

Maximizing Recall
For Test Success
How does
memory
work?
Memory is the foundation for
learning & test success.

If you can remember something,

you can
answer questions about it and use
it.
 Information processing
model of memory
Memory = the way the brain stores and recalls information
acquired through 5 senses
1. Raw information acquired through senses reaches the brain
2. Information goes into sensory registers (a few seconds)
3. Some information goes into short-term memory/ working memory (about 30
seconds) – limited memory – When you pay attention
4. With rote rehearsal, information are also stored in short term memory
5. With rehearsal over time, you keep the most important information in long-
term memory (your brain’s more permanent storehouse) – unlimited memory
6. When information is needed, the brain puts it in short term memory for usage
5 Senses
Information processing
model of memory
 Information processing
model of memory
Information -
Short term Long term
> Sensory
memory memory
registers

Memories are built at synapses, the junctions between neurons. The

processing of memory strengthens these connections and makes it
easier to remember.
 Types of Long Term Memory
 Procedural memory – how to do things
(difficult to develop but hard to lose)

 Declarative/sematic memory – memories of

facts, ideas, formulas (easy to learn but easy to
forget w/o review)

 Episodic memory – memories of events linked

to personal experiences
With all this brain hardware, why is it
so easy to forget?

It takes focused, regular review to

keep information in your long-
term storage memory bank.
 Why you Forget?
 Head injuries
 Poor nutrition
 Depression
 Poor sleeping habit
 Ineffective studying
Not doing what is necessary to
retain the memory
Why you Forget?
How can you
improve your
memory?
 Memory Strategies
• Why?
• An emotional connection?
Have purpose, • Play on repeat
intention and
emotional
• A culinary student may have an easier
connection time recalling culinary techniques if he
connects his learning to how his mum
used to cook food for him
 Memory Strategies
Understand • Find connections in the things you learn
what you
memorize • Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
• Why the specific temperatures etc.…?
 Memory Strategies
• Associate new information to known
Use critical information
thinking • Recall, compare, identify cause and
effects, evaluate

• 1910s -> 1940s

• World War 1 – Treaty of Versailles punishes Germany
• Hitler and Nazi’s into
power
• Italy invading into
Ethiopia
• Japan-China war
 Memory Strategies
Limit and • Separate main points from unimportant
organize the details
items you are
processing • Divide material into manageable sections
(chunking)

• Use organizational tools (Prepare

outline, think links)
 Memory Strategies
• Divide material into manageable sections
(chunking)

7 days to tests – 12 Chapters to revise

Day 1 – Chapter 1-3 (chunk A)
Day 2 – Chapter 4-6 (chunk B)
Day 3 – Chapter 7-9 (chunk C)
Day 4 – Chapter 10-12 (chunk D)
Day 5 – Chapter 1-6 (chunk A and B)
Day 6 – Chapter 7-12 (chunk C and D)
Day 7 – Chapter 1-12 (chunk A-D)
 Memory Strategies
• Recite – out aloud
• Rehearse – silently
• Write – reciting on paper
Recite,
rehearse and • Focus on the main idea, recite/rehearse/ write the
write ideas down
• Convert each idea into key word/ phrase or image –
easy to recall, set off chain of memories. Write/ draw
each on an index card
• Recite, rehearse and write the associated
information from the key words/ image on the index
card.
Recite (out
Memory Strategies
loud) , • Procedural memory
rehearse (in
silence) and • Declarative/sematic memory
write
• Episodic memory
 Memory Strategies
• Learn more than once - revise
Short/ • Avoid studying two similar subjects back
Frequent study to back
sessions • Get sufficient sleep
• The Pomodoro technique
 Memory Strategies
• Pay more attention to items studied at
Practice the the middle of the session than at the
middle beginning or towards the end

It is easier to
remember the
beginning and the
end of a lesson.
 Memory Strategies
Use audio • Create audio flash cards – record short
strategies question (pause) then answer
 Memory Strategies
• Write a word, idea or phrase in front of
Use flash the card
cards • Use the back for definition, explanation
or other facts

• Use as self test

• Review frequently
• Shuffle cards so you pay equal
attention to every cards
• Test yourself in both directions
• Reduce stack as you learn
 Memory Strategies
• Apply the information wherever you can
Use the • Talk about it classmates
information • Link it to problems

“Don’t confuse recognizing information with being able to recall it. Be sure you
can recall the information without looking at your notes for clues. And do not
move on until you have created some sort of sense-memory hook for calling it
back up when you need it”

Adam Robinson
 How can
mnemonics
boost recall?
Mnemonics use vivid associations and
acronyms to link new information to
what you already know.

They help you create a “hook” on which

to hang what you want to remember.

Mnemonics only helps you to memorize.

It does not help you understand
Mnemonic Devices
Mnemonic Devices
Visual Images and Associations
Spanish Word

Carta
Postman
pushing a
cart filled
with letters
Letter
Mental Image
English meaning
Keys to Effective Learning 6e,Ch06
Visual Images and Associations
Spanish Word

Dinero
A monkey
eating pizza
for dinner.
The pizza has
money on it
Money
Mental Image
English meaning
Keys to Effective Learning 6e,Ch06
 Visual Images (Items on List)
The “mental walk” strategy stores ideas in familiar locations.
Brad Pitt is acting in the theater

There are some man in with big thighs holding rods at the
science center

A man with tights is eating a hotdog with mustard

At the cafeteria, you got a drink

At the athletic centre, you saw cook holding a pan with a

crest on it

As you entered the social science building, everyone gave

you a standing ovation

At the library, you sat down to study for test

Keys to Effective Learning 6e,Ch06
Mnemonic Devices
 Vocabulary Cartoon
Define Associate Picture

• Clarify the • Find another • Create an image

pronunciation and word (a link with both the
definition of the word) which main word and
word sounds like your the link word
word • Write a caption
that connects
your word with
the link word and
illustrate its
meaning

Keys to Effective Learning 6e,Ch06

Mnemonic Devices
 Acronyms
An acronym is a word or phrase formed
from the first letters of a series of words.

Word acronym
 Acronyms
Mercury My
Venus Very
Earth Elegant
Mars Mother
Jupiter Just
Saturn Served
Uranus Us
Neptune Nectarine
List order acronym
Mnemonic Devices
 Songs and Rhymes
How did you learn…
A . B . C…
 “The more mental
gymnastics you do, the more
agile and the quicker your
brain becomes.”
Nathan Tublitz