The Role of Memory

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/the-role-of-memory/
AccessedL July 19, 2020
Memory is more indelible than ink. ―Anita Loos, author and screenwriter
“Jennifer felt anxious about an upcoming history exam. This would be her first test in a
college class, and she wanted to do well. Jennifer took lots of notes during class and while
reading the textbook. In preparation for the exam, she had tried to review all five textbook
chapters along with all of her notes. 
The morning of the exam, Jennifer felt nervous and unprepared. After so much studying and
review, why wasn’t she more confident? “

Knowing What to Know
Jennifer’s situation shows that there really is such a thing as studying too much. Her mistake
was in trying to master all of the course material. Whether you take one or more than one
class, it’s simply impossible to retain every single particle of information you encounter in a
textbook or lecture. And, instructors don’t generally give open-book exams or allow their
students to preview the quizzes or tests ahead of time. So, how can you decide what to study
and “know what to know”? The answer is to prioritize what you’re trying to learn and
memorize, rather than trying to tackle all of it. Below are some strategies to help you do this.
• Think about concepts rather than facts: From time to time, you’ll need to memorize
cold, hard facts—like a list of math equations or a vocabulary list in a Spanish class.
Most of the time, though, instructors will care much more that you are learning about
the key concepts in a subject or course—i.e., how photosynthesis works, how to write
a thesis statement, the causes of the French Revolution, and so on. For example,
Jennifer might have been more successful with her studying—and felt better about it
—if she had focused on the important historical developments (the “big ideas”)
discussed in class, as opposed to trying to memorize a long list of dates and facts.
• Take cues from your instructor: Pay attention to what your instructor writes on the
board or includes in study guides and handouts. Although these may be short—just a
list of words and phrases, say—they are likely core concepts that you’ll want to focus
on. Also, instructors tend to refer to important concepts repeatedly during class, and
they may even tell you what’s important to know before an exam or other assessment.
• Look for key terms: Textbooks will often put key terms in bold or italics. These terms
and their definitions are usually important and can help you remember
larger concepts.
• Use summaries: Textbooks often have summaries or study guides at the end of each
chapter. These summaries are a good way to check in and see whether you grasp the
main elements of the reading. If no summary is available, try to write your own—
you’ll learn much more by writing about what you read than by reading alone.
Short-Term and Long-Term Memory
Sometimes students will feel confident understanding new material they just learned. Then,
weeks later before an exam, they find that they can only remember what the instructor
covered during the last few days—the earlier material has vanished from the mind! What
happened? Chances are that they didn’t consistently and regularly review the material, and
what they initially learned never made it to long-term memory.
Research indicates that people forget 80 percent of what they learn only a day later.[1] This
statistic may not sound very encouraging, given all that you’re expected to learn and
remember as a college student. Really, though, it points to the importance of a different
studying approach—besides waiting until the night before a final exam to review a semester’s
worth of readings and notes. When you learn something new, the goal is to “lock it in” and
move it from short-term memory, where it starts out, to long-term memory, where it can be
accessed much later (like at the end of the semester or maybe years from now). Below are
some strategies for transferring short-term memory to long-term memory:
• Start reviewing new material immediately: Remember that people typically forget a
significant amount of new information not too long after learning it. As a student, you
can benefit from starting to study new material right away. If you’re introduced to
new concepts in class, for example, don’t wait to start reviewing your notes and doing
the related reading assignments—the sooner the better.
• Study frequently for shorter periods of time: Once information becomes a part of
long-term memory, you’re more likely to remember it. If you want to improve the
odds of recalling course material by the time of an exam (or a future class, say), try
reviewing it a little bit every day. Building up your knowledge and recall this way can
also help you avoid needing to “cram” and feeling overwhelmed by everything you’ve
may have forgotten.
• Use repetition: This strategy is linked to studying material frequently for shorter
periods of time. You may not remember when or how you learned skills like riding a
bike or tying your shoes. Mastery came with practice, and at some point the skills
became second nature. Academic learning is no different: If you spend enough time
with important course concepts and practice them often, you will know them in the
same way you know how to ride a bike—almost without thinking about them.

Strengthening Your Memory

We’ve discussed the importance of zeroing in on the main concepts you learn in class and of
transferring them from short-term to long-term memory. But how can you work to strengthen
your overall memory? Some people have stronger memories than others, but memorizing
new information takes work for anyone. Below are some strategies that can aid memory:
• Incorporate visuals: Visual aids like note cards, concept maps, and highlighted text are
ways of making information stand out. Because they are shorter and more concise,
they have the advantage of making the information to be memorized seem more
manageable and less daunting (than an entire textbook chapter, for example). Some
 students write key terms on note cards and hang them around their desk or mirror so
that they routinely see them and study them without even trying.
• Create mnemonics: Memory devices known as mnemonics can help students retain
information while only needing to remember a unique phrase or letter pattern that
stands out. For example, the mnemonic “ROYGBIV” could help students remember
the order of the colors of a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).
• Get quality sleep: Although some people require more or less sleep than the
recommended amount, most people should aim for six–eight hours every night.
School puts a lot of demands on the brain, and, like tired muscles after a long
workout, your brain needs to rest after being exercised and taking in all sorts of new
information during the day. A good night’s rest can helps you remember more and feel
prepared for learning the next day.
• Connect new information to old information: Take stock of what you already know—
information that’s already stored in long-term memory—and use it as a foundation for
learning newer information. It’s easier to remember new information if you can
connect it to old information or to a familiar frame of reference. For example, if you
are taking a sociology class and are learning about different types of social groups,
you may be able to think of examples from your own experience that relate to the
different types.
Memory also relies on effective studying behaviors, like choosing where you study, how you
study, and with whom you study. The following video provides specific studying strategies
that can improve your memory.
6 powerful ways to help you remember what
you study
https://www.studyinternational.com/news/6-powerful-ways-help-remember-study/
Accessed: July 19, 2020
Rote memorising, i.e. to remember by repeating as many times as possible, is out.
Putting facts to memory by brute force will not make you gain the most important result from
studying, which is, comprehension.
And to be honest, it will be pretty damn boring.
Studying should be fun – all about thoughtful exploration and discovering new things. Rote
memorising does not have any of that, simply paving a path of instant recall without any
context to the information – the hows and whys are important!
So how do we prevent those facts from falling into a black hole once we enter the exam hall?
Wei Li from iPrice has come up with six powerful ways to help you study better:
1. Spaced repetition
Review material over and over again over incremental time intervals;
According to 19th-century psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus, instant recall has a 100
percent information retention. But as little as an hour later, you can only recall a mere 44
percent of what you have read.
To counter this, use spaced repetition. Review your materials intermittently to slow down the
deterioration of your memory as time passes.
This means making notes right after lecture ends, write down any questions you have and
asking your lecturer ASAP. Just before exams, make flashcards and review them every few
days, instead of the last 24 hours!
2. Active reiteration
To really embed the facts you are reading into your mind, teach them to someone else.
By teaching, you are forced to summarise, condense, investigate, draw conclusions –
promoting a deeper personal understanding. This is great for university study which focuses
on analysis, as compared to pre-university, which are usually more fact-driven.
Use the Feynman Technique i.e. explain concepts in the simplest terms possible to anyone
who would listen, a fellow classmate, roommate or to empty beer cans.
3. Directed note-taking
Go in for the kill – ask yourself what you don’t understand about a certain topic. Really get to
the root of the problem and dig your way out of it.
First, spot the problem areas. Second, design a question which addresses this area. Third,
answer your question. Use all your lecture notes, library books, and even Google Search.
Don’t move on until you are confident with your answer and rest assured, you will
understand the concepts better by going through this route.
Don’t move on until you are confident with your answer and rest assured, you will
understand the concepts better by going through this route.
4. Reading on paper
94% of university students polled said they preferred studying using paper as it was easier to
focus and the freedom to highlight, annotate and write on the margins. And unlike computer
screens, reading on paper also helps with spatial memory – you can recall a certain bit of
information by where it was placed on a book.
On top of these, paper removes one of the top factors for students losing focus: distraction.
Without the Internet, there won’t be an infinite number of websites tempting our eyes away
from much-needed study time and breaking our focus, which is crucial to retaining memory.
5. Sleep and exercise
Our brain absorbs information best right before sleep or right after exercise.
Research have shown that those who study before sleeping or napping have higher memory
recall or higher activity in the hippocampus, the part of the brain which forms new memories.
Exercise has have been found to  stimulate the production of a protein called BDNF (Brain
Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which preps the brain for optimum learning and creative
thinking. You are likelier to form creative connections between ideas, and thus, retaining this
better.
So, time your sleep and work out accordingly to maximise your study sessions.

6. Use the Italian tomato clock

If you have to cram, do it smartly. Set 25-30 minute chunks of intense study and rest for five
minutes after.
Modelled after the Pomodoro Technique which uses the Italian Tomato Clock, this method
will minimise distraction and boost productivity.
After all, our ability to retain information tapers after 30 minutes anyway. So, take a well-
deserved rest after half an hour with some healthy snacks or light stretching which will do
much more for your memory than forcing your brain to study more.
College may be hard and comes with a never-ending list of reading materials. But if you
know how the brain works, and take on some of the methods proposed above, you can make
that study time more fruitful. Good luck!
Memorization Strategies
https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/enhancing-your-memory/
Accessed: July 19, 2020
Many college courses require you to memorize mass amounts of information. Memorizing for
one class can be difficult, but it can be even more frustrating when you have multiple classes.
Many students feel like they simply do not have strong memory skills. Fortunately, though,
memorizing is not just for an elite group of people born with the right skills—anyone can
train and develop their memorizing abilities.
Competitive memorizers claim that practicing visualization techniques and using memory
tricks enable them to remember large chunks of information quickly. Research shows that
students who use memory tricks perform better than those who do not. Memory tricks help
you expand your working memory and access long term memory. These techniques can also
enable you to remember some concepts for years or even for life. Finally, memory tricks like
these lead to understanding and higher order thinking. Keep reading for an introduction to
effective memorization techniques that will help you in school.

Simple memory tips and tricks

In addition to visual and spatial memory techniques, there are many others tricks you can use
to help your brain remember information. Here are some simple tips to try. Check out this
video from the Learning Center for a quick explanation of many of these tips.
Try to understand the information first. Information that is organized and makes sense to
you is easier to memorize. If you find that you don’t understand the material, spend some
time on understanding it before trying to memorize it.
Link it. Connect the information you are trying to memorize to something that you already
know. Material in isolation is more difficult to remember than material that is connected to
other concepts. If you cannot think of a way to connect the information to something you
already know, make up a crazy connection. For example, say you are trying to memorize the
fact that water at sea level boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and 212 happens to be the first
three digits of your best friend’s phone number. Link these two by imagining throwing your
phone into a boiling ocean. It’s a crazy link, but it can help that fact to stick.
Sleep on it. Studies show that your brain processes and stores information while you sleep.
Try to review information just before you go to sleep—even if it’s only for a few minutes—
and see if it helps embed the information in your memory.
Self-test. Quiz yourself every so often by actively recalling the information you are trying to
study. Make sure to actively quiz yourself—do not simply reread notes or a textbook. Often,
students think they remember material just because it is familiar to them when they reread it.
Instead, ask yourself questions and force yourself to remember it without looking at the
answer or material. This will enable you to identify areas that you are struggling with; you
can then go back to one of the memory tricks to help yourself memorize it. Also, avoid
quizzing yourself immediately after trying to memorize something. Wait a few hours, or even
a day or two, to see if it has really stuck in your memory.
Use distributive practice. For a concept to move from your temporary working memory to
your long-term memory, two things need to happen: the concept should be memorable and it
should be repeated. Use repetition to firmly lodge information in your memory. Repetition
techniques can involve things like flash cards, using the simple tips in this section, and self-
testing. Space out your studying and repetition over several days, and start to increase the
time in between each study session. Spacing it out and gradually extending the times in
between can help us become more certain of mastery and lock the concepts into place.
Write it out. Writing appears to help us more deeply encode information that we’re trying to
learn because there is a direct connection between our hand and our brain. Try writing your
notes by hand during a lecture or rewriting and reorganizing notes or information by hand
after a lecture. While you are writing out a concept you want to remember, try to say the
information out loud and visualize the concept as well.
Create meaningful groups. A good strategy for memorizing is to create meaningful groups
that simplify the material. For example, let’s say you wanted to remember the names of four
plants—garlic, rose, hawthorn, and mustard. The first letters abbreviate to GRHM, so you can
connect that with the image of a GRAHAM cracker. Now all you need to do is remember to
picture a graham cracker, and the names of the plants will be easier to recall.
Use mnemonics. Mnemonics are systems and tricks that make information for memorable.
One common type is when the first letter of each word in a sentence is also the first letter of
each word in a list that needs to be memorized. For example, many children learned the order
of operations in math by using the sentence Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (parentheses,
exponents, multiply, divide, add, subtract). Check out Wikipedia for a good list of examples
and ideas.
Talk to yourself. It may seem strange at first, but talking to yourself about the material you
are trying to memorize can be an effective memory tool. Try speaking aloud instead of simply
highlighting or rereading information.
Exercise! Seriously! Studies show that exercise can improve our memory and learning
capabilities because it helps create neurons in areas that relate to memory. Cardio and
resistance training (weights) both have powerful effects, so do what works best for you.
Practice interleaving. Interleaving is the idea of mixing or alternating skills or concepts that
you want to memorize. For example, spend some time memorizing vocabulary words for
your science class and then immediately switch to studying historical dates and names for
your history class. Follow that up with practicing a few math problems, and then jump back
to the science definitions. This method may seem confusing at first, but yields better results
in the end than simply spending long periods of time on the same concept. Check out this
video for more explanation on interleaving and other similar strategies.

Visual and spatial techniques

Visual and spatial techniques are memory tricks that involve your five senses. They utilize
images, songs, feelings, and our bodies to help information stick. Humans have outstanding
visual and spatial memory systems. When you use visual and spatial memory techniques, you
use fun, memorable, and creative approaches rather than boring, rote memorization. This
makes it easier to see, feel, or hear the things you want to remember. Visual and spatial
techniques also free up your working memory. When you group things together, you enhance
your long-term memory. Using visual and spatial techniques helps your mind focus and pay
attention when your mind would rather wander to something else. They help you make what
you learn meaningful, memorable, and fun.
The common practice of using your knuckles to remember the number of days in each month
is a great example of an easy visual spatial technique to help you remember details.
Memorable visual images. The next time you have a key item you need to remember, try
making a memorable visual image to represent that item. Images are important because they
connect directly to your brain’s visuospatial centers. Images help you remember difficult
concepts by tapping into visual areas. But you don’t just have to use images—the more of the
five senses you can use, the easier it will be for you to recall information. Rather than just
visualizing an image, try to smell, feel, and hear the image as well. For example, if you are
trying to remember that the capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge, draw up an image of a girl
named Louise carrying a red baton.
The memory palace technique. This technique involves visualizing a familiar place—like
the layout of your house or dorm room—and using it as a visual space where you can deposit
concept-images that you want to remember. This technique can help with remembering
unrelated items, like a grocery list. To use the memory palace technique, visualize your place
(house or dorm room) and then imagine items from your grocery list in different areas around
the place. For example, picture a cracked egg dripping off the edge of the table or a bushel of
apples sitting on the couch. This technique can take some time to get used to, but once you
do, the quicker and more effective it becomes. This Ted Talk explains memory palaces more.
Songs and jingles. Much like the memory palace and images, songs or jingles use your
brain’s right hemisphere and can help us remember tricky things like equations and lists.
There are already plenty of songs out there for things like the quadratic formula—try
Googling what you are trying to remember to see if someone has already created a tune. If
not, try making your own.
The five senses. Using as many of the five senses as possible when studying helps you use
more parts of your brain and retain information better. For example, if studying for an
anatomy exam, pick up the anatomy models, feel each part, and say the names of them out
loud.
Lively visual metaphors or analogies. This can help you to not only remember but
understand concepts, especially in math and science. A metaphor is a way of realizing that
one thing is somehow similar to another. For example, think about the country of Syria as
shaped like a bowl of cereal and the country Jordan as a Nike Air Jordan sneaker. Metaphors
—especially visual ones—can stick with you for years. They help glue ideas in your mind
because they make connections to neural structures that are already there.

Final thoughts
Some of these techniques can feel strange at first or take some time to develop. The more you
practice them, the easier and more natural they become, and the more information you can
commit to memory. Also, remember that you do not need to do every tip on this list.
Experiment with a few and find which ones work for you.