Memory Retention
Your memory is the brain's storehouse, the reservoir of accumulated knowledge. Remembering is an important part of learning. However, don't mistake memorizing for learning, they are not the same thing. To learn you need to engage long-term memory and understanding.
Why improve memory?
Remembering enables you to learn more about yourself and your world. The more you remember concepts the more you can solve problems and deal with new situations and ideas.
When you find pleasure in what you learn, you probably want to remember it. You may relive the experience in your mind. You may learn by heart the words of a song because you like it.
If you need to use what you learn, you are certainly going to keep it in your mind. If you want to use an idea in a discussion, you try to remember the idea and its links to your topic so it can be fully understood.
Sometimes you are required to remember things simply because you have to. In your learning you are expected to remember material according to the subjects studied. You can be required:
- in an exam, to show that you understand and remember a particular topic
- in an assignment, to recall enough information to be able to argue a case
- in a report, to remember which steps to take to make an experiment.
How to build a strong memory
Active involvement of the learner is the most important condition for improving memory.
- First you must want to learn.
- Next, you must work hard at remembering.
Importance of understanding thoroughly what you are studying.
When you really understand a subject, not only do you remember it easily but you can apply your knowledge to new situations.
The most important thing is not what you know but what you can do with what you know.
Understanding involves:
- linking new knowledge to old
- organizing new knowledge and remembering it in a structured way.
You need to give yourself regular breaks from studying, so your mind can form associations between the new knowledge and the old one. Five minutes every half an hour or so is a good idea.
Don't cram your knowledge into the last few weeks before an exam. Set up routines of learning every day, leaving as much time as possible to digest the information.
Note making is crucial to help retention of what you read. Photocopying does not help you to remember, but note making does. It helps you focus on what you're reading and this engages your deepest concentration. (Refer to other Learning Tips in this series: Note Making, Tests and Exams.)
Now that you have successfully stored your information, look at ways of recalling it when you need it:
First letter cueing
Because in our society we tend to store information largely in the form of words, the first letter of a word is usually an excellent retrieval cue. Many American school children have learned names of the great lakes by the acronym HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Eric, Superior)
Peg words
Suppose you need to remember ten words in order. These words are called Target Words. You must associate each target with the appropriate pegword. The pegwords are words which rhyme with the number of the position in the list ("One is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree."). For example if your first item on the list is automobile you might imagine a car with an advertisement for buns on the doors and so on.
The method of Loci
This is a helpful memory aid often used by the ancient Greeks. Imagine a building (or your own house) with a number of rooms in it. In each room are items of furniture. Rehearse this image over and over until well established. Then associate ideas with the items of furniture in every room. When you recite, mentally walk through the building, going from room to room and inspecting the items of furniture to which ideas are attached.
Of course there are other techniques you can use for improving memory. You can use your own ingenuity to give organization to specific ideas you want to remember. Good luck in inventing your own rehearsal devices.
For more information
- Check the shelves:
Study skills simplified 153.1 BUZ - Search the LLC Catalogue with the key terms 'memory skills'
- Explore the web
- Ask a Librarian!
The LLC recommends these web links:
- Improving your memory
Some tips and techniques for improving your memory, with some brain exercises, mnemonic devices and healthy habits to guide you. - Learning inspirations
Australian site, run by Monash University with some techniques, and links.
