Ever having trouble remembering things on your test? Wondering how you can be more efficient at studying? Here are some tips and strategies for you to remember things longer and faster!
1- Read out loud! - Repeat and rehearse to improve your memory
Remember that catchy tune that you can't get out of your head? Or that childhood favorite song you still remember till this day? Don't you wish that you can remember your notes the same way? Here is the secret: our auditory memory is better than our visual memory. That's how human brain works. So instead of silently reading, try reading out loud. Or better yet, making your vocabs into a song and sing along. Try repeating the phone number over and over out either out loud or in your head. (Because internal rehearsal also triggers the auditory pathway in your brain). So next time you were given a piece of instruction or a list of items to do, repeat it out loud back to the person to confirm the instruction. That's a natural way to remember instructions better.
Secret weapon: use the canvas built in text to speech as you read along or this a web-based free text to speech software to help you translate your textbook into auditory memory.
2- Break down the long list into chunks
Try memorizing this list: 397650750
Feeling Overwhelmed?
Now try this: 397 650 750
Breaking information into group of 3 items are the most suitable for memory. Think about phone numbers and SSN numbers, having the dash in between breaks numbers into more digestible chunks and can be remembered better than the long consecutive list.
3-Association
Imagine going to a social event and meeting a girl named "Monica" how do you remember her name? Well, you might think of your high school classmate whose name is also "Monica". Or you might make the following association: because Monica told you she likes beach volley ball- you can think "Santa Monica > Beach (volleyball) > Monica" What you are doing there is to connect information that is familiar and loosely related to get something together. Like wise, try to make sense of the concept learned in class with something you already know or create association yourself! Be creative and have fun with it. It's often the weird associations that brings out a laugh will end up sticking.
4-Don’t memorize, apply the concept
It's harder to remember a sentence in a language you don't know than a paragraph of content in a language you know. Why? because understanding of the concept is better than route memorization. For science classes especially, the test itself is often concepts in application rather than simply memorizing "mitochondria is the power house of the cell" you might want to understand why is it that mitochondria is important, what will happen if a pathway in the mitochondria get disrupted, etc. Ask yourself questions to drive the concept further. So the next time you study, think about specific examples rather than purely memorize the info.
You can also test your understanding of the concept by teaching it to a friend in your own words or record yourself explaining the concept. You can try some practice questions to further solidify your understanding.
5-Get some sleep!
When we are stressed about an exam, some may choose to do all nighters. However, the downside of that is you will end up not remember the information you are cramming because you gave up your body's way of consolidating memory- sleep. Try getting a good night of sleep is important for our brain to store information we learned during the day. Also, highlight a few points that you struggle remembering and doing a quick review of these concepts right before you sleep. You might recall these info better since no other information is coming in to is interfering with the concept you learn right before sleeping. Bottomline: don't skip out on these sleep, it's just as important.
Need help to sleep better? Stay tuned for future posts and workshop or to set up an individualized appointment with the link below.
That's all for this week! Thanks for reading.
Content By: Jenny Song, OTR/L
(If you would like more tips and tricks please contact: jenny.songot@gmail.com)