Mp3 Script for Memory Module Improving Your Memory By the Learning Strategies Development team Queen’s University, Kingston Having a good memory is vital to success at university. This presentation explores how your memory works and offers some useful strategies to enhance your memory. For a more in-depth look at this topic, see our online IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY. Did you know that about 60% of the material that you read is lost in the first hour after reading? The Primary Reason we forget is: Interference: e.g. anxiety, mental overcrowding, multi-tasking The more similar the events or facts that intervened, the more we forget. Other reasons we forget are: Lack of attention, effort or concentration Underlearning: not learned well enough and is easily forgotten Negative attitude or self concept e.g. “I have a lousy memory” Disuse: materials is most rapidly lost after initial learning (see statistic above) Changed cues: the right cue is missing e.g. you studied one way but the test question is presented in another way When you understand how your memory works, reviewing new information regularly makes a whole lot of sense. Memory is an active process involving thinking about the information, encoding (making meaning from) the information and rehearsing. Memory happens in 3 phases. 1st Phase is Acquisition of new information = This is the “working memory” or immediate sensory image. Information fades fast unless it is encoded. 2nd Phase is Storage of new information. Information can be stored either short or long term. 3rd Phase is Retrieval--getting information out of storage and using it. How your memory works Here’s a useful visual (thanks to physics major, Anneke Timan) showing how the memory works… Once new information is in your short term memory, you’ve got to do something with it (e.g. recite, repeat, elaborate, associate) in order to “move it” into your long term memory. Otherwise, it will end up in the ABYSS OF FORGOTTEN THINGS! Once stuff is filed away into your long term memory, you can retain it for much longer. The more you use the new info, the better you will remember it and that’s a good argument for NOT CRAMMING. Cramming gets information into your short term memory so you can use it very soon, but it is quickly lost and if it’s important content, you’ll have to relearn it in the future. • Repeating: say it over and over again • Reciting: say the info out loud • Rehearsing: recite or repeat in the actual place you need to remember the information • Elaborating: process of the information at a deeper level • Connecting or associating to what you already know • Teaching someone The memory strategies in this presentation are divided into 3 parts 1. Association & Linking strategies 2. Whole Brain strategies 3. Organizing Strategies Linking Strategy 1: GULP G - Get It. Experience the initial learning with as many senses as possible U - Use It. Write it, repeat it, sing it L - Link it to what you know, e.g. personal meaning, to a location, a sound, acronym P - Picture It. Create a visual image of the association you made. Use bizarre, colourful, vivid images. Linking Strategy 2: Look, Snap, Connect Look: Actively “observe” what you want to learn. Use all five senses. Snap: Visualize or create mental snapshots of memories. Connect: Link your mental snapshots together to help your recall. E.G. To remember a name Look: make sure you really listen to and “observe” the person’s name. Snap a visual image of the name and the face. Connect the name “snap” with the face ”snap”. Linking Strategy 3: Pegging Pegging takes new information and pegs it (connect/ link) to information that cannot be forgotten e.g. parts of your body; the furniture a room in your house, etc. This makes recalling new information easier because we have pegged it to something we already know. You might visualize a peg as a hook on a wall or in a closet, where you hang a jacket. How to peg? 1. If you have to remember more than one item, create a peg list e.g. The Body List uses numbers up to 10 and connects the numbers to body parts. E.g. Number 1, toes. Number 2, knees, etc. 2. Memorize your peg list. 3. Create a vivid image of the new information E.G. You need to remember to finish your assignment and hand it at 4 pm. Imagine the colours, shape, size, etc of your assignment. Imagine a huge clock reading 4 pm. 4. Connect the peg image to the new information image IN A VIVID, NONSENSICAL WAY. Start with the first Body peg (Number 1 Toes) for the first thing you need to remember, which is the assignment” Connect toes to your assignment. e.g. Imagine kicking your assignment all the way from your house to the prof’s mailbox. Then go to the second Body peg (Number 2 Knees) for the next thing you need to remember, which is 4pm. Connect knees to 4pm Imagine a huge clock strapped to your knees with the number 4 on the dial. This is the most basic way to use pegging. For a description of how to use pegging to remember numbers, names, dates, etc. go to our online module IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY. Linking Strategy 4: Chaining a Story When you need to remember a long list of random, unassociated items, try linking them together in a bizarre, vivid, ACTION-based story. By doing this, you will probably never forget a link in the chain! Here’s my story using the words: plank, banker, sauce, umbrella, reptile, abdomen, lobster, orchestra “On a long gangplank teeters a banker. In one hand he holds an umbrella and in the other, a jar of tomato sauce which he furiously douses on a large reptile crawling on its abdomen below him. The reptile is devouring a lobster as it makes its way up the gangplank towards the banker. In the background an orchestra plays eerie sounds of pending doom.” Here are few more commonly used linking strategies… Acronyms: E.G. HOMES = Great Lakes i.e. Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior Acoustics: E.G stalactite & stalagmite A stalactite drips down from the ceiling. It holds "tite" to the ceiling of a cave. Songs/ Rhymes E.G. A rule: “I” before “e” except after “c”— try this with a rap beat! Olifactory Memory Aids After smelling rosemary oil, students in the UK showed improved marks on a memory test. Consider associating a favourite smell with something you are trying to learn and remember. The second group of memory strategies are whole brain ones. Mind mapping Making a mind map is a whole brain activity, i.e., it engages both left and right hemispheres of the brain. Mind maps are both verbal (words) and non-verbal (pictures, symbols, colours). And, visual patterns provide a framework for recall. Memory Music Did you know that certain sounds help you remember? Ultra high-frequency waves especially classical music with logic symmetry and aesthetics stimulate mental activity. Studies have shown that university students perform better on tests with background classical music instead of silence and students who listened to Mozart piano sonatas improved their spatial cognitive abilities e.g. following patterns. The next group of strategies helps you organize information in a meaningful way. 1. Learn from General to Specific Get the big picture first, before going for the details. It is easier to remember the detail after having an overview because you see how the detail connects to the whole. 2. Use Distributed Practice Study in short sessions over a long period versus cramming for concentrated periods of time. Cramming is an ineffective way to help you remember as memory is aided by rehearsal (e.g. reviewing, elaborating), which takes time. 3. Order & Chunk Decide on an order of importance and organize the material into an outline or framework. When reading, keep in mind the larger pattern of the book or journal article as you progress so you can relate subordinate ideas (e.g. details) to the larger pattern. Mind maps are a great tool for visualizing large patterns from subordinate ideas. Aside from learning strategies, what else can help your memory? Sleep – A recent U.S. survey discovered that students who study all night have slightly lower grades than those who sleep. Good sleep hygiene is critical to good memory so aim for a full night’s sleep, especially when studying for tests and exams Brain Foods Consider eating more foods with Omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. oily fish like salmon, walnuts), and fruits and vegetables, particularly brightly coloured ones which are high in anti-oxidants. And, don’t forget to stay hydrated; drink lots of fluids, especially water. Reduce Stress; Learn to Relax Worries about your academic and/or personal life can make you feel stressed. Stress can affect your ability to concentrate and, therefore, remember what you’ve heard, read, or observed. Learn to manage your stress with the right mindset and useful coping strategies. If you are experiencing high levels of stress, consider talking to a learning strategist or personal counsellor at Queen’s Counselling Service. Aging New research shows that aging does not have to mean loss of memory. On the contrary, with daily memory ‘workouts’, that is, doing activities requiring memory enhancement, chances are you’ll have an excellent mind into your golden years. This is Trevor Lin and I hope you have enjoyed this presentation.