Effective memory does not mean the ability to memorize the phone book.  Effective memory means the ability to produce the right information at the right time.

Make your memory system flexible.  The following techniques can be used in various combinations and applied to a variety of learning situations.

Be Organized
1.  Learn from the general to the specific.  Get a broad overview of a subject before you begin to learn the details.  Skim your entire textbook at the beginning of a term.  Look over the reading assignment before you begin.  Take time to get to know the big picture.  The details will be easier to recall.

2.  Make it meaningful.  Relate what you learn to your goals, to what you want to get from your education.  We all learn more effectively when it has meaning to our lives.  When you want something, you can remember it.  So be specific about what you want.  Also, relate new material to what you have previously learned.

3.  Create associations.  When new data is introduced, you will be able to recall it more effectively if it is stored near similar or related data.  Fit new material in with what you already know.

Be Physical
1. Learn it once, actively.  Learning consumes energy.  The major reason that people "forget" is that they never really learned in the first place.  To be able to recall something from memory, you must first put it into memory.

2. Create an atmosphere of activity where you study.  Don't be afraid to make gestures when you recite material.  Pace back and forth as you study.  Draw pictures of concepts in the air.  Use your hands.  Get your whole body involved in studying. Keep yourself active and interested, especially when you think the material itself is boring.  To learn information that is important to you, be physical while you learn it.

3. Visualize relationships.  Create pictures about things you want to learn.  Draw diagrams.  Make cartoons.  Use mental visualizations to connect a series of facts.  Visual information is associated with a different part of the brain than verbal information.  When you make up a picture to go with a concept or a fact, you are anchoring the information in two separate parts of the brain, thus doubling your chances of being able to recall it.

      *Bizarre or unusual images help some people remember.  Others find them hard to conjure up.  Experiment for yourself.  See what kind of images work for you.

4. Recite and repeat.  Of all memory techniques, recitation works the best for most people.  When you want to remember something, repeat it aloud.

*The aloud part is important.  When you repeat something aloud, you anchor the concept in two different senses; hearing and feeling.  First, you get the physical sensation in your throat when voicing the concept.  Second, you get the opportunity to hear it again (not just silently in your head).  The combined result is synergistic.  That is, the effect of using two different senses is greater than the sum of their individual effects.

*Recitation works best when you put concepts you want to remember into your own words.  Remember, get some other senses into the act when you recite and repeat.

Be Clear
1.	Allow yourself time to tune into a subject.  The most efficient learning begins 15-20 minutes after you begin studying.  Your brain needs to warm up, so plan accordingly.

2.   Take a break.  For most of us, the brain needs a rest every 40 or 50 minutes.  If you don't take a break, your ability to recall will suffer.

3.   Overlearn.  This technique is especially effective for problem solving.  Do assigned problems, then do more problems.  Find another text and work similar problems.  Make up your own problems and work those.

*Overlearning does not mean adding more facts at random or staying up all night rehashing the same material.  Instead, learn what is required, then take time to explore what others say about the subject.

Be Smart
1. Distribute learning.  Marathon study sessions are not effective.  You can get far more done in three 2-hour sessions than in one 6-hour session.  Two-hour sessions work even better if they are divided into shorter sessions of 40-50 minutes.

2. Take regular breaks.  Use breaks as mini-rewards.  You can actually get more done if you give your brain a break every hour or so.

3. Remember something else.  When you are stuck and can't remember something that you know you know, remember something else that is related.  If your memory is blocked during an exam, recall facts that are related to the one you are having trouble with.  Similar information is stored in the same area of the brain.  You can unblock your recall by stimulating that area of your memory.

4. Combine memory techniques.  All of these memory techniques work, and all of them work even better in combination with other techniques.  Choose two or three techniques to use on a particular assignment.  Experiment for yourself.

This handout provided as a service of Academic Assistance. Library 124 Ext 7518.

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