HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

At some point in every student’s life he or she begins to realize how important it is to remember the things being taught or topics that you studied. Have you ever taken a test where you drew a blank about the question being asked even though you felt you had studied the topic being asked sooo well?  I have been there too.  If you haven’t read the previous post about why we forget things we have learnt click HERE. Here are six tips which I feel will help improve your memory and possibly help you ace your next test or exam.

• Change your attitude: How many times have you told yourself before settling down to read ‘I’d be lucky if I remember what I am reading? ‘This attitude doesn’t help because you are beginning with a negative mindset. Sometimes you need to be intentional about your studying. You have to intend to remember. I find this change of attitude particularly useful when I am studying for examinations. That slight shift in mental attitude helps me focus on what I am reading and also prepares my brain for maximum absorption of content.
• Lay the right foundation: I’m sure you have heard several times about how the foundation of a house is the most important. The same applies to your studies. To lay the right foundation you need the following:

           -Focus: Do you have the right environment for studying? Or is your mind wandering because the television is on and you just over heard Rihanna broke up with Drake? How many times have you gotten up from your seat because you forgot your pen, pencil, math set or your textbook?  An hour goes by and you are still on page one of your economics notes, wondering about where you can download Wiz kid’s new song for free.

          -Organization: Many students are not as organized as they should be. Are your notes up to date? Do you have everything you need for the study session so that you don’t have to get up 10 times in one hour?  Do you have a reading plan and do you know what you need to study or cover to ace your test or exam? Have you jumped from page one to page six because pages two to five were boring? If you have noticed, your textbooks are arranged in a particular order for a reason.

           -Understanding: Did you understand the topic when the teacher was teaching it or when you read it? Many subjects need a foundation of good understanding to build the right memory blocks. That way, even if you can’t remember the exact way a topic was presented you will be able to put it in your own words For example if you do not understand Newton’s first law of motion you probably will not be able to solve problems related to his third law of motion.

           -Regular review: Have you revised what you just learnt? How sure are you about how much you remember? Have you done any practice tests  based on the topic you just read or the topic you were taught or are you avoiding these because they are too hard?  How many times have you postponed reviewing what you have just learnt to a later date and convinced yourself that you remember everything you just read? The best time to review a topic is immediately after reading it.

• Form associations: Sometimes you will find that some topics have similar patterns. You might also notice that some subjects are related. Sometimes some topics are related to real life situations. I find this particularly helpful when I am studying art or social science subjects. When I am having a tough time learning a topic or concept, I look for something familiar to associate it with. For example you can relate most of government and economics to real life situations. How can you relate the theory of demand and supply to your favorite brand? Have you ever thought about relating the topic citizenship to a real life story like the aunty you know who is trying to become a Canadian citizen?
• Tap into your strengths: Are you a visual person (do you remember diagrams or images better)? Are you auditory (do you remember sounds more)? Or are you wordy (do you remember words more)? Take a minute to think about it. You can make use of how you naturally remember things and apply it to your studies. If you are a visual person sometimes putting things in diagrams, charts or graphs may help you remember better. If you are an auditory person it may help to put things into songs or rhymes and sometimes just associating the words with another word which sound similar may help.
• Use tools: There are several tools which I find helpful for improving my memory:

           -Short notes: Or what I call life savers. They are simply summaries of various topics usually in your own words. I once revised a 3000 page text book in two days because of my short notes.  Hard to believe I know. (In depth tutorial coming soon!). Another advantage of making short notes is that science has proven that there is a hand to brain connection so that you are more likely to remember things that are written down.

           -Mnemonics: What is a mnemonic? Hmm do you remember MR. NIGER D? A Mnemonic is a word or a verse designed to help the memory. Mnemonics are helpful when you have difficult points to master. Quick question, what are the tools you need to lay a good foundation for studying?  The answer is in point 2. Can you see the mnemonic? When forming a mnemonic make sure you use something you can remember. Don’t make it too long or complicated.

           -Study cards:  These are just cards with information about a particular topic or subject on them. There are different types. Sometimes they come in a question and answer format which I find very helpful (the question on the front page and the answer on the back page). These come in handy when you have pockets of free time. The 15minutes before class starts, during break time, while waiting for your mum to pick you, during a bus commute or when you are lying down in bed. I’ve made them several times by myself with cardboards and found them especially helpful when I was trying to learn 3500 word for the SATS. You can also buy premade ones for virtually any subject in bookstores.

–Recitation/ Repetition: Do you remember the nursery rhymes you used to recite out loud every morning before class or the times tables your teacher made you recite everyday even though you already knew them? AWW the good old primary schooldays seem so far away. However, just because you are no longer in primary school doesn’t mean you can’t use a primary school trick. Recite the points you intend to remember out loud over and over again. I find this helpful for difficult to remember points or when I am getting tired close to an exam (SSCE anyone?).Repetition is similar but usually involves writing something down repeatedly. When I’m finding it difficult to learn a complicated word or definition I write it down several times on a piece of paper. As I mentioned earlier, there is a hand- brain connection and this method has never failed me.

• Overlearn: This simply means learning something over and over again even when you feel you have learnt it sufficiently.  This helps to reinforce the information in your brain. Many of us do not overlearn anything. When was the last time you revised the excretory system or your literature poems. Sometimes a quick ten minute revision exercise can make a difference between getting a B or a C. When I was in 100L I had a very difficult chemistry course that I needed to get an A I read the book so much that I was able to tell anyone who asked me the information on each page with precision. Obviously I got a near perfect score in the exam.

Bonus tip: When you think you have learnt a topic enough, look for someone to explain the topic to without looking into your book. This will give you an idea about how well you really know the topic.

P.S: I will be expanding on certain concepts like short notes and organization skills in later posts. Meanwhile try to apply one or two points and let me know how they worked for you.

*The answer to the question asked in point five is FOUR.