Memory Strategies: Apply It

  • Identify and apply memory-enhancing strategies
  • Describe memory techniques for better studying and learning

You learned about several effective memory techniques for better studying and learning. Here they are again in short form:

  1. Pay attention: Give your full attention to the information or experience you want to remember. Minimize distractions and focus on the details.
  2. Deep processing: Engage in deep, meaningful processing of the information. Connect it to existing knowledge, create associations, or relate it to personal experiences. This promotes better encoding and retrieval.
  3. Elaboration: Expand on the information by asking questions, summarizing it in your own words, or explaining it to someone else. Elaborating on the content helps solidify the memory.
  4. Visual imagery: Visualize the information or create mental images that represent the concepts you want to remember. Visual encoding enhances memory recall.
  5. Spacing and repetition: Space out your learning or study sessions over time. Reviewing the information periodically, with intervals between sessions, strengthens memory consolidation.
  6. Chunking: organize information into manageable bits or chunks. Review these chunks in various ways, interleaving practice as much as possible.
  7. Mnemonic devices: Utilize mnemonic techniques such as acronyms, acrostics, or rhymes to create memorable associations that aid in memory retention.
  8. Contextual cues: Try to recreate the environmental or mental context in which the information was initially encoded. Returning to the same setting or mental state during recall can improve retrieval.
  9. Sleep and rest: Get sufficient sleep and take breaks between learning sessions. Sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, allowing the brain to process and store information effectively.
A pile of flashcards.
Figure 1. Studies show that forced recall, or testing, has a significant impact on remembering information a week later.

A 2008 study sought to determine which type of studying is most effective in learning new words and concepts. The study, by Jeffrey D. Karpicke and Henry L. Roediger III, had students learn forty pairs of Swahili words and their meanings in English. After learning all forty words one time through, they were split into 4 groups for the rest of the learning phase:

  1. A group that studied all 40 words and got tested on all 40 words
  2. A group that studied only the words they didn’t know already, then were tested on all 40 words
  3. A group that studied all 40 words, but were tested only on the words they didn’t know
  4. A group that studied only the words they didn’t know already, then were tested on only the words they didn’t know already
Which group do you think learned the words the best a week later?

This study demonstrated the importance of testing and the importance of retrieval practice in learning. This is why you may not want to complain too much if your instructor gives you a pop quiz, and also why it’s a good idea to force yourself to recall information and quiz yourself on the things you learn. [1]

In another study, Nicholas Cepeda and colleagues found that spaced practice is more effective than mass practice (cramming!) regardless of how much time you have to study or how long you need to remember what you are studying. So what is the best way to implement spaced practice? The main finding in the study was that studying every day was the most effective way to space your study. .[2]

Choose a video about study tips to watch:

You can view the transcript for “13 Study Tips: The Science of Better Learning” here (opens in new window).

You can view the transcript for “How I Study Smarter, Not Harder” here (opens in new window).

You can view the transcript for “How to Study Effectively for School or College [Top 6 Science-Based Study Skills]” here (opens in new window).

Now answer the question associated with the video you watched:

Select the question that goes with the video you watched:

  1. Karpicke, J. D., & Roedinger, H. L., III. (n.d.). The Critical Importance of Retrieval for Learning. Science, 319, 966-968. doi:10.1126/science.1152408 ↵
  2. Nicholas, C., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3rr6q10c ↵