Shreeya Garg: Blog #14 - Memorization Techniques
Albert Einstein once said, “Never memorize something that you can look up.” However, our educational system certainly does not agree with Einstein in this regard, and I bet that most of us can relate to staying up late at night cramming information before a test, only to have all of that information miraculously evaporate from our brains seconds after leaving the testing room.
Although the actual usefulness of memorization is questionable, memorization is certainly a necessary skill to succeed in school, whether one has to memorize POAS presentations for English, complex integral formulas for AP Calculus, or dates of battles and names of dead people for History. Thus, for this week’s blog, I decided to research some effective memorization techniques.
One technique is to use mnemonics. This technique requires you to create “memorable sentences that are constructed out of words that start with the same letter as the items you are trying to memorize.” For instance, when learning about the order of operations, we all learned the mnemonic “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.” This technique is extremely effective, and “71.2% of students found [this] technique helpful.”
Another useful memorization technique that can be used to memorize both formulas and speeches is to write down what you wish to memorize. The Learning Center explains that “there is a direct connection between our hand and our brain” so when we write information it helps us remember that information later on. I have personally used this technique and I found it really helpful and surprisingly fast.
Another strategy is to quiz yourself because that requires you to “actively [recall] the information you are trying to study.” Quizzing yourself also enables you to know exactly what you have memorized and what you need to keep practicing.
Another surprisingly effective memorization method, especially for memorizing speeches or lists, is the Loci Method. In order to use this method, you must first choose a place that you are familiar with, suchas your house. Then, you imagine yourself walking through this place and placing pieces of information along your path, such as on the coffee table, or next to the couch. Then, when you wish to recall the information, you imagine yourself walking back through the same path, while picking up the pieces of information, in the same order you had set them down. Although this technique sounds complicated, “92.9% of students. . . experienced an improvement in information recall after” using this method.
Another interesting tip was to study the information you are trying to memorize right before you go to sleep. “Your brain processes and stores information while you sleep,” so reviewing concepts before sleeping can help with memorization.
Finally, I would like to end this blog by stressing that “repetition is key.” Although we all like to cram, in order for us to actually remember something, we need to continually be exposed to it. Hopefully, these tips can help us all effectively memorize information.
Hi Shreeya! I can totally relate to staying up late to memorize information for a test just to forget it right after. I actually encountered many of these memorization techniques while studying for psychology, but forgot most of them, other than mnemonics. When I saw the words the "Loci Method," it actually sounded insanely familiar, but I needed to read your blog to fully recall what it meant. I personally love writing down what I need to memorize, and before a test, I like to watch videos and take notes, even if I already had done that during class.
ReplyDeleteThe Loci Method really interested me in your discussion this week, Shreeya. I didn't consider something like this to work, as pacing my house and trying to recollect lists and speeches wouldn't normally strike me as an effective way of memorization. However, considering the practice of ordering the material and substance of the intended content, it seems like it might just work. While I've used the other methods of writing and quizzing myself as ways of remembering content for tests, I've never even heard of this Loci Method. I might try it out once, just to see what it's like for myself and test its efficacy firsthand. However, pacing repeatedly does not seem like something I'd really include in my study, but we'll see soon enough.
ReplyDeleteI have always been better than most at memorization: I could take (relatively) complex orders at restaurants with (relative) ease, memorize spells from an old DND game I used to play, and have and overall summary of people just memorized in my head. However, I sometimes just cannot memorize the important things - calculus equations being one of them. There are also an abundance of physics equations that I can never seem to remember. I have never heard of the Loci Method until this post, and will be trying it out later this week to hopefully finally get these equations in my head. Thank you for informing me about this!
ReplyDeleteHello Shreeya, I have always heard of the first three memorization techniques that you used. Although I never use them, I know a lot of people who were very succesful at school who suggested these techniques to me. However, I have never heard of the last technique that you shared. It sounds very interesting, and seems like it because the brain thinks in the form of images before it thinks in the form of words.
ReplyDeleteHi Shreeya! Firstly, I appreciate the main topic you chose for your blog because I have always wanted to explore various memorization techniques used for studying and reviewing concepts because it tends to be very hard to do so the night before a test. When needing to memorize a script for a presentation like our POAS presentation or math formulas for my Calculus course, I find it really difficult to comprehend the methodologies applied to properly being able to remember all this information. I started trying to implement the usage of mnemonics a few weeks ago when studying for a Physics test, and I miraculously was able to retain information at a much faster pace. Just like the 71 percent of students who had benefited from the usage of this technique, this was really useful for me to be able to remember multiple formulas and operations that were given in the context. Thank you for your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Shreeya, these are definitely relevant as AP exams are coming up. I have been struggling with studying for my APUSH exam as that requires a lot of memorization, but I might put one of these techniques to use. One method I've always wanted to use is the recall method, which is one method you mention. It definitely is something that I subconsciously do, but I know it would probably held if I wrote it down on paper or typed it up on my computer. I also think listening to music has interfered with my memorization, so I might have to stop that. Anyways, thank you for this helpful post, and I look forward to reading more from you.
ReplyDeleteHi Shreeya! This blog was probably one of the most beneficial and practical blogs I've read in a while. Outside of the mnemonic devices that teachers tried to push onto me and basic repetition, I've never really thought to find memorization tricks to help me study. These methods definitely seem simple enough to try out and experiment with to see which one works best. I could also see some of these memorization techniques being beneficial outside of just recalling information, such as maybe applying the Loci method to athletics for muscle memory. Although, I suppose that hoping for a magical technique to make studying drastically easier is just my wishful thinking and that repetition is ultimately the best way to memorize information.
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