MEMORY- Think about it!


Ever had that experience, maybe in an exam when your ‘mind went blank’ or on placement when a supervisor asks you something you know but you can’t think of it on the spot? These are not unusual experience for a uni student and the good news is you can actively do things to reduce the likelihood of it happening to you again or prevent it from happening in the first place.

Outlined below are some things that you can do to aid your memory.

    Learning the material well through deliberate strategies such as:

  • Paying attention to what you are trying to learn. This may seem obvious but is often overlooked. It is like when we meet someone  new and they are introduced to us. Sometimes we find that we are unable to remember their name even a short time later. This is not because we have forgotten their name but most likely because we did not pay enough attention when we were told their name in the first place.
  • Reflecting on your readings/ lectures. Take time to think about what you are learning.
  • Linking new ideas to what you already know. Memory works best by making connections- always seek to connect new learning to what is already known.
  • Organising what you learn either through notes or being creative and using colours, mind maps, charts, tables or themes.
  • Spaced and periodic reviews are important to consolidate learning.
  • It has been shown that 14 days after a lecture, students had forgotten 90% of the information (Sprenger, 2005). Reviewing lectures throughout the semester is important if you want to remember the material, especially at exam time. Cramming may get you through an exam however you are unlikely to remember the material after a few days or weeks.
  • Explain the material to someone else, putting the material in your own words. You will soon know what you understand and what you don’t. This is where a study group with friends can be a good idea.
  • Clarify your understanding with a tutor/lecturer or by asking fellow students when you are unsure.
  • Use mnemonic strategies especially for material that does not have an inherent logic.


For example, the following mnemonic (Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can’t Handle) is used by medical students to remember the names of the bones in the wrist (Scaphoid, Lumen, Triquetrum, Pisiform, Trapezoid, Trapezium, Capitate, Hamate)

Remembering that the first letters in the mnemonic are the same as the names of the bones can trigger remembering the names of the bones.

    Keeping a positive self-concept of yourself as someone who remembers things. This includes being realistic because we can all forget things especially when we are under pressure.

    Developing strategies to manage stress levels is also important so that you optimise your potential to remember. Stress can help motivate you to make a deadline but too much stress can diminish performance and affect learning. Reduce stress by planning your work throughout the year, so that your memory isn’t faced with impossible requests at exam time. The same is true for presentations. Plan and practise your presentation ahead of time to reduce stress levels.

    Your attitude to what you are learning makes a great deal of difference to how well you remember it. If you are interested and motivated then you are more likely to use the strategies above to learn the material well. If you are doing the most boring topic imaginable find a way to motivate yourself. Be creative!

    Create a good study environment.


    Eliminate distractions such as mobile phones, TV, face book and music. Students often say that studying with music helps them focus and depending on the type of music and the volume it can act to block out other distractions. What we also know is that remembering is easier if we study in a way that is likely to mimic the environment in which we will need to remember the material. In an exam you sit at a desk in relative quiet. Therefore doing revision on your bed with music playing, the TV on, your phone ringing, as you scan your facebook to see if someone has written on your wall in the last 5 minutes, may not be the best way to maximise your chances of recalling the material in an exam or on a placement. It can take up to several minutes to regain a deep state of concentration following a distraction such as a phone call and this all adds up to time lost.

    Sleep on it.

  • Learning is consolidated during sleep. So establishing regular sleep patterns will enhance learning.
  • If your regular sleep pattern is to go to sleep at 2am and get up at 11am then you will find an exam at 8:30 am will be a struggle for you. Your sleep pattern needs to match the times in which you are expected to be alert to do a presentation, exam or perform on placement. The week of the exam is not the time to start changing sleep patterns. Ideally you will have incorporated any changes you need to make into your planning and have started to adjust your body clock in the weeks leading up to examinations.

  • Doing all night sessions at exam time is not a good idea. It is estimated that after being awake for 17 hours straight, your skills in memory and alertness are equivalent to someone at 0.05 Blood Alcohol Level. “Being awake for 24 hours is equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.1, double the legal limit” (JobSafe SA). Spaced learning over the course of the semester will mean that you recall the material far better.


    Exercise is an excellent way to improve cognitive functioning (Hillman, C., Erickson, K.I., & Kramer, A.F., 2008). Get more oxygen to your brain with some cardiovascular exercise and optimise the conditions for your memory to work effectively.

    Eat well to provide your brain with the energy to think well. The brain “consumes 8-10 times more glucose and oxygen than other organs” (Markowitz, K & Jensen, E, 1999). Eating a well balanced diet including breakfast will enable you to do more learning throughout the day. (Dartmouth College 2001).

Contact Flinders Health and Counselling Service or the Student Learning Centre for other strategies.





References:

Hillman, C., Erickson, K.I., & Kramer, A.F. (2008). Be Smart, Exercise your Heart: Exercise Effects on Brain and Cognition. Nature reviews Neuroscience, 9(1), 58-65.

JobSafe SA, Retrieved February 3, 2009 from http://awusa.asn.au/ohsFatigue.html

Markowitz, K., & Jensen, E. (1999). The Great Memory Book, The Brain Store, California.

Sprenger, M. (2005). How to Teach so Students Remember, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, USA.

Wiles, J., & Wiles, J. (2003). The Memory Book, Everyday Habits for a Healthy Memory. ABC Books, Sydney

Dartmouth College (2001), Nine Ways to Aid Your Memory. Retrieved February 2, 2009 from www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/docs/retain_information.doc

Dartmouth College (2001), Memory is Learning that Persists. Retrieved February 2, from www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/docs/retain_information.doc