YOUR MEMORY'S
NATURAL RHYTHMS
You can utilize
the mind's natural processes for learning information. Your memory and
memorization skills (comprehension +
memory = learning) will benefit from
knowing how your brain best absorbs information (builds
new neural connections) . If you were to
hear a list of 30
words and were then asked to recall them. You would be able to recall some
words from the beginning of the list, some from the end but only a few from the middle of
the list.
These effects are known as primacy (words
from the beginning of the list) and recency (words from the end of the list). Unless you
were applying a mnemonic technique, it is highly unlikely that you would recall all of the
words. You would however be able to recall words that were repeated or connected in any
way and any outstanding or unusual words (for example the word "Rhinoceros" in a
list of underwear is outstanding just as the word "Underpants" sticks out in a
list of large African Herbivores).
How can you use this? If you were to study for hours and hours and
hours without a break, you would find that
the dip in recall between the primacy and recency effects would be considerable. On the
other hand, if we stopped every 5 minutes during a half hour we would not
get into the flow of learning.
We need to find a
balance between these two extremes. You need to take more breaks when you are studying. Split your study time into 20-50
minute chunks with 10 minute breaks in between when it is important that you relax or do
something physical or creative.
The time chunks will
mean that you create more primacy / recency high points and will remember more from your
studying. The breaks will give your mind a chance to rest from learning and doing
something different will actually stimulate it.
Instead of poring over
your notes solidly for 3 hours, if you split the time up into 50 minute segments, you will
actually remember more during your learning periods.
How do you recall this information after
you have learned it? (transferring
short term memory to long term). The
ability to learn something once
and then have the ability to recall it whenever you wanted?
It does require effort. Imagine that you went to a class, listened to the
teacher, took your notes and at the end of the lesson threw your notebook into your bag.
How much information do you think you would remember about what you had
learned by the end of
the following day? Ebbinghaus proved that within 1-2 days, we forget
about 80% of what we have learned. ite a waste doesn't it? There is a way to
overcome that problem.
At the end of an hour's
learning, your mind integrates the information that you have just studied so that your
ability to recall it actually rises, peaks after about 10 minutes and then falls off
dramatically. Now if you review what you have learnt at that 10 minute point, you will
reinforce the information at its strongest in your mind. (I will be writing about a
suitable note taking technique to allow you to do this in future articles, so just bear
with me).
Your ability to recall
this information will remain at a high point for about a day before it begins to drop off
rapidly. So it is a good idea to review what you have learnt again after a day. This
second review will mean that your ability to recall what you have learnt will remain for
about a week before it begins to tail off again so guess what we do after a week? Full
marks to those who think we should review again.
If you are worried about
all these reviews, don't be because with the right note taking technique, each review will
only take a couple of minutes. After this third review your recall will last for about a
month at which your fourth review will keep the information accessible by you for up to 6
months. A fifth review after 6 months will meant that the information is firmly logged in
your long-term memory.
In summary then:
1. Study for as long as
you like but make sure it is in 20-50 minute chunks with breaks of 10 minutes where
relaxation and/or something physical and fun is mandatory.
2. Review what you have
learned:
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