Defending Your Memory
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–24–2 What is the biggest impediment to academic success? Forgetting
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–34–3 Proof of the power of forgetting 46 percent of a chapter assignment forgotten in one day More than 90 percent of a lecture forgotten in two weeks
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–44–4 How does forgetting happen? Fading Theory: Unused memories gradually disappear Retrieval Theory: Memories get lost in the brain’s filing system Interference Theory: Memories get forced out, either by other memories or by a bad attitude
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–54–5 Ways to fight back against forgetfulness Make an effort to remember Control the size and shape of your memories Work to strengthen memories Give your memories time to jell.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–64–6 You can’t remember unless you try Pseudo forgetting: Failing to remember something you never learned in the first place. Remembering for a reason: If your reason to remember is meaningful, forgetting is less likely.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–74–7 Improving your intention to remember Pay attention. Minimize distractions and focus on remembering. Get your facts straight. Incorrect information is as easy to remember as correct. Make sure you understand: If you don’t get it, you’re apt to forget it.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–84–8 You can also use motivation to forget Restaurant servers clear the table of their memory once a party has left Albert Einstein kept rudimentary information from clogging his brain
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–94–9 G.A. Miller: The Magical Number 7 and your memory The short-term memory is limited to approximately seven items Those items may be clusters of information though
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–10 How to control the size and shape of your memories Limit what you choose to learn Organize information efficiently
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–11 The more you try to remember, the longer it takes... much longer Ebbinghaus found that it took 15 times longer to remember 12 syllables than it did to remember 6
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–12 How do you limit what you try to remember? Condense and summarize: –Choose only the main ideas and leave the supporting materials behind
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–13 Patterns make information manageable File folders in file cabinets and on computers Chapters in books Groupings in social security and phone numbers Shelves and sections in supermarkets
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–14 Patterns make information easier to remember as well Cluster information around memorable categories or headings
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–15 How to strengthen memories Make connections Use recitation
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–16 Connecting your memories Free-floating memories tend to drift away Memories with connections are apt to remain
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–17 Two kinds of connections Logical Artificial
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–18 Making logical connections Build on your background –Master the basic courses Consciously link what you learn to what you already know –Ask your instructor to explain a crucial linchpin point Strengthen memories with pictures –Visualizing or drawing will use the right side of your brain
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–19 Making artificial connections A connection doesn’t have to be logical, just strong Example: FACE and musical notes
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–20 Mnemonic devices Classic mnemonics Build-it-yourself mnemonics
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–21 Using recitation to rehearse Recitation is the most important activity for strengthening memory
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–22 How to recite Read a passage or a line in your notes Repeat it from memory Use your own words Recite either out loud or on paper
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–23 Why recitation works It encourages participation It provides feedback It supplies motivation
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–24 Allowing memories to jell Information doesn’t instantly become memories Consolidation is needed Memories must be moved from short-term to long-term storage
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–25 Distributed practice vs. massed practice Distributed practice: Short study periods with regular breaks Massed practice: Continuous study, often until a task is completed
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–26 The advantages of distributed practice Memory is allowed time for consolidation Regular “breathers” discourage fatigue Motivation is stronger in short time blocks “Boring” subjects are easier to take in small doses
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–27 When does massed practice make sense? When great deals of information need to be fit together or juggled Example: The first draft of a research paper
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4–28 Learning plateaus Progress isn’t constant or continuous “No progress” periods are discouraging but not unusual