Study Skills
Memory and Concentration
Counselling Unit,
UWI, Mona
Reading Effectively
Using the SQ4R Method
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Survey
Question
Read
Recite
Record
Review
Darn! I just forgot it !
You never forget!!!!
“Forgetting” is either:
 The inability to recall stored information;
or
 Failure to store information in the first place.
In the jungle there are animals, millions of them.
The animals represent all the information in your
memory.
Imagine what happens as a thought, in this case we'll
call it an elephant, tramps across short-term memory
and into the jungle. The elephant leaves a trail of
broken twigs and footprints that you can follow.
The more well-worn the
path, the easier it is to
retrieve the thought. In
other words, the more
often the elephant
retraces the path, the
clearer the path
becomes.
The more often you recall
information, and the
more often you put the
same information into
your memory, the easier
it is to find.
The second picture you can use to your advantage is
the picture of many animals gathering at a clearing—
like thoughts gathering at a central location in the
memory.
It is easier to retrieve
thoughts that are grouped
together, just as it is easier
to find a herd of animals
gathered in a clearing than it
is to find one elephant.
Imagine releasing the elephant into the jungle, turning
your back on it, and counting to 10. When you turn
around, the elephant is gone. This is exactly what
happens to most information we receive.
The Solution
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Review quickly
Take an active role in the learning process become the traffic warden
Do not take your eyes off the animal as it
crosses from short-term to long-term memory
Review it as soon as it enters the long-term
memory jungle
Wear a path in your memory
Memory Techniques
Organize it
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Learn from the general to the specific
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Make it meaningful
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Create associations
Memory Techniques cont’d
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Use your body
Learn it once, actively
Relax
Create pictures
Recite and repeat
Write it down
Memory Techniques cont’d
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Use your brain
Reduce interference
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Use daylight (whenever possible)
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Over learn
Memory Techniques cont’d
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Use your brain cont’d
Use Mnemonics
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Distribute learning
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Be aware of attitudes
Memory Techniques cont’d
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Recall it
Remember something else
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Notice when you do remember
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Use it before you lose it
Remember, you never forget!
Concentration
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External distractions
elements in your environment
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Internal distractions
elements within you
Solutions
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Set aside a place for study and study only!!!
- good lighting
- ventilation
- comfortable
- area large enough to spread out
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Divide your work into small, sub-goals
- specific
- manageable
- reachable
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Establish rewards for accomplishments
Home Work
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http://college.hmco.com/collegesurvival/ellis/maste
r_student/10e/students/
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http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/html/index.
asp
References
Ellis, D. (1994) Becoming a Master Student (7th ed.) Rapid City,
SD. Houghton Mifflin Co.
Ellis, D. (2003) Becoming a Master Student (10th ed.) Rapid
City, SD. Houghton Mifflin Co.
The SQ4R Method of Study
http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/asc/improve/study/
01/10/03
Division of Student Affairs, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
& State University. Concentration – Some Basic Guidelines
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/concentr.html 02/08/2001
University of Waterloo Counselling Services. Concentration &
Distraction
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/Study/concentration.html
02/08/2001