Study Skills:
Beyond Memorization
Studying for Memorization
• When most students prepare for an exam, they focus on memory. They
focus on the questions:
• How much can they remember?
• How accurately can they remember?
• They may use flashcards or test themselves on vocabulary terms.
• If they do poorly on an exam, many students feel like they didn’t remember
enough, or that they didn’t remember accurately.
A Problem with Studying for Memorization
• A key problem with studying for memorization is that most instructors don’t
test for memorization.
• They often ask more difficult questions that require students to apply terms
to specific situation or compare and contrast different terms.
• This means that a student who studied definitions is not well-prepared to
answer the instructor’s test questions.
Memorization Isn’t Bad
• Memorization is not a bad skill; indeed, students do need to memorize some
terms.
• However, students do need to go beyond memorization in order to do well
on college-level exams.
Thinking Skills
Below, you will see a scale of different thinking skills. They are ordered from least to
most difficult
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Remembering: Students can define a concept.
Understanding: Students can explain a concept to others.
Applying: Students can use the concept in a different situation.
Analyzing: Students can distinguish this concept from other, similar concepts.
Evaluating: Students are able to make good judgments about the concept.
Creating: Students can construct new information based on the concept.
Sample: Apartheid
• Step 1: Remembering
• First, we must find the definition of “apartheid,” which is: “the former
policy of the South African government designed to maintain the separation
of Blacks and other non-Whites from the dominant Whites.”
• Next, we must memorize this term. We might, for example, use a flashcard
with the word “apartheid” on one side and the definition on the other.
• Then, we might use our flashcards over several study sessions to make sure
we’ve remembered the term.
Step 2: Understanding
• Unfortunately, many student stop at the memorization step. To really have a
command of the term, we must work our way through several steps.
• In order to understand the information, students must be able to explain
“apartheid” in their own words to someone else. They should also be able to
answer “why” questions, such as “Why did the South African government
institute apartheid?”
Step 2 Sample
• Apartheid is a system the South African government used to use. Its
purpose was to separate whites from non-whites. Its purpose was to give the
white population greater power by restricting the movement of people of
color and preventing them from voting.
Step 3: Applying
• In order to apply information, students must be able to use their knowledge
in a new situation.
Step 3 Sample
• Below, you will see a quote by Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black
President and a major opponent of apartheid.
• To apply our knowledge, we explain how Mandela’s quote relates to
apartheid.
“I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.”
Step 3 Sample (continued)
• Mandela’s quote relates to apartheid because it discusses groups within one
geographical location fighting one another. In the case of apartheid, we
would think specifically about South Africa and the struggles between the
white and non-white population.
“I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.”
Step 4: Analyzing
• To analyze, we must be able to distinguish between our concept and other,
similar concepts.
• We should also be able to break the concept into parts and explain what
those parts mean.
Step 4 Sample
• Here, we might ask, “how is apartheid different from segregation in the U.S.?”
Category:
Restricted Locations
Apartheid (South Africa)
•
•
Voting
•
•
•
Segregation (United States)
Specific residential and business sections for
each race.
Other races were barred from living, operating
businesses, or owning land in those areas.
•
Government established African homelands
called “Bantustans”
It declared that all black South Africans were
citizens of the Bantustans, not South Africa
Prevented black South Africans from voting.
•
•
•
•
Races were separated in public places, such as
schools, public transportation, parks, restaurants,
etc.
Upheld by local laws and U.S. Supreme Court
decision Plessy v. Ferguson.
Right to vote secured by law in the 14th
Amendment.
Southern states created some laws to make voting
difficult, such as a poll tax.
African-American voters faced threats from white
employers and the KKK.
Step 5: Evaluating
• In order to evaluate, you must be able to make judgments about the
concept.
• You should be able to answer questions like, “Can I determine the best
rationale, plan, solution, given the information?”
Step 5: Sample
• For our sample concept, “apartheid,” you’ll want to ask more challenging
questions than “is apartheid bad?”
• Instead, consider questions like, “how did apartheid damage interracial
relations in South Africa?”
Step 6: Creating
• Students can blend the concept with other information, generating their own
thoughts, ideas, viewpoints, and positions.
• Creating is focused on originality.
• Isn’t necessarily an art project, like “write a story about apartheid.”
Step 6 Sample
• You can create knowledge through a variety of questions or projects, such as:
• Watch the film District 9. To what extent is the film a metaphor for apartheid?
• Compare/contrast apartheid to another system of racial segregation. Which system
was more damaging for oppressed groups?
• What is the best way for healing racial tensions after the abolition of apartheid?
Recap
• After completing all six steps, we have a much deeper understanding of
apartheid. We’d have an easier time answering questions about apartheid on
a test or writing an essay on the topic.
• Memorization of the definition of apartheid is an important first step in
learning about the concept, but we require further, deeper study to have
significant comprehension.