Chapter Ten:
Understand
1.
2.
List and briefly define the 5 steps to the
memory technique defined in the book as
VCR3.
Briefly explain the bizarreness effect.
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“Anyone who stops
learning is old,
whether at twenty or
eighty. Anyone who
keeps learning stays
young. The greatest
thing in life is to keep
your mind young.”
- Henry Ford
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Learn how to study, how to increase your
memory capacity, and how to take assessments
(tests) more effectively
1. Understand how your memory works and how to make
it work better
2. Learn the difference between short-term and long
term memory, and how to commit things to long term
memory.
3. Use mnemonics to help you remember information
4. Identify three different study strategies that can be
applied to all of your classes
5. Identify the cause of test anxiety, and how to reduce it.
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“The existence of
forgetting has never
been proved; we only
know that some things
don’t come to mind
when we want them”
“God is dead”
– Nietzche – 1882
“Nietzche is dead”
– God - 1901
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If your brain was fed ten new pieces of
information every second for the rest of your
life, you would not even fill half of your
memory capacity?
… so how do we tap into our memories?
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Sensory memory
Short term (working) memory
Long term memory
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Information gathered from five senses (taste,
touch, smell, hearing, sight)
Huge capacity
Short duration – 1 to 3 seconds
Caveat – the information is of utmost
importance forces an effort to transfer to
long-term.
◦ Hot stove
◦ Alarm
◦ Electrical Smoke
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Also called “working memory”
Holds information for short period of time
Holds limited amount of information
◦ Five to nine separate pieces or facts
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Rehearing information in short term memory
will move it to your long-term memory.
Other Examples:
•Phone Numbers (836-5309)
jmplngtoplntstsevng
•Social
Security (555-25-7584)
Jum lng to plnts ts evng
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Huge capacity:
◦ Information you have heard or seen often
◦ Information you use often
◦ Information you have deemed necessary or
important
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Like a computer disk with many files
Effort and memory techniques will help you
store anything you want to remember
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Everyone remembers and forgets information.
Your senses take in information.
With little effort you can remember some
information.
With rehearsal (study) you can remember more.
Without use, information is forgotten.
Filing incoming information correctly will help
retain it.
Stored information must have a retrieval
method
Mnemonics, repetition, association, and
rehearsal will help with storage and retrieval
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V – Visualizing
C – Concentrating
R – Relating
R – Repeating
R – Reviewing
People forget 81% of what they ready in a
textbook after 28 days.
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Memorizing something is short-lived.
Knowing is making a commitment to owning
the information, to making it a part of your
life.
◦ How badly you need to retain the information will
deeply influence your level of commitment.
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Mnemosyne – Greek Goddess of Memory
Memory techniques or tricks to help you put
information into long-term memory.
◦ Quadratic Equation?
◦ All States in the US?
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“bizarreness effect” - we remember bizarre
information more rapidly than mundane every
day facts.
◦ Unusual information and events trigger heightened
levels of attention.
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Jingles/rhymes
◦ ABC’s
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Sentences
◦ Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
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Words
◦ HOMES
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Story lines
◦ Weave details into a creative story
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Acronyms
◦ SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing
apparatus)
◦ MARTA
◦ NASCAR
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Pegging
◦ Attaching new information to old pegs
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Avoid Cramming!
Study each day to avoid last-minute stress
Form a study group with motivated students
Keep up with daily reading and homework
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Depressurize – Don’t pretend cramming is going
to save you.
Know the score – Know what to focus on.
Read it quick – H2FLIB
Make connections – Can I relate this to
something else I already know?
Use your syllabus/study guide – If a professor
provides this, it’s a great place to start.
See it – Vizualize! – Mapping, diagrams, photos,
drawings, outlines….
Check your notes – Look for things you
highlighted as important.
Choose wisely – You can’t do it all – make wise
decisions about what to study first.
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Control negative self-talk – stay positive
Study daily and overlearn the material
Arrive early and prepared for test
Jot down your mnemonics right away
Read instructions and entire test carefully
Answer questions you know first
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What types and how many questions?
What chapters/sections will be covered?
Is there a time limit?
Are there any special instructions?
Is there a study sheet?
Is there a review session?
What is the grade value of the test?
What chapters or section will be covered?
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Quick-time response: you immediately know the
answer, so respond.
◦ Pitfall – read the entire question, be sure you answer
based on the wording of the question.
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Lag-time response: don’t get nervous, move on
and the answer may come to you later
No response: move on and make an intelligent
guess later
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Matching
◦ Read each column before starting
◦ Match what you know first
◦ Look for logics clues
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True-False
◦ Look for double negatives
◦ Be mindful of the use of words like “often,” “rarely,”
“always,” “never,” etc
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Multiple-Choice
◦ Try to answer the question before looking at the options
◦ Eliminate obviously wrong answers
◦ Read all options before answering
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Short Answer
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Essay
◦ Read each statement/question before answering.
◦ Be brief.
◦ Length of a blank has nothing to do with length of the
answer.
◦ Look for key words
◦ Go with your gut.
◦ More is not always better. Be concise.
◦ Pay close attention to the action word in the question:
Discuss, Compare, Contrast, Summarize, Analyze,
Justify, Prove…..
◦ Be sure to answer all, not just some of the question.
◦ Summarize your main ideas
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Study hardest material first
Review lecture and textbook notes frequently
Use mnemonics
Learn using a variety of techniques
Be testwise
Review entire test before beginning
Ignore pace of classmates
Be aware of the time while testing
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Chapter 11 – “Inform” pages 232-254
Journal Entry Due – “Alcohol Awareness”