11 tricks to remember better when studying

Got exams? These memorization strategies can help you pass with flying colors.

For most of our lives, most people are continually learning new things..

By having new information we may be able to better adapt to the environment and the constant changes in today's society. Although this learning process is continuous throughout the life cycle, it is especially visible during training processes, in which we acquire most of the general knowledge and attitudes that we will later apply, deepen, contrast and modify throughout life.

In such training it is common to have to memorize a large amount of information in relatively short periods of time. For this reason, in this article we will provide some tricks to remember better when studying..

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Studying, a strenuous activity

There are many different types of learning, but all of them are based on the acquisition, either voluntarily or involuntarily, of information from a source (whether external or internal, experiential, vicarious or even imaginary) and its subsequent retention.

Anyone who has had to study in depth knows that this is an activity that can be exhausting.. Learning and memorizing particularly technical or complicated material can be a real headache for those who have to learn it. Although it does not always require a great effort (whether due to personal preferences, the way the information arrives, attitude or ability, there are people who retain certain information more easily), in general it usually requires the repetition of a series of behaviors or information until habituation or mastery of the subject matter is achieved.

In any case, if we want to keep the acquired knowledge in the memory, we must be able to give it a meaning for the learner, so that he/she is able to generalize and apply it to other contexts. Without giving meaning to a learning process, it will become mechanical and will not be as useful for adaptation to the environment..

However, what we learn is often forgotten very quickly, being applied a few times at most and then disappearing from our lives. Why do we forget this material?

The forgetting curve

Memory and the loss of information retained in it over time have been the subject of study. Over time, memory traces deteriorate, causing information to be lost. This may be due, among other possible explanations, to the fact that the new information that is acquired is superimposed on the old, so that the old information suffers a progressive deterioration due to the interference that the new material produces.

Herman Ebbinghaus is famous for his studies related to memory.. From his research he outlined what is now known as the forgetting curve, the loss of retentive information over time. According to this graph, which describes the process of forgetting information in the absence of consistent review, the amount of material retained will decrease exponentially.

If 100% of the material is retained on the first day, on the second day, if not reworked, this percentage could be reduced by half.and after several more days the amount of material retained is close to zero. However, it is important to emphasize that reviewing the information to be learned allows the memorized information to be retrieved more quickly than if we start from scratch. The closer in time the moment of learning and reviewing the information, the less time investment will be necessary to retrieve the stored material.

In order to retain the information and help speed up and maintain the retention process, it is recommended to use a series of mnemonic tricks and strategies, such as some of those explained below.

Some useful mnemonic techniques

We will now consider some useful mnemonic techniques to retain information and facilitate study and review..

1. Construction of a story

This mnemonic technique is based on the elaboration of a short story that links all the elements to be memorized.. It can be used to remember dates, names and items in a list.

The story itself should be short and meaningful, since the aim is to facilitate the memorization of some data, and not to present an overly complex stimulus that involves extra learning. In this way, a narrative is woven that keeps the elements to be remembered connected to each other.

This is one of the most effective tricks for rememberingThis is one of the most effective memory tricks, since each part of the story contains elements that anticipate the next. However, its main disadvantage is that it requires some effort and creativity.

2. Use acronyms

Very useful for remembering formulas and lists, this mnemonic technique is basically is based on using the initials of the words to form another one that allows the memory of all the words.. It is based on using very specific clues to recall the information.

In this way, the sonority of an acronym gives us clues that lead us more easily to the words and concepts we are trying to remember.

3. Create an imaginary route

This is a well-known mnemonic trick, although it can be complex if the associations are not well made. Its operation is simple, it is to create an imaginary route in which we link the different points of reference to the names or elements to be studied. to study. To be effective it is necessary to take into account that we have to be able to remember the association (for example that it is the place where you buy, have a similar color, etc.).

4. Use of rhymes, similar words or phrases.

Using words that rhyme with those of the elements we want to learn can help us to better remember specific material. Breaking it down into smaller, easier-to-memorize chunks can also be helpful.. Basically, it is a matter of being able to associate the word, number or knowledge to be learned with another element that is more accessible to us.

This trick to remember, by the way, can be used in combination with the creation of acronyms.

5. Use a sense of humor and imagination

Positive emotional states facilitate memorization.. For this reason, trying to link humor and study, as long as it is done in the right measure and with sufficient previous knowledge, can be very useful to better remember what has been studied. The use of small games, as well as riddles, can be useful.

6. Use your likes and hobbies

Another mnemonic technique that facilitates the consolidation of the material in our memory is to sprinkle the study process with things you like. For example, try to link the material to be studied to your favorite series, movies or books, or try to imagine a relationship with the things you are passionate about, your favorite things, your favorite movies or your favorite books.Or try to imagine a relationship with things you are passionate about, your hobbies.

7. Link the new to the old

In order to learn easily and effectively it is necessary to be able to make sense of the information we are given.. The best way to do this is to relate the material to be learned or retained to previous knowledge or experiences. Thus, new information does not have to be created from scratch, but becomes a deepening of things we have already seen or experienced before, requiring less effort to encode the material and memorize it. We are talking about meaningful learning.

Following this same logic, if what we want to remember better is a text with relatively complex ideas, reviewing is indispensable and, believe it or not, very effective. Reading a text a second or third time is not only useful to see again what we need to remember; it also allows us to see relationships between the ideas that appear at the beginning and at the end of the text. This allows us to understand much better what we are reading, and comprehension is the key to remembering, because it means integrating all the data into a coherent system of information where there are no "loose pieces".

Strategies for learning

Apart from the techniques mentioned above, it is essential to apply some of the following strategies it is essential to apply some of the following strategies to achieve good memory retention of the material to be remembered. of the material to be remembered.

8. Review what you have learned

It may not seem like a very elaborate mnemonic technique.However, taking into account that over time we lose much of the material we have learned, this is one of the main recommendations if we want to remember the material. Every time we review a content, this memory becomes more consolidated in our brain.

9. Make summaries and outlines

The fact of making outlines and summaries of a specific subject helps to exercise the mind and forces you to focus your attention. and forces you to focus your attention, which is a good trick or strategy to remember better when studying. In this way we establish categories with the information to memorize, having to prioritize some contents over others, establish hierarchies and in general work with the information at a cognitive level.

10. Use different ways to process information

We often think of studying as an activity in which we basically sit and read a specific content until it is engraved in our memory. Although this is a method for learning, different types of assistance can also be used. The viewing of videos, the use of audios and exercises through which to put the acquired knowledge into practice are of great help. are of great help.

11. Explain the material to others/ Study in a group.

As in the two previous cases, the fact of having to explain to others the material/study in a group is very helpful, the fact of having to expose before others the material to memorize forces to work with the information, so that its retention is greater.The same as in the two previous cases, the fact of having to present the material to be memorized to others forces you to work with the information, so that its retention is greater. In addition, the fact of working collaboratively means that the vision of the subject can be enriched with the perspectives of others and helps to adopt other points of view.

It also makes it easier to take the study in a more relaxed or serious way, depending on the type of person who accompanies us, and can motivate the study or lower the level of tension. However, there is also a risk of going too far off course or holding opposing positions on a specific topic, so the time available and the type of relationship with the other person should be taken into account.

Bibliographical references:

• González, R. (2004). Estrategias y Técnicas de estudio. Editorial Pearson Prentice Hall, Madrid, Spain.

• Hernández, F. (1990). Aprendiendo a aprender. Métodos y Técnicas de estudio para alumnos de E.G.B.- B.U.P.- F.P. Murcia:Grupo Distribuidor Editorial.

• Manzanero, A.L. (2008): Oblivion. In A.L. Manzanero, Psicología del Testimonio (p. 83-90). Madrid: Ed. Pirámide.