Chapter 3

Memory

What is included

Your memory and your brain-6 key principles

The memory jungle

19 memory techniques

Set a trap for your memory

Remembering names

Mnemonic devices

Pulling it all together

Master Student Profile: Sanch Gupta and Milton Calderon Donefer

Do you have a minute?

Take action to make sure that you remember the important commitments in your
academic life right now. Take a minute to pull out your calendar and enter due
dates for your current assignments.

What if

I could use my memory its full potential?

Why this chapter matters

Learning memory techniques can boost your skills at test-taking, reading, note-
taking, ani many other tasks.

How you can use this chapter

Focus your attention.

Make conscious choices about what to remember.

Recall facts and ideas with more ease.

Your memory and your brain- 6 Key Principles

Sharpening your memory starts with understanding how memory depends on that organ
in your head-your brain.

Following are six key things to understand about how you remember and learn. They
will introduce you to ideas and suggestions that are presented in more detail in
the rest of this chapter.

Principle 1: See memory as something you do, not something you have

Once upon a time, people talked about human memory as if it were a closet. You
stored individual memories there like old shirts and stray socks. Remembering
something was a matter of rummaging through all that stuff. If you were lucky, you
found what you wanted.

This view of memory creates some problems. For one thing, closets can get crowded;
things too easily disappear. Even with the biggest closet, you eventually run out
of space. If you want to pack some new memories in there-well, too bad. There's no
room. Brain researchers have shattered this image to bits. Memory is not a closet.
It's not a place or a thing. Instead, memory is a process.

On a conscious level, memories appear as distinct and unconnected mental events:

words, sensations, images. They can include details from the distant past the smell
of cookies baking in your grandmother's kitchen or the feel of sunlight warming
your face through the window of your Grade 1 classroom. On a biological level, each
of those memories involves millions of nerve cells, or neurons, firing chemical
messages at each other. If you could observe these exchanges in real time, you
would see regions of cells all over the brain glowing with electrical charges at
speeds that would put a computer to shame.

When a series of brain cells connects several times in a similar pattern, the
result is a memory. Canadian psycholo- gist Donald Hebb (2001) uses the aphorism,
"Neurons which fire together, wire together" to describe this principle. This means
that memories are not really "stored." Instead, remembering is a process in which
you encode informa- tion as links between active neurons that fire together and
decode, or reactivate, neurons that wired together in the past. Memory is the
probability that certain patterns of brain activity will occur again in the future.
In effect, you re-create a memory each time you recall it.

Scientists tell us that the human brain is "plastic." Whenever you efficiently
encode and decode, your brain changes physically. You grow more connections between
neurons. The more you learn, the greater the number of con- nections. For all
practical purposes, there's no limit to how many memories your brain can process.
Knowing this allows you to step out of your crowded mental closet into a world of
infinite possibilities. There's a lot you can do to wire those neural networks into
place. That's where the memory techniques described in this chapter come into play.

Principle 2: Remember that the memory process works in stages

The memory process consists of a series of events. To make the most of your memory,
apply an appropriate memory strategy when one of these events takes place:

Pay attention to sense experiences. Memories start as events that we see, hear,
feel, touch, or taste. Memory strategies at this stage are about choosing where to
focus your attention.

Move sense experiences to short-term memory. Sensory memories last for only a few
seconds. If you don't want them to disappear, then immediately apply a strategy for
moving them into short-term memory, such as reciting the informa- tion to yourself
several times. Short-term memory is a place where you can "hold" those fleeting
sensory memories for up to several minutes but only while you are actively working
with memory. Working memory helps you to plan and carry out behaviour, such as
following the steps in a recipe. You want to get the steps in the right order to
make a successful pie but not necessarily memorize the steps for life. Having a
good working memory has been found to be highly correlated with both intelligence
and academic achievement (Burmester, 2017).

Encode for long-term memory. If you want to recall infor- mation for more than a
few minutes, then you need to wire the new neural connections in a more stable way.
This calls for a more sophisticated memory strategy-one that allows you to refire
the connections for days, weeks, months, or even years into the future. Working
memory is typically regarded as the entry point to long-term memory. If you
rehearse and

elaborate on information long enough, it is more likely to become part of your

long-term memory, where permanent changes occur to your neurons and strengthen the
connec- tions between them (Burmester, 2017).

Decode important information on a regular basis. The more often you recall
information, the more stable the memory becomes. To remember it, retrieve it.

Principle 3: Sink deeply into sense experiences

Your brain's contact with the world comes through your five senses. So, anchor your
learning in as many senses as pos- sible. For example:

• Create images. Draw mind map summaries of your readings and lecture notes.
Include visual images. Put main ideas in larger letters and brighter colours.

• Translate ideas in physical objects. If one of your career goals is to work from
a home office, for example, then create a model of your ideal workspace. Visit an
art supplies store to find appropriate materials.

• Immerse yourself in concrete experiences. Say that you're in a music appreciation

class and learning about jazz. Go to a local jazz club or concert to see and hear a
live performance.

Principle 4: Choose strategies for encoding

Mastery in encoding involves making choices about what to remember and how to
remember it. This in turn makes it easier for you to decode, or recall, the
material at a crucial point in the future-such as during a test.

Say that you're enjoying a lecture in Introduction to Psychology. It really makes

sense. In fact, it's so interesting that you choose to just sit and listen, without
taking notes. Two days later, you're studying for a test and wish you had made a
different choice. You remember that the lecture was interesting, but you don't
recall much else. In technical terms, your decision to skip note-taking was an
encoding error.

So, you decide to change your behaviour and take extensive notes during the next
psychology lecture. Your goal is to capture everything the instructor says. This,
too, has mixed results a case of writer's cramp and 10 pages of dense, confusing
scribbles. Oops. Another encoding error.

Effective encoding is finding a middle ground between these two extremes. As you
listen and read, you make moment-to-moment choices about what you want to remember.
You distinguish between key points, transitions, and minor details. You predict
what material is likely to appear on a test. You also stay alert for ideas you can
actively apply. These are things you capture in your notes.

Or try to connect what you are learning now to what you have learned in the past.
Ask yourself, "How do these new ideas relate to what I already know?"

Another strategy for effective encoding is to find and create patterns. Your brain
is a pattern-making machine. It excels at taking random bits of information and
translating them into meaningful wholes.

• Use your journal. Write Discovery and Intention State- ments like the ones in
this book. Journal Entries prompt you to elaborate on what you hear in class and
read in your textbooks. You can create your own writing prompts. For example: "In
class today, I discovered that..." "In order to overcome my confusion about this
topic, I intend to

• Send yourself a message. Imagine that an absent classmate has asked you to send
her an email about what happened in class today. Write up a reply and send this
email to yourself. You'll actively process your recent learning-and create a
summary that you can use to review for tests.

• Play with ideas. Copy your notes on to index cards, one fact or idea per card.
Then see whether you can arrange them into new patterns-chronological order, order
of importance, or by main ideas and supporting details.

Principle 5: Choose strategies for decoding

You've probably experienced the "tip of the tongue" phe- nomenon. You know that the
fact or idea that you want to remember is just within reach-so close that you can
almost feel it. Even so, the neural connections stop just short of total recall.
This is an example of a decoding glitch.

No need to panic. You have many options at this point. These are known as decoding
strategies. For example:

Relax-your mood affects your memory. The information that you want to recall is
less likely to appear if you're feel-

ing overly stressed. Taking a long, deep breath and relaxing muscles can work
wonders for your body and your brain.

Let it go for the moment. When information is at the

tip of your tongue, one natural response is to try hard to remember it. However,
this can just create more stress that in turn interferes with decoding. Another
option is to stop trying to decode and to do something else for the moment. Don't
be surprised if the memory you were seeking suddenly pops into your awareness while
you're in the middle of an unrelated activity.

Recall something else. Many encoding strategies are based on associations-finding

relationships or connections

between something you already know and something new that you want to remember.
This means that you can often recall by taking advantage of those associations. Say
you're taking a multiple-choice test and can't remember the answer to a question.
Instead of worrying about it, just move on.

You might later come across a question on the same topic that triggers the answer
to the earlier question. This happens when a key association is activated.

Recreate the original context. Encoding occurs at specific times and places. If a
fact or idea eludes you at the moment, then see whether you can recall where you
were when you first learned it. Think about what time of day that learning took
place and what kind of mood you were in. Sometimes you can decode the information
merely by remembering where you first saw the information on the whiteboard or
where on the page you saw it in a book.

Principle 6: Take care of your brain

Because memory is a brain-based process, it's important to take care of your brain.
Starting now, adopt habits to keep your brain lean and fit for life. Consider these
research- based suggestions from the Alzheimer's Association (2023).
• Stay mentally active. Play challenging games and work crossword puzzles. Seek out
museums, theatres, concerts, and other cultural events. Consider learning another
language, taking up a musical instrument, travelling to another country, or
starting a part-time business. Lifelong learning gives your brain a workout, much
like sit-ups condition your abs.

• Stay socially active. Having a network of supportive friends can reduce stress
levels. In turn, stress manage- ment helps to maintain connections between brain
cells. Stay socially active by working, volunteering, and joining clubs.

• Stay physically active. Physical activity promotes blood flow to the brain. It
also reduces the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases that
can impair brain function. Exercise that includes mental activity, such as learning
to dance or doing yoga, offers added benefits.

• Adopt a brain-healthy diet. A diet rich in dark-skinned fruits and vegetables

boosts your supply of antioxidants- natural chemicals that nourish your brain.
Examples of these foods are raisins, blueberries, blackberries, straw- berries,
spinach, brussels sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, and broccoli. Avoid foods that are high
in saturated fat and cholesterol, which may increase the risk of Alzheimer's
disease.

• Protect your heart. In general, what's good for your heart is good for your
brain. Protect both organs by eating well, exercising regularly, managing your
weight, staying tobacco free, and getting plenty of sleep. These habits reduce your
risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular conditions that interfere
with blood flow to the brain.

find three to five memory strategies you think could be helpful.

List the strategies below and note the page numbers where they are explained

The memory

Jungle

Think of your memory as a vast, overgrown jungle. This memory jungle is thick with
wild plants, exotic shrubs, twisted trees, and creeping vines. It spreads over
thousands of kilometres-dense, tangled, forbidding. The more often you recall
information, and the more often you put the same information into your memory, the
easier it is to find.

Imagine that the jungle is surrounded by towering moun- tains. There is only one
entrance to the jungle: a small meadow that is reached by a narrow pass through the
mountains.

In the jungle there are animals, millions of them. The animals represent all the
information in your memory. Imag- ine that every thought, mental picture, or
perception you ever had is represented by an animal in this jungle. Every single
event ever perceived by any of your five senses-sight, touch, hearing, smell, or
taste-has also passed through the meadow and entered the jungle. Some of the
thought ani- mals, such as the colour of your Grade 7 teacher's favourite sweater,
are well hidden. Other thoughts, such as your phone number or the position of the
reverse gear in your car, are easier to find.

There are two rules of the memory jungle. Each thought animal must pass through the
meadow at the entrance to the jungle. And once an animal enters the jungle, it
never leaves.
The meadow represents short-term memory. You use this kind of memory when you look
up a telephone number and hold it in your memory long enough to make a call. Short-
term memory appears to have a limited capacity (the meadow is small) and disappears
fast (animals pass through the meadow quickly). Your ability to chunk pieces of
information together lets you increase the capacity of your short-term memory. Lots
of things can lead to information not being transferred from short-term memory. For
instance, just after your friend tells you his new phone number, your conversation
is interrupted. If you don't have time to rehearse the new number, chances are it
won't pass into long-term memory.

The jungle itself represents long-term memory. This is the kind of memory that
allows you to recall information from day to day, week to week, and year to year.
Remember that thought animals never leave the long-term memory

Michael Adkin

jungle. The trick, though, is that although thought animals never leave long-term
memory, you may not be able to access a specific thought animal (or memory) when
you want to. The following visualizations can help you recall useful concepts about
memory.

Michael Adkinson

Visualization #1: A well-worn path

Imagine what happens as a thought in this case we'll call it an elephant-bounds

across short-term memory and into the jungle. The elephant leaves a trail of broken
twigs and hoofprints that you can follow. Brain research sug- gests that thoughts
can wear paths in the brain (Brown et al., 2014). These paths are called neural
traces. The more well-worn the neural trace, the easier it is to retrieve (recall)
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. Practising
retrieval is the key to memory. For example, when you buy a new car, the first few
times you try to find reverse, you must think for a moment. After you have found
reverse every day for a week, the path is worn into your memory. After a year, the
path is so well-worn that when you dream about driving your car backward, you even
dream the cor rect motion for putting the gear in reverse.

Visualization #2: A herd of thoughts

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 than it is to find a single elephant.

Pieces of information are easier to recall if you can associate them with similar
information. So, the organization of material is a key to successful recall of
information. For example, you can more readily remember a particular player's
batting average if you can associate it with other baseball statistics.

Visualization #3: Turning your back

Imagine releasing the elephant into the jungle, turning your back, and counting to
10. When you turn around, the elephant is gone. This is exactly what happens to
most of the information you receive.

Generally, we can recall only 50 percent of the material we have just read. Within
24 hours, most of us can recall only about 20 percent. This means that 80 percent
of the material has not been meaningfully encoded and is wander- ing around, lost
in the memory jungle.

The remedy is simple: Review quickly. Do not take your eyes off the thought animal
as it crosses the short- term memory meadow. Review it soon after it enters the
long-term memory jungle. Wear a path in immediately. your memory

Visualization #4: You are directing

The fourth picture is one with you in it. You are standing at the entrance to the
short-term memory meadow, direct- ing herds of thought animals as they file through
the pass, across the meadow, and into your long-term memory. You are taking an
active role in the learning process. You are paying attention. You are doing more
than sitting on a rock and watching the animals file past into your brain. See what
type of animal it is think about whether you have seen it before or whether it is
something new. Try to categorize the thought animals-compare with animals you have
seen before (Svinicki, 2004). Connecting these new animals to those you have seen
before increases the odds you will recognize them the next time you see them in the
memory jungle. Practise getting the animals out of the jungle-what types of animals
did you see (Karpicke & Blunt, 2011)? As you engage in this process, you have taken
control of your memory.

19 Memory Techniques

Experiment with these techniques to develop a flexible, custom-made memory system

that works for you.

Your first task is to escape the short-term memory trap.

Capture new information before it disappears from your attention.

Don't stop there. Then you can encode it by think- ing-playing with information to
make it more vivid in your mind. Also encode by feeling-by making an emotional
connection with ideas and information. And encode by moving using your body as well
as your brain. In addition, decode by recalling key information on a

regular basis. Instead of cramming for exams, try to space

out your studying. Why? Because only spacing out your

studying over multiple sessions leads to long-term retention

of material (Stanton et al., 2021). In Chapter 1 we talked about students with good
metacognitive skills having several strategies for learning. This is definitely one
of them. And instead of saying, "I don't remember," say, "It will come to me." The
latter statement implies that the informa- tion you want is encoded in your brain
and that you can retrieve it just not right now.

Adopt the attitude that you never forget. You might not believe this right now.
That's okay. Just be willing to test the idea and see where it leads.

The 16 techniques are divided into four categories, each of which represents a
general principle for improving memory and helping you encode and decode
information. Briefly, these are the categories:

1. Organize it. Organized information is easier to find.

2. Use your body. Learning is an active process; get all your senses involved.
3. Use your brain. Work with your memory, not against it.

4. Recall it.

This is easier when you use the other principles efficiently to notice and
elaborate on incoming information.

The first three categories, which include techniques 1 through 12, are about
storing information effectively. Most memory battles are won or lost here.

To get the most out of this article, first survey the following techniques by
reading each heading. Then read the techniques. Next, skim them again, looking for
the ones you like best. Mark those and use them.

112

Becoming a Master Student

Table 3.

Facts, o

Princip

orgar Orgar

Lime

Org

100

Organize it

Be selective. There's a difference between gaining understanding and drowning in

information. During your stay in higher education, you will be exposed to thousands
of facts and ideas. No one expects you to memo-

rize all of them. To a large degree, the art of memory is the art of selecting what
to remember in the first place.

As you dig into your textbooks and notes, make choices about what is most important
to learn. Imagine that you are going to create a test on the material and consider
the questions you would ask.

When reading, look for chapter previews, summaries, and review questions. Pay
attention to anything printed in bold type. Also notice visual elements-tables,
charts, graphs, and illustrations. All of these are clues pointing to what's
important. During lectures, notice what the instructor emphasizes. Anything that's
presented visually on the board, on overheads, or with PowerPoint® slides—is
probably crucial.

2 Make it meaningful. You remember things better if they have meaning to you. One
way to create

meaning is to learn from the general to the specific. Before you begin your next
reading assignment, skim it to locate the main idea. You can use the same
techniques you learned in the practising critical thinking exercise "Textbook
reconnaissance" in the introductory chapter. If you're ever lost, step back and
look at the big picture. The details might make more sense.

You can organize any list of items even random ones- in a meaningful way to make
them easier to remember. In his book Information Anxiety, Richard Saul Wurman
(1989) proposes five principles for organizing any body of ideas, facts, or objects
as outlined in Table 3.1.

3 Create associations. The data already encoded

in your neural networks are arranged according to a scheme that makes sense to you.
When you introduce new data, you can remember the details more effectively if you
associate them with similar or related data.

Think about your favourite courses. They probably relate to subjects that you
already know something about. If you know a lot about the history of twentieth-
century music, you'll find it easier to remember facts about music recorded since
1900. And if you've already passed an advanced algebra course, you're primed to
remember calculus formulas.

Table 3.1 Principles for Organizing Ideas, Facts, or Objects

Principle

Organize by time

Example

Events in history or in a novel flow in chronological order.

Organize by location

Addresses for a large company's regional offices are grouped by prov- ince and
city.

Organize by category

Nonfiction library materials are orga- nized by subject categories.

Organize by continuum

Products rated in Consumer's Guide are grouped from highest in price to lowest in
price, or highest in quality to lowest in quality.

Organize by alphabet

Entries in a book index are listed in ABC order.

Even when you're tackling a new subject, you can build a mental store of basic
background information-the raw material for creating associations. Preview reading
assignments, and then complete those readings before you attend lectures. Before
taking advanced courses, master the prerequisites. Trying to recall discrete pieces
of information increases the memory load and makes it more difficult to recall
later. The more associations you form between what you already know (prior
knowledge) and what you are trying to learn, the easier it will be for you to
recall that information.

4 Chunk it. You already use this technique to dial phone numbers with an area code.
For instance, 8006128030 gets chunked into several groups of numbers: 800-612-8030.
Chunking works with many other types of information as well. To help you remember
the techniques in this article, for instance, they are already chunked into four
groups.

Use your body

L 5 Learn actively. Action is a great memory enhancer. You can test this theory by
studying your assignments with the same energy that you bring to the dance floor or
the basketball court.

You can use simple, direct methods to infuse your learn- ing with action. When you
sit at your desk, sit up straight. Sit on the edge of your chair, as if you were
about to spring out of it and sprint across the room.

Also experiment with standing when you study. It's harder to fall asleep in this
position. Some people insist that their brains work better when they stand.

Pace back and forth and gesture as you recite material out loud. Use your hands.
Get your whole body involved in studying.

In Chapter 1, we talked about the experiential learning cycle's four aspects of

learning: concrete experience, abstract conceptualization, active experimentation,
and reflective observation. Many courses in higher education lean heavily toward
abstract conceptualization, emphasizing lectures, essays, and textbook assignments.
These courses might not give you the chance to act on ideas, to experiment with

them, and to test them in situations outside the classroom. So, get involved in
activities outside of the classroom that allow you to test what you are learning in
class. For example,

if you are interested in the environment, get involved with a club that takes you
out into nature and see how well the theories hold up in the real world. Bring
those experiences back into the classroom.

Your English instructor might tell you that one qual-

ity of effective writing is clear organization. To test this idea, examine the
texts you come in contact with daily- newspapers, popular magazines, websites, and
textbooks. Look for examples of clear organization and unclear organization. Then
write Intention Statements about ways to organize your own writing more clearly.

Your sociology class might include a discussion about how groups of people resolve
conflict. See if you can apply any of these ideas to resolving conflict in your own
family or residence. Then write Discovery Statements about your experiences.

The point behind each of these examples is the same: To remember an idea, go beyond
thinking about it. Do something with it.

6 Recite and repeat. When you repeat something out

loud, you anchor the concept in two different senses. First, you get the physical
sensation in your throat, tongue, and lips when voicing the concept. Second, you
hear it. The combined result is synergistic, just as it is when you create
pictures. That is, the effect of using two different senses is greater than the sum
of their individual effects.

The "out loud" part is important. Reciting silently in your head can be useful in
the library, for example-but it is not as effective as making noise. Your mind can
trick itself into thinking it knows something when it doesn't. Your ears are
The repetition part is important, too. Repetition is a common memory device because
it works. It is particularly useful when you want to memorize facts-unrelated bits
of information, like the capitals of the provinces or types of rocks. However, it
leads to what we think of as shallow processing-where the information is stored
according to

its surface features, like the shape of the letters or the sound of the words
information that does not really connect to the meaning of the information. So,
although this can be a very successful strategy for memorizing some types of
information, when you can learn pieces of information without learning the meaning,
this is not as effective at getting information into long-term memory. Remembering
information word for word means you are not getting the in-depth understanding
required for deep learning. You may have difficulty on a test if the instructor
rewords the concept. To get the in-depth understanding required, learn the con-
nections between the concepts. So rather than learning just the names of different
rocks, try to learn why and how they differ from one another. Repetition blazes a
trail through the pathways of your brain, making the information easier to find.
Repeat a concept out loud until you know it, then say it five more times.

Recitation works best when you recite concepts in your own words. For example, if
you want to remember that the acceleration of a falling body due to gravity at sea
level equals 9.8 metres per second, you might say, "Gravity makes an object
accelerate 9.8 metres per second faster for each second that it's in the air at sea
level." Putting it in your own words forces you to think about it.

Have some fun with this technique. Recite by writing a song about what you're
learning. Sing it in the shower. Use any style you want ("Country, jazz, hip hop,
or rap-when you sing out loud, learning's a snap!").

Or imitate someone. Imagine your textbook being read by a comedian, like Canadian
Lilly Singh, or a celebrity, like Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Talk to the hand. Make my
density equal mass over volume.").

Recite and repeat. It's a technique you can use anywhere.

7 Create pictures. Draw diagrams. Make cartoons. Use these images to connect facts
and illustrate relationships. Associations within and among abstract concepts can
be "seen" and recalled more easily when they are visualized. The key is to use your
imagination.

For example, Boyle's law states that at a constant temper- ature the volume of a
confined ideal gas varies inversely with its pressure. Simply put, cutting the
volume in half doubles the pressure. To remember this concept, you might picture
someone "doubled over" using a bicycle pump. As they increase the pressure in the
pump by decreasing the volume in the pump cylinder, they seem to be getting
angrier. By the time they have doubled the pressure (and halved the volume), they
are boiling ("Boyle-ing") mad.

Another reason to create pictures is that visual informa- tion is associated with a
part of the brain that is different from the part that processes verbal
information. When you create a picture of a concept, you are anchoring the informa-
tion in a second part of your brain. This increases your chances of recalling that
information.

To visualize abstract relationships effectively, create an action-oriented image,

such as the person using the pump. Make the picture vivid, too. The person's face
could be bright red. And involve all your senses. Imagine how the cold metal of the
pump would feel and how the person would grunt as they struggled with it.
Use your brain

8 Overlearn. One way to fight mental fuzziness is to learn more than you need to
know about a subject simply to pass a test. You can pick a subject apart, examine
it, add to it, and go over it until it becomes second nature.

This technique is especially effective for problem-solving. Do the assigned

problems, and then do more problems. Many textbooks have study guides attached to
them. Do the problems in the guides. Look up additional problems from a reputable
source online. Find another textbook and work similar problems. Then make up your
own problems and solve them. Again, practice testing is one of the most highly
effective strategies for learning, particularly when you space out your testing
over a period of time (Brown et al., 2014;

Stanton et al., 2021). When you pretest yourself in this way, the potential rewards
are speed, accuracy, and greater confidence at final exam time.

9 Escape the short-term memory trap. Short- term memory is different from the kind
of memory you'll need during final exams. For example, most of us can look at an
unfamiliar phone number once and remember it long enough to dial it. See if you can
recall that number the next day.

Short-term memory can fade after a few minutes, and it rarely lasts more than
several hours. At the end of class, take a few minutes to write down the most
important points you learned in class today. It's too easy to be writing notes and
copying the PowerPoint slides in class without really thinking about what the
instructor is saying. If you know you are going to have to summarize your notes at
the end of class, you will pay more attention. Similarly, a short review within
minutes or hours of a study session can move material from short-term memory into
long-term memory. That quick mini-review can save you hours of study time when
exams roll around.

10 Write it down. The technique of writing things down is obvious, yet easy to
forget. Writ- ing a note to yourself helps you remember an

idea, even if you never look at the note again. Writing notes in the margins of
your textbooks can help you remember what you read. Writing engages a different
kind of memory than speaking. Writing prompts us to be more logical, coher- ent,
and complete. Written reviews reveal gaps in knowledge that oral reviews miss, just
as oral reviews reveal gaps that written reviews miss.

Another advantage of written reviews is that they more closely match the way you're
asked to remember materials in school. During your academic career, you'll probably
take far more written exams than oral exams. Writing can be an effective way to
prepare for such tests.

Finally, writing is physical. Your arm, your hand, and your fingers join in.
Remember, learning is an active process you remember what you do.

To get the most benefit from this technique, put ideas in your own words, include
examples of them, and describe how they relate to what you already know. Do this
right after reading a chapter in your text or after attending a lecture. Then
compare what you've written to the text or the notes you took during the lecture.

Also mix up your writing topics. Apply this technique to several different subjects
during a single study session. This is another powerful strategy that students who
have good metacognitive skills do they mix up the subjects they are studying rather
than studying only one subject at a time.
11 Use your times of peak energy. Study your most difficult subjects during the
times when your energy peaks. Many people can concentrate more effectively during
daylight hours. The early morning hours can be especially productive, even for
those who hate to get up with the sun. Observe the peaks and valleys in your energy
flow during the day and adjust study times accordingly. However, be careful not to
fall into the trap of waiting to feel energy before you start to study. Sometimes
you just have to do it.

12 Distribute learning. Literally hundreds of studies in psychology have found that

cram- ming for exams doesn't work (Dunlosky et al., 2013; Kang, 2016). More than
worrying about the number of hours you study, pay more attention to how you space
out your studying over the weeks prior to your exam. It has been consistently shown
that repeated interactions with your study material lead to better academic
performance than mass studying right before the exam. Turns out the old adage
"practice makes perfect" really does apply to enhancing learning but only when you
distribute your study sessions

over a period of time. With spaced practice there are more opportunities to
practise retrieving information from long-term memory. Spaced practice also
positively impacts transfer of learning so that you are more likely to be able to
apply what you know to a new situation during your exam or test (Harwig & Mailain,
2022).

Learning transfer is important because this is what allows you to relate what you
have learned to new tasks, new courses of study, and to the workplace (Scharff et
al., 2017). To be effective at learning transfer requires that you become aware of
what you know and don't know and then take corrective action to solve any knowledge
or skill gaps.

116

Therefore, to enhance learning transfer effects, make sure you intersperse your
studying with quizzes on the material to be learned. Doing practice quizzes gives
you more oppor- tunities to practise retrieval of information and to apply what you
have learned to a new context; it also benefits your development of metacognitive
skills. γιοπτοη

13 Take regular breaks. You can get more done if you take regular breaks. You can
even use the breaks as mini rewards. After a productive study session, give
yourself permission to check your email, listen to a song, or play 10 minutes of
hide-and-seek with your kids. Set a timer to remind yourself to get back on track.
Distributing your learning is a brain-friendly thing to

do. You cannot absorb new information and ideas during all your waking hours. If
you overload your brain, it will find a way to shut down for a rest-whether you
plan for it or not. By taking periodic breaks while studying, you allow informa-
tion to sink in. During these breaks, your brain is taking the time to literally
rewire itself by growing new connections between cells. Psychologists call this
process consolidation (Siegel, 2001). Learning occurs when you effectively recode
and consolidate new material and that material moves from short-term memory to
long-term memory. But be careful to get back on task-it is easy to become so
engaged with social media that you don't realize your 20-minute break has stretched
to an hour.

14 Elaborate. According to Harvard psychologist Daniel Schacter (2001), all courses

in memory improvement are based on a single technique- elaboration. Elaboration
means consciously encoding new information. Current brain research indicates that
elabora- tion is more effective than simply repeating information or rehearsal for
successfully enhancing long-term memory (Brown et al., 2014).

One way to elaborate is to ask yourself questions about incoming information: "Does
this remind me of something or someone I already know?" "Is this similar to a
technique that I already use?" and "Where and when can I use this information?" The
more you can connect what you are learning to what you previously learned, the more
effective elaboration is likely to be. In other words, the greater your prior
knowledge of a subject the easier it will be to use elaboration as a memory
technique.

When you learned to recognize Italy on a world map, your teacher probably pointed
out that the country is shaped like a boot. This is a simple form of elaboration.

The same idea applies to more complex material. When you meet someone new, for
example, ask yourself, "Do they remind me of someone else?" Or when reading this
book, preview the material in the chapter opener.

Two other common elaborative study strategies are graphic organizers and concept
maps. One example of a graphic organizer is a topic-point-details chart. At the top

of this chart, write the main topic of a lecture or reading assignment. In the left
column, list the main points you want to remember. And in the right column, list
key details related to each point. See Figure 3.1 for the beginning of a chart
based on this article.

You could use a similar chart to prompt critical thinking about an issue. Express
that issue as a question, and then write the question at the top. In the left
column, note the opinion about the issue. In the right column, list notable facts,
expert opinions, reasons, and examples that support each opinion. Figure 3.2
illustrates this using the issue of tax cuts as a strategy for stimulating the
economy.

Sometimes you'll want to remember the main actions in a story or historical event.
Create a timeline by drawing a straight line. Place points in order on that line to
represent key events. Place earlier events toward the left end of the line and
later events toward the right. Figure 3.3 shows the start of a timeline of events
relating to the history of Afghanistan since 1933.

When you want to compare or contrast two things, play with a Venn diagram.
Represent each thing as a circle. Draw

the circles so that they overlap. In the overlapping arede list characteristics
that the two things share. In the outer parts of each circle, list the unique
characteristics of each thing. Figure 3.4 compares the two types of Journal Entries
included in this book-Discovery Statements and Intention Statements.

The graphic organizers described here are just a few of the many kinds available.
To find more examples, do an internet search. Have fun and invent graphic
organizers of your own.

Another variation on the graphic organizer is the concept map. Concept mapping,
pioneered by Joseph Novak and D. Bob Gowin (1984), is a tool you can use to display
the organization underlying lectures, discussions, and reading materials. A subject
that you study in school might include dozens, or even hundreds, of concepts that
you need to learn. However, learning the subject relies on a simple, underlying
process: You take one new concept at a time and link it to a concept that you
already understand, creating a new proposition that states a relationship between
two or more concepts.
Figure 3.1 Topic-Point-Details Chart

MEMORY TECHNIQUES

Point

1. Be selective

2. Categorize

3. Create associations

4. Learn actively

5. Relax

Details

Choose what not to remember. Look for clues to important material.

Organize by time, Location, category, continuum, or alphabet.

Link new facts with

facts you already

know.

Sit straight.

Stand while studying.

Recite while walking.

Test those theories in

the real world.

Release tension.

Remain alert.

Figure 3.2 Question-Opinion-Support Chart

Yes

No

STIMULATE THE ECONOMY

WITH CORPORATE TAX CUTS?

Opinion

Maybe

Support

Savings from tax cuts

allow businesses to

invest money in new

equipment.

Tax cuts encourage businesses to expand

and hire new employees.

Least efficient way to

create jobs and increase

growth in the economy.

Tax cuts create budget deficits.

Tax cuts might work

in some economic

conditions.

Budget deficits might be only temporary.

Concept maps take this process out of your head and put it on paper in a visual
format. You list concepts and arrange them in a meaningful order. Then you
explicitly state the rela- tionships between concepts, forming meaningful
propositions. You can often build a concept map from the headings within an article
or chapter of a book. For example, consider a textbook about nutrition that
includes basic guidelines about how to eat well. This chapter includes the
following

headings:

Quantity

• Portion Sizes

• Watching Portion Sizes

Variety

• Eat Grains (Especially Whole Grains)

• Eat Water-based Foods (Especially Fruits and Vegetables).

Figure 3.5 is a concept map based on these headings.

Concept maps also promote critical thinking. Creating a concept map can alert you
to gaps in your understanding where you are missing concepts, or concepts with
illogical links. Concept mapping is an elaborative study strategy that we know
supports effective encoding (Svinicki, 2004), particularly when they are developed
along with materials you are trying to learn.

Why do they work? Both concept maps and graphic organizers lead to deeper
processing of material and therefore better encoding of information in memory. When
you enrich the material, you are learning by focusing on the meaning of ideas or
concepts; when you organize that information, you create multiple ways to access
the information later. This goes way beyond word by its surface features, such as
recognizing how it is spelled. Try creating a concept map for yourself the next
time you are studying and see if this works for you. Elaborative study techniques
such as concept maps have been shown to lead to higher course grades than more
basic study strategies like rehearsal (Pintrich et al., 1993), so give it a go.

Recall it

15 Practise retrieval of information frequently. Even information encoded in long-

term memory becomes difficult to recall when we don't use it regularly. The
pathways to the informa- tion become faint with disuse. Research has consistently
found that practice testing is an extremely effective memory strategy (Dunlosky et
al., 2013), and that it works best when practice testing is distributed over time
rather than having testing sessions back-to-back.

This points to a powerful memory technique. To remem- ber something, access it

repeatedly. Read it, write it, speak it, listen to it, apply it. Find some way to
make contact with the material regularly. Each time you do so, you widen the neural
pathway to the material and make it easier to recall

the next time. To retrieve information, you need to have effective cues, which is
why it is so important to connect new learning to prior knowledge. Context matters.
We have a limitless learning capacity; it is retrieval that is sometimes the
problem. Recent research shows that, although using good study techniques like
elaboration are important for learning, practising organized retrieval of
information is the key to significant gains in learning (Brown et al., 2014;
Karpicke & Blunt, 2011; Stanton et al., 2021). One way to combine the two
techniques of elaboration and retrieval is to practise creating concept maps
without having the study materials present.

16 Use it. Many courses in higher education lean heavily toward abstract thinking.
These courses might not offer opportunities to actively experi- ment with ideas or
test them in daily life.

Create those opportunities yourself. For example, your introductory psychology book
probably offers some theories about how people remember information. Choose one of
those theories and test it on yourself. See whether it helps you learn.

How to create a concept map

1. List the key concepts in the text. Aim to express each concept in three words or
less. Most concept words are nouns, including terms and proper names. At this
point, you can list the concepts in any order. For ease in ranking the concepts
later, write each one on a single Post-it® note.

2. Rank the concepts so that they flow from general to specific. On a large sheet
of paper, write the main concept at the top of the page. Place the most specific
concepts near the bottom. Arrange the rest of the con- cepts in appropriate
positions throughout the middle of the page. Circle each concept.

3. Draw lines that connect the concepts. On these connecting lines, add words that
describe the

Your sociology class might include a discussion about how groups of people resolve
conflict. See whether you can apply any of those ideas to resolving conflict in
your own life right now.
The point behind these examples is the same: To remem- ber an idea, go beyond
thinking about it. Make it personal. Do something with it.

At the very least, do something to embed new information in two or more of your
senses. For example, outlining a chapter allows you to see the main points and
write them, drawing on your sense of touch. You could add another sense by reciting
each point out loud as you outline it and recording your speaking with an app on
your smartphone. Also, translate the material from an outline to a picture, which
allows you to see the ideas in a new way.

17

Teach it. Another way to make contact with the material is to teach it. Again, put
ideas in your own words and offer examples from your own experience whenever
possible. Teaching demands mastery. When you explain the function of the pancreas
to a fellow student, you discover quickly whether you really under- stand it
yourself. Study groups are especially effective because they put you on stage. The
friendly pressure of knowing that you'll teach the group helps focus your
attention.

18 Adopt the attitude that you never forget. You might not believe that an idea or
a thought never leaves your memory. That's OK. In fact, it

relationship between the concepts. Again, limit your- self to the fewest words
needed to make an accurate link-three words or less. Linking words are often verbs,
verb phrases, or prepositions.

4. Finally, review your map. Look for any concepts that are repeated in several
places on the map. You can avoid these repetitions by adding more links between
concepts. Also look for accurate linking words and missing concepts.

As you gain facility with concept maps, you might wish to create them on your
devices. Apps like Simple Mind Free are visual thinking and learning tools that are
specifically designed to create concept maps.

doesn't matter whether you agree with the idea or not. It can work for you anyway.
Test the concept. As discussed previously, instead of

saying, "I don't remember," you can say, "It will come to me." The latter statement
implies that the information you want is encoded in your brain and that you can
retrieve it just not right now.

People who use the flip side of this technique often get the opposite results. "I
never remember anything," they say over and over again. "I've always had a poor
memory. I'm such a scatterbrain." That kind of negative talk is self-fulfilling.

Instead, use positive affirmations that support you in developing your memory: "I
recall information easily and accurately." "At any time I choose, I will be able to
recall key

facts and ideas." "My memory serves me well." 19 Combine techniques. All these
memory tech- niques work even better in combination. Choose two or three techniques
to use on a particular assignment and experiment for yourself. For example, after
you take a few minutes to get an overview of a reading assignment, you could draw a
quick concept map to represent the main points. Or you could overlearn a chemistry
equation by singing a jingle about it all the way to work. If your attitude is that
calculus is difficult, you could acknowledge that. Then you could distribute your
study time in short, easy-to-handle sessions. Combining memory techniques involves
using sight, sound, and touch when you study. The effect is synergistic.
Set a trap for Your Memory

When you want to remind yourself to do something, link this activity to another
event you know will take place. The key is to "trap" your memory by picking events
that are certain to occur.

Say that you're walking to class and suddenly remember that your accounting
assignment is due tomorrow. Switch your watch to the opposite wrist. Now you're
"trapped." Every time you glance at your wrist and remember that you have switched
your watch, it becomes a reminder that you were supposed to remember something
else. (You can do the same with a ring.)

If you empty your pockets every night, put an unusual item in your pocket in the
morning to remind yourself to do something before you go to bed. For example, to
remember to call your younger sister on her birthday, pick

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an object from the playpen-a teething toy, perhaps-and put it in your pocket. When
you empty your pocket that evening and find the teething toy, you're more likely to
make the call.

Everyday rituals that are seldom neglected, such as feed- ing a pet, listening to
the weather report, and unlacing shoes, provide opportunities for setting traps.
For example, tie a triple knot in your shoelace as a reminder to set the alarm for
your early morning study group meeting.

You can even use imaginary traps. To remember to do your laundry, picture your
laundry bag hanging on the front door. In your mind, create the feeling of reaching
for the doorknob and grabbing the laundry bag instead. When you get home and reach
to open the front door, the image is apt to return to you. To remember to pay your
phone bill, visualize a big, burly bill collector knocking on your front door to
talk to you about how much you owe. The next time you arrive at your front door,
you'll be glad that you got there before he did. You still have time to make your
payment!

know that...

Part of Albert Einstein's brain is being used for neuro- science research at
McMaster University. They have discovered differences in the way his brain is
struc- tured that they think may be related to his brilliance at spatial and
mathematical thinking ("50 little-known facts," 2017). More than 60 years after his
death, there is still a lot to learn from Einstein.

Mobile devices work well for setting memory traps. To remind yourself to bring your
textbook to class, for example, set an alarm on your cellphone to go off 10 minutes
before you leave the house. Visualize yourself picking up the book when the alarm
goes off. Link two activities together and make the association unusual.

Remembering Names

New friendships, job contacts, and business relationships all start with
remembering names. Here are some techniques to help you remember them.

Recite and repeat in conversation. When you hear a person's name, repeat it.
Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips. You could
also repeat the name out loud in a way that does not sound forced or artifi- cial:
"I'm pleased to meet you, Camille." Use a new person's name every chance you get.
In a meeting, for example, refer to "Sanjay's idea" or "Susan's question."

Ask the other person to recite and repeat. You can let other people help you
remember their names. After you've been introduced to someone, ask that person to
spell the name and pronounce it correctly for you. Most people will be flattered by
the effort you're making to learn their names.

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Visualize. After the conversation, construct a brief visual image of the person.
For a memorable image, make it unusual. For example, imagine the name painted in
hot pink, fluorescent letters on the person's forehead.

Admit you don't know. Admitting that you can't remember someone's name can actually
put people at ease. Most of them will sympathize if you say, "I'm working to
remember names better. Yours is right on the tip of my tongue. What is it again?"

Introduce yourself again. Most of the time we assume introductions are one-shot
affairs. If we miss a name the first time around, our hopes for remembering it are
dashed. Instead of giving up, reintroduce yourself: "Hello, again. We met earlier.
I'm Jesse. Please tell me your name again."

Use associations. Make small talk with people when you first meet them. Associate
one key fact-such as a per- son's hometown or favourite hobby-with an image of the
person's face.

Link each person you meet with one characteristic that you find interesting or
unusual. For example, you could make a mental note: "Vicki Chan-long, black hair"
or "Vincent Cote-round glasses."

Limit the number of new names you learn at one time. Occasionally, we find
ourselves in situations where we're introduced to many people at the same time:
"Dad, these are all the people in my school choir." "Let's take a tour so you can
meet all 32 people in this department."

When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names.
Free yourself from feeling obligated to remember everyone. Few of the people in
mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way to avoid memory
overload is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come
later.

Use technology. After you meet new people, enter their names as contacts in your
email, add them to a database, or enter them into your cell phone. If you can take
a picture to add to your cell phone contact. It will be a lot easier to recall
their names later with the visual cues.

Also make a note to yourself in the contact list about where you met them to
trigger your recall. If you get

business cards, enter phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information
as well.

Ask for photos. In some cases, you might be able to get photos of all the people
you meet. For example, a small business where you apply for a job might have a
brochure with pictures of all the employees. Ask for individual or group photos and
write in the names if they're not included. You can use these photos as

"flash cards" as you drill yourself on names. It will be a lot easier to recall
their names later with the visual cues. Go early. Consider going early to
conventions, parties, and classes. Sometimes just a few people show up on time at
these occasions. That's fewer names for you to remember.

And as more people arrive, you can overhear them being

introduced to others an automatic review for you.

Make it a game. In situations where many people are new to one another, consider
pairing up with another person and staging a contest. Challenge each other to
remember as many new names as possible. Then choose an "award"-such as a movie
ticket or free meal-for the person who wins.

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Intend to remember. The simple act of focusing your atten- tion at key moments can
do wonders for your memory. Test this idea for yourself. The next time you're
introduced to pod someone, direct 100 percent of your attention to hearing that
person's name. Do this consistently and see what happens to your ability to
remember names.

The intention to remember can be more powerful than any single memory technique.
Recalling names is not just important in school; it is also an important skill on
the job. In fact, many of the ideas in this chapter are essential for career
success. So, practise learning names now it's a skill you will use for a lifetime.

Mnemonic devices

Pronounced "ne-mon'-ik," this word refers to

tricks that can increase your ability to recall

everything from grocery lists to speeches.

Some entertainers use mnemonic devices to perform

"impossible" feats of memory, such as recalling the names

of everyone in a large audience after hearing them just

once. Waiters use mnemonics to take orders from several

tables without the aid of pad and pencil. Using mne-

monic devices, speakers can go for hours without looking

at their notes. The possibilities for students are endless.

They provide ways for you to organize learning, particularly of arbitrary material,
and help you to cue learning for retrieval.

There is a catch. Mnemonic devices have three serious limitations:

1. They don't always help you understand or digest material. Instead of encouraging
critical thinking skills, mnemonics rely only on rote memorization.

2. The mnemonic device itself is sometimes complicated to learn and time-consuming

to develop. It might take more energy to create such a device than to memorize
something by using a more traditional memory technique, such as repetition.
3. Mnemonic devices can be forgotten. Recalling a mnemonic device might be as hard
as recalling the material itself.

Despite their limitations, mnemonic devices can be powerful. There are five general
categories: new words, creative sentences, rhymes and songs, the loci system, and
the peg system.

New words. Acronyms are words created from the initial letters of a series of
words. Examples include CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service), radar (radio
detecting and rang- ing), scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus),
and laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation).

You can make up your own acronyms to recall series of facts.

A common mnemonic acronym is Roy G. Biv, which has helped thousands of students
remember the colours of the visible spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet). IPMAT helps biology students remember the stages of cell
division (interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase). OCEAN helps
psychology students recall the five major personality factors: open-mindedness,
conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. (You can also use
CANOE for this list.) The acronym HOMES helps people remember the names of the
Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. There's also FOIL, which
helps algebra students remember the order for multiplying elements in a binomial
equation: first, outer, inner, last. Using mnemonic devices involves you using
elaborative rehearsal and therefore facilitates moving information from working
memory to long-term memory (Burmester, 2017).

Creative sentences. Acrostics are sentences that help you remember a series of
letters that stand for something. For exam- ple, the first letters of the words in
the sentence "Every good boy does fine" (E, G, B, D, and F) are the music notes of
the lines of the treble clef staff. In biology, you might be required to memo- rize
the major categories of living things in the animal world:

kingdom

phylum

class

order

family

genus

species

variety

Believe it or not, there's a creative sentence for that: Kings play cards on fairly
good soft velvet.

Rhymes and songs. Advertising executives spend billions of dollars a year on

commercials designed to burn their mes- sages into your memory. You are programmed
to remember rhymes and songs from the time you watched Sesame Street. Rhymes have
been used for centuries to teach children

basic facts. Here's one that has helped many students on spelling tests: "I before
E except after C."To remember how many days are in each month of the year, you can
say, "Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November ...."

The loci system. The word loci is the plural of locus, a synonym for place or
location. Use this system to create visual associations with familiar locations
(see Figure 3.7). Unusual associations are the easiest to remember.

Example 1

The loci system is an old one. Ancient Greek orators used it to remember long
speeches. For example, if an orator's position

was that road taxes must be raised to pay for school equipment, his loci
visualizations might have looked like the following.

First, as he walks in the door of his house, he imagines a large porpoise jumping
through a hoop. This reminds him to begin by telling the audience the purpose of
his speech.

Next, he visualizes his living room floor covered with paving stones, forming a
road leading into the kitchen. In the kitchen, he pictures dozens of schoolchildren
sitting on the floor because they have no desks.

Now it's the day of the big speech. The Greek politician is nervous. He is
perspiring, and his toga sticks to his body. He stands up to give his speech, and
his mind goes blank. Then he starts thinking to himself:

I am so nervous that I can hardly remember my name. But no problem-I can remember
the rooms in my house. Let's see, I'm walking in the front door and wow! I see the
porpoise. That reminds me to talk about the purpose of my speech. And then there's
that road leading to the kitchen. Say, what are all those kids doing there on the
floor? Oh, yeah, now I remember-they have no desks! We need to raise taxes on roads
to pay for their desks and the other stuff they need in classrooms.

Example 2

The loci system can also be based on parts of your body. When studying biology, for
instance, use the loci system to memorize the order of structures of living things.

Start with your toes, the lowest points of your body. Associate them with the
lowest structure of living things-atoms.

The top of your head is the highest point on your body. Associate it with the
highest order of living things- biosystems, or groups of species.

Then associate the intermediate structures with points on your body between your
head and toes.

Link molecules to your feet.

Link cells to your ankles.

3-4

Inemyojna sedmemen

poem, jingle, acronym, or acrostic, or use another mnemonic system. Describe your
mnemonic device in the space below.

t.
W

ty

Link tissues with your knees.

Link organs with your waist.

Link organ systems with your chest.

Link organisms with your neck.

The peg system. This technique employs key words that are paired with numbers. Each
word forms a "peg" on which you can "hang" mental associations. This is a good
method to use to memorize lists of items like your grocery list. To use this system
effectively, learn the following peg words and their associated numbers well:

1-bun

6-sticks

2-shoe

3-tree

7-heaven

8-gate

4-door

9-wine

5-hive

10-hen

Believe it or not, you can use the peg system to remember the capital cities of
Canada. Let's see: one-bun-Toronto (picture the CN tower sticking out of a bun),
two-shoe- Québec City (picture the snowmen of Carnaval all wearing high heel
shoes), and three-tree-Charlottetown (picture the fathers of confederation all
climbing a tree). Because we remember pictures longer than words, it may be easier
to recall these weird scenes than you would believe and, more importantly, the
names of the capitals. In fact, the more bizarre the imagery, the more likely you
are to recall the list of words. Try to use this technique today to remember your
grocery list while studying for a test.

Pulling it

All Together

Throughout this chapter you've heard about

• Strategies, such as elaboration, that you can use to help with encoding
information into long-term memory;

• The importance of practising retrieval of information from

storage; and

• Memory tricks called mnemonics that are useful for memorizing facts or lists.

But it is important to keep in mind that, to be a suc- cessful learner, along with
these memory strategies you also need to develop the metacognitive and goal-setting
skills discussed in Chapter 1, "First Steps," and Chapter 2, "Time."

These include the following:

• Setting goals for yourself and making plans to achieve them.

• Monitoring your own understanding of texts, and of problems or tasks you are
assigned.

• Adjusting or regulating your own learning to respond to the task demands; for
instance, slowing down your reading rate when you have difficulty understanding the
text.

You also need to think about how you manage your studying resources:

• How you organize your time and your study environment, • How you persist with
difficult or boring tasks, and

• When you seek help from friends.

Take a moment to consider the following questions and write down your answers.

1. How often do you check to see if you understand what you are reading? What do
you do when you find you don't understand something?

3. How do you decide whether to use a shallow or deep pro- cessing technique? For
instance, when should you use recital and when might you want to create a graphics
organizer?

Finally, one strategy that would help you become a better learner is to become more
self-regulated. Marilla Svinicki (2004), a renowned psychologist, has developed a
GAMES model that works well with her students to develop good study behaviour.

G is for goal-oriented behaviour-when you sit down to study, what goal do you set?
Good learners go farther than just saying they will read three chapters. Instead,
they set out goals, such as key questions they want answers to by the time they
finish studying.

A is for active studying and involves doing something with the material. Come up
with your own examples of the concepts that you have covered in a chapter rather
than just colouring the page yellow with highlighting.

M is for meaningful studying. How often do you try to connect what you are learning
to what you already know? Connecting what you learn to prior knowledge
significantly increases how much you will learn. This is where develop- ing concept
maps or graphics organizers can really make a

difference.

E is for explaining what you have learned to others. Have

you tried to explain what you learned to members of your

study group or students in your class? Once you can explain

ideas to others-putting what you have read in your own

words-you will find it much easier to recall those ideas

during a test.

S is for self-monitoring. How often do you check while

you are reading to see if you really understand the material?

Self-monitoring is where you check to make sure you got

the answers correct to those questions you set out to answer

at the start of your studying. Svinicki suggests trading ques- tions with students
in your study group to make sure you are understanding what you are reading. One
key to self- monitoring is to do it continuously while you are learning new
material. Don't wait until the night before an exam to check on your comprehension.

So, the next time you are studying, consider putting GAMES into action.

Career Connection

Chapter 3

Even though you can instantly access information about any topic via the internet,
you will still find memory skills to be an asset in the workplace. These skills are
all about transforming information into knowledge by focusing your attention, being
selective about what to remember, associating new information with prior knowledge,
and discovering your own ways to organize and apply that knowledge.

In the workplace you can use memory techniques to:

Remember the names of your coworkers, customers,

clients, and job-hunting contacts.

Learn a language that you need to work with customers or clients from another
country or culture.

Make more convincing "pitches" to investors or funders. Remember your company's key
products, services, and business strategies and talk about them without notes.

Recall the aspects of your work history and experience that you want to emphasize
during a job interview.

Recall key facts about a prospective employer, customer, or client.

The techniques explored in this chapter can help you do all these things. For
additional options, experiment with the following suggestions.

Watch out for cognitive biases that interfere with memory

Emotions and memories are closely connected. Our memories are shaped by our needs
to feel better, justify our behaviour, and bolster our self-image. This leads to a
number of cogni- tive biases-persistent errors in thinking that make our memories
less accurate and reliable. Some examples include:

Recency bias. We tend to remember the latest information that we've gained on a
topic, even if earlier information is more accurate.

Choice bias. We remember more information about the options we chose rather than
those we rejected.

Fading affect bias. We forget memories of unpleasant experiences more quickly than
memories of pleasant ones.

Confirmation bias. We're more likely to remember informa- tion that confirms what
we already believe rather than information that contradicts those beliefs.

Rosy retrospection bias. We tend to forget unpleasant aspects of prior events,

leading us to judge our past circumstances more positively than the present.

Consistency bias. We can easily remember our past

behaviour as consistent with our present behaviour, even

when there are significant contradictions. Mood-congruent memory bias. When we're
feeling relaxed and content, we tend to better remember events that are consistent
with those feelings. When feeling fearful or sad, however, we might recall
unpleasant memories more easily.

Staying aware of these biases is important to drawing accurate lessons from our
experiences, both at work and at home.

Remember names at work

When being introduced to a coworker, you might notice that your mind goes a million
miles away. Your attention can drift into worrying about what you look like, or
what to

say next, or even what you're going to have for dinner.

Instead, take your introduction to a new person as a cue to return your attention
to the present moment to "be here now." This might be the only technique you ever
need for remembering names.

Of course, there are many more options. One is to look for visual cues. If name
tags are required in your workplace, then you've got a handy tool for remembering
names. Look for name cards posted on office doors and

workstations. Also be sensitive to cultural norms. In workplaces with a more formal

tone, you might be wise to refer to people by their last name: Mr. Hassad or Ms.
Mackellar. Notice how your more experienced coworkers handle this

situation. Finally, give yourself a break. Stop saying things such as

"I'm bad at names." Instead, say: "That name is on the tip of my tongue. It will
come to me." Notice if this new way of

speaking affects your ability to remember. You can use strategies in Becoming a
Master Student to

make the career connection. Get started by reflecting on the following case study.
"Yes, I think so," Paula said. "For one thing, I feel more confident right away
about my surroundings. I feel more comfortable asking questions when I remember
names."

Paula also shared an idea with Frank for future new employees. As a visual learner,
she learns better by seeing photos of people and associating pictures with names.
So, Paula volunteered to take pictures of her colleagues to help everyone learn
names.

Paula applied several strategies from this chapter:

Create pictures.

Engage your emotions.

Intend to remember.

220 Selfmade Studio/[Link]

Paula Chang is a nurse at a large urban hospital. Paula just joined the staff in
the cardiology department, which includes 40 nurses, doctors, and other healthcare
workers. She was hired two months after graduating with a nursing degree from a
nearby university.

List more memory strategies that Paula could use:

Among Paula's goals for her new career was to learn the names of her colleagues by
the end of the first week on the job. She succeeded.

One afternoon, the department head, Dr. Frank Rangel, invited Paula into his office
for an informal chat. Frank had heard several colleagues talking about Paula's
ability to remem- ber names. He wanted to congratulate her and learn a thing or two
about memory techniques from his youngest team member.

"You're the first person on my staff who's ever managed to learn so many names so
quickly," said Frank. "What's your secret?"

"No secrets, honest," Paula replied. "It's all about attitude, I guess. I simply
made it a priority to remember names. I remember a teacher I had in college who had
anywhere from 50 to 100 students in his lecture classes. On the first day of class,
he went around the room and asked each of us for our name. It took a lot of time,
but then he called us by name for the rest of the semester. I remember feeling so
touched by that. I promised I would do the same thing when I started my first job."

Frank smiled and said, "That's impressive. Memorizing so many names so quickly is a
neat trick. But I'm just wonder- ing: Does it really make a difference?"

132

Becoming a Master Student

Also consider the following suggestions when you want to sharpen your memory for
names in the workplace. You can adapt these techniques to remembering any kind of

detailed, factual information.

Think of someone you already know who has the same first name as a new coworker.
Visualize these two people stand- ing side by side. Look for strong differences or
similarities between them.

Use rhymes or alliteration (the repetition of sounds). If Tim

is slim or Sandra wears a scarf, you've got a natural "hook"

for remembering their names.

Make small talk with people when you first meet them. Associate one key fact-such
as a person's hometown or favourite hobby-with an image of the person's face

Master Student Profile

Chapter 3

Sanch Gupta and Milton Calderon Donefer ... are making a difference

When Sanch Gupta and Milton Calderon Donefer were first year students at McGill
University, they often sat in a school cafeteria until closing, and they saw staff
throw out trays of fresh meals. Around the same time, they talked to many unhoused
people in downtown Montreal who needed food.

They did research and found that one in seven Canadians faces food insecurity every
day, and on top of that, they dis- covered that over $31 billion of fresh food gets
thrown away annually. Also, for those who are in lower socioeconomic income
brackets it can be difficult to access healthy food as they often live in
neighbourhoods where there is not easy access to grocery stores (Shalom, 2019). The
two students felt compelled to not just complain but to do something about both
food insecurity and food waste. They founded MealCare to tackle both issues.

"Every day, MealCare makes a tangible impact both in reducing the environmental
impact of food waste, as well as helping people in our communities not go hungry,"
says

MealCare

Calderon Donefer (Vasil & Robinson, 2022). They help redirect fresh food from
cafeterias and other food services that would go to waste to community agencies
such as food banks. With chapters now in universities in eight cities in Ontario
and Quebec, MealCare has already saved shelters more than $300,000 and delivered
more than 70,000 meals to the hungry. They have helped divert literally thousands
of pounds of food from landfill. Today they have more than 100 student volunteers
working for the local chapters of MealCare. "Growing up in Canada, it was shocking
to me that one in seven people suffer from food insecurity, and I wanted to use my
privileged position to help underserved members of my community," says Gupta. "We
believe food is essential and should be available to every human being, especially
when we as a nation have an abundance of it" (Vasil & Robinson, 2022). Several more
postsecondary institutions have now voiced interest in becoming new chapters of
MealCare.

Home Team Impact Join Contact us

Diverting Food Waste, Feeding People in Need

Learn more

Get involved

Start a Chapter
Contact us

[Link]
top-30-under-30-sustainability-leaders-of-2022/

Sanch Gupta and Milton Calderon Donefer are part of Canada's 2022 cohort of the top
30 under

30 sustainability leaders. Since they co-founded MealCare

([Link] Sanch

has gone on to medical school at the University of Toronto and Milton is the Chief
Operating

Officer at Cheffer. Both continue to lead MealCare's national team.

Source: Shalom, F. (2019, October 22). Tackling food insecurity for Montreal's most
vulnerable one meal at a time. McGill Reporter. [Link]

.[Link]/addressing-food-insecurity-for-montreals-most-vulnerable-one-meal-at-a-
time/

Vasil. A. & Robinson, A. (2022, November 2). The fight for a better tomorrow:
Canada's top 30 under 30 sustainability leaders of 2022. Corporate

Knights.

134

[Link]
top-30-under-30-sustainability-leaders-of-2022

Becoming a Master Student