How to memorise well

How to memorise well

Here are ways in which you can make the most effective use of your memory in the learning process.

Any learning process involves application of memory. Skills in memorisation help you recall at will the information you had once mastered and perform well in tests and examinations. There is a school of thought that relying on memory is not a healthy way of learning, and that you should apply logic on each occasion for deriving information. This may be a good platitude; students in schools and colleges aiming at good scores in examinations have to remember a lot, irrespective of the test style.

Take for example a formula in mathematics or physics. Of course, there are ways to derive them. But it will be a sheer waste of time if you go in for ab initio derivation on every occasion you have to apply them.

We easily remember matter that has some meaning. Let us illustrate it with an example. See the words arranged in different columns.

The first column is the toughest to remember, as is contains nothing but nonsensical syllables. The second column is relatively easier, since it has words with some meaning. The third one is still easier, as the words belong to a family. The fourth one is a meaningful sentence; we can commit it to memory in one reading. The last one is the easiest, as it is a meaningful sentence with a rhyme. It may be remembered that the ease comes not only in just remembering but also in meaningful learning as well.

If the words carry some sense, we learn the idea easily. As part of learning, if an effort is made to translate tough matter we wish to remember into something that can be taken in with ease and delight, we make memorisation and learning more effective.

Memory is often classified as short- and long-term. When you recite a passage, the idea may be in your memory only for a couple of seconds. This cannot last long. If you want to commit the idea to long-term memory, you have to think about it for a few minutes. This is, of course, part of any learning process. Trying to recall an idea frequently will entrench it in your memory.

While learning a piece for the first time, you may benefit by reciting it a few more times after you have learnt it. This is called over-learning, which `engraves the mental trace deeper and deeper, thus establishing a base for long-term retention.'


Aspects of memory

There are various aspects of memory one should be aware of. Good memory cannot be developed, but its full potential can be used by developing the right habits. Here are some right steps:

Total concentration: Concentrating on the lesson content while learning is one of the important steps. We should focus on names and numbers. Even difficult material has to be converted into easily digestible logical matter. There should be a deliberate will to remember; the approach should not be casual. In other words, you should attempt active learning.

Reviewing should not be after a long time, since the material would have faded from your memory in the meantime.

Logical organisation: Material that is logically organised clings to our memory far better than random or disjointed floating bits of information. Infuse meaning into whatever you learn. Nothing you learn should be like nonsensical syllables.

From the woods to the trees: First try to get an overall idea of the lesson before going to specific details. Sometimes this style is called the funnel method.

We go from the general to the particular. Awareness of the general concepts makes the details more meaningful and easier to remember.

Associating with known facts: With each additional bit of knowledge committed to our memory, the brain goes to a new configuration and this is a continuous process. It is wise to take new bits as additions to existing knowledge. At the recall stage, such association will help easy retrieval.

Mock teaching: If you find a particular portion of the lesson difficult to digest, imagine that you are teaching it to a student sitting before you.

Speak it out in the form of an explanation, so that the idea gets hammered into your mind. This method is more effective than just reciting it aloud, since teaching involves the explanation of the same idea in different phrases, bringing illustrations, raising questions for clarification, and so on.

Visual encoding: Those who have a special aptitude for remembering pictures or charts or graph may translate information into visual formats.

High spirits

Do not get dispirited if you find that occasionally your learning becomes slow or even at a standstill.

This is normal, if you try to study difficult lessons for more than four or five hours a day, or if you have anxiety, fatigue, or boredom. Rest assured that you will recover from such negative spells.

Also, it is not advisable to go in for invidious comparisons with regard to learning speeds. Some of us may be faster than others in learning. Learning a bit slowly need not alarm any student, since he can learn as much as a bright student is able to do, provided he devotes a little more of time for learning with appropriate breaks.

You cannot denigrate the use of mnemonics or memory crutches, such as the popular VIBGYOR, which helps one list the seven rainbow colours in the right sequence.

We should make an intelligent use of aids to memory, without sacrificing the effort to grasp the ideas contained in lessons.

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