Tmerno
I think it’s likely that you’ve noticed yourself forgetting important information when studying for exams. Am I right? This is common for many candidates, but there are memorization techniques that can help improve your performance in your studies and increase your motivation to study as well.
First of all, I think it’s worth emphasizing that memorizing is completely different from memorizing. You know what we did in school, reading two lines, putting the paper down and trying to remember word by word, and immediately after the test we couldn’t remember anything? So, this reinforces that what will help us is memorizing, which isn’t even that difficult.
The 4 steps of memorization
The good news is that, much like other muscles in the body, the brain can be trained, even if you believe your memory is below average. Naturally, all of this is possible with a productive and well-thought-out schedule.
Our brain stores the information it receives, in short, in four separate steps: directed attention, encoding, storage and, finally, retrieval. Let’s separate each of them to understand better?
Directed attention
Suppose you are studying for a public exam at this moment and you come across a subject that you have never seen before, but it is important for your test. This new information will enter your brain through your sensory receptors.
They basically hold it for a few moments while your brain processes it and decides whether it is relevant to your study. Only when you consciously absorb (and here’s the trick!) the information is it transferred to the next stage, where it is stored in your long-term memory.
And that’s why being attentive and aware while studying is essential and not just a cliché for teachers, do you understand now?
Codification
If your brain considers that the new information is relevant to your studies for the public exam , it will begin the process of encoding the information. What does this mean?
This is the point at which the data is moved to working memory or short-term memory. The problem is that working memory can retain information for up to 20 minutes, whereas short-term memory can only hold it for extremely brief periods of time—a few seconds.
At first glance, this might not seem like much use, but trust me—it has many applications. For instance, you could need to calculate a mathematical total or arrange data in a spreadsheet that you will never utilize again.
However, information must be transferred into long-term memory if it is to be stored-if you want to study for a test on that material, say. You do this through effective study techniques such as spaced review and solving questions.
And if you’re doing it, remember to celebrate each time you finish, as intensely as you would if you weren’t.
Storage
Although we have already highlighted the importance of organization in your study space, that is not what we are talking about now.
The next step is to transfer information from the short term into the long term memory. You may realize by now that studying for a public exam is an active process necessitating your attention and effort.
Believe it or not, your brain is not capable of making the decision on its own whether something is worth keeping for long periods of time. You need to use memorization techniques that work for you.
The good news is that there are several techniques and strategies you can use to make this process easier, such as spaced review and problem-solving. Did you notice that the example I just gave was exactly the same as the one I gave at the end of the previous step? Then you have just understood, in practice, the power of repetition and review!
Recovery
It is very important that you always keep in mind that the way you pay attention ( or even IF you pay attention ), encode and store information during your studies will make a huge difference.
First, how you can retrieve this information in the future. Also, you need to remember that the longer the time between storing and retrieving information, the more important it is to review it frequently to keep the information fresh in your memory.
And that’s exactly why it’s highly recommended that you adopt efficient review techniques, such as solving questions and spaced review. Did you notice that now, even with the reversed example, you once again remembered that you had already seen this?
This is because the stronger the memory, the easier it is to associate it, even outside the context in which it normally appears. This means that, even if the questions are designed differently from what we normally see, the famous “trick questions”, we can still do well on the tests.
Additionally, to ensure that the information is always accessible in your long-term memory, try to use the knowledge you have learned in everyday situations. Solving common problems, understanding news content or articles, for example.
This will massif the information and help your brain understand that you need it and, therefore, it should be available for longer. In addition, it will become increasingly easier to access the information, due to the frequency of use. Imagine how many milliseconds it takes for you to remember your name, for example? Very few, don’t you agree?
Memorization Techniques: Make Associations
It is worth remembering that improving our memory is a process, even using memorization techniques. It does not happen overnight and we will not find shortcuts.
Making associations can be a powerful thing in your studies. This consists of connecting the information you want to remember with something that is already present in your memory.
Let’s say you need to remember abstract concepts, such as the principles of the Federal Constitution. For example, you might associate the principle of human dignity with an image of a person being treated with respect and consideration.
Or you may remember a situation where someone’s dignity was clearly not respected. Something that, unfortunately, we’ve all seen.
The principle of separation of powers can be seen as an image of three characters representing each of the powers.
This technique is an effective way to store information more easily and for longer, as our brain is naturally more likely to remember information when it is associated with something familiar.
This way, every time you see that image, you will also remember the corresponding keyword.
