Study Methods to Aid Recall
Research suggests that we tend to remember
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The first part of what we read or hear.
The last part of what we read or hear.
Material that is repeated.
Material that stands out.
Material that we understand well.
So it follows that we should
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Divide learning into small units (usually 10—50 minutes) so that we have
more beginnings and endings.
Have breaks in which we do something completely different (2—10 minutes).
At the beginning of each session, review what we learnt previously and
preview what we are about to study.
Check that we still remember what we have learnt regularly (after 10 mins, 1
day, 1 week etc).
Devise imaginative ways to make blocks of learning distinctive (pictures,
stories, colour etc).
Check for understanding.
Six General Guidelines for Enhancing Recall
1. Ask questions about the meaning of materials.
2. Pay close attention to what you have to learn— make sure you take it in, in
the first place.
3. Revise little and often.
4. Use headings, because organisation improves memory.
5. Establish links with what you already know.
6. Check what you have learned.
Mnemonics
The trick to memorising effectively is linking new material to familiar material, and
being imaginative. The following mnemonic techniques combine these and have
been found to improve rote learning.
Acronyms
Create words whose letters stand for what you want to remember. For example PET
could be used to remember parts of the ear (Pinna, Ear canal and Tympanic
membrane).
Acrostics
Create sentences in which the first letter of each word stands for what you want to
remember. Famous examples are Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (to remember
musical notes on a clef) and Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (to remember the
colours of the rainbow).
Linkwords
Link words you want to remember to more familiar words with a similar sound. For
example, you could remember the behaviourist, “Skinner” by imagining a man
eating “dinner” on a black box.
Pegwords
Create a set of “pegs” by inventing images or rhymes for letters or numbers. You
could create rhymes for numbers one to ten, or pictures that make the shape of the
letters of the alphabet. Link what you want to remember to these. You could use
this method to remember orchestral instruments in the following way:
Example
One = nun: imagine a nun playing a fiddle
Two = shoe: imagine a concert player with violas on her feet
Three = tree: imagine branches and leaves growing out of a cello etc…
Link System
Thread all the items you want to remember into an imaginative story. You could use
this method to remember the planets in the solar system like this:
Example
Imagine a thermometer near to the Sun. It explodes into thousands of tiny silver balls
(Mercury). One of these balls is caught by a most beautiful goddess (Venus), and
another crashes down to Earth, making a crater in the ground by your house. Next door
lives an aggressive, shouting, warlike character with a red face (Mars) and along the
road walks Jupiter wearing a cap with SUN written on it (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).
He is walking his dog, which looks like the Disney character, Pluto.
References and further reading:
Buzan, T. (1995) Use your memory. 3rd edn. London: BBC Books.
Moran. A.P. (1997) Managing your own learning at university. Dublin: University College
Dublin Press.
Education Drop-in Centre 2013