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Memory Improvement Techniques

Avoid frustrating memory loss. Retain and recall more information.


It's a classic situation - you meet someone new, and then moments later you've forgotten their name! Names, passwords, pin and telephone numbers... the list is endless - with so much to memorize is it really possible to improve how much you can remember? The good news is "yes"! Just like every muscle in your body, the adage "use it or lose it" applies, so the more you exercise your brain, the more you wil l remember.

Mnemonics
Mnemonic is another word for memory tool. Mnemonics are techniques for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall: A very simple example is the 30 days hath September rhyme for remembering the number of da ys in each calendar month. The idea behind using mnemonics is to encode difficult -to-remember information in a way that is much easier to remember. Our brains evolved to code and interpret complex stimuli such as images, colors, structures, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, positions, emotions and language. We use these to make sophisticated models of the world we live in. Our memories store all of these very effectively. Unfortunately, a lot of the information we have to remember in modern life is presented differently as words printed on a page. While writing is a rich and sophisticated medium for conveying complex arguments, our brains do not easily encode written information, making it difficult to remember.

Using Your Whole Mind to Remember


The key idea is that by coding information using vivid mental images, you can reliably code both information and the structure of information. And because the images are vivid, they are easy to recall when you need them. The techniques explained later on in this sectio n show you how to code information vividly, using stories, strong mental images, familiar journeys, and so on. You can do the following things to make your mnemonics more memorable:
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Use positive, pleasant images. Your brain often blocks out unpleasant ones . Use vivid, colorful, sense -laden images these are easier to remember than drab ones. Use all your senses to code information or dress up an image. Remember that your mnemonic can contain sounds, smells, tastes, touch, movements and feelings as well as pictures.

Give your image three dimensions, movement and space to make it more vivid. You can use movement either to maintain the flow of association, or to help you to remember actions. Exaggerate the size of important parts of the image. Use humor! Funny or peculiar things are easier to remember than normal ones. Similarly, rude rhymes are very difficult to forget! Symbols (red traffic lights, pointing fingers, road signs, etc.) can code quite complex messages quickly and effectively.

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Designing Mnemonics: Imagination, Association and Location


The three fundamental principles underlying the use of mnemonics are imagination, association and location. Working together, you can use these principles to generate powerful mnemonic systems. Imagination: is what you use to create and strengthen the associations needed to create effective mnemonics. Your imagination is what you use to create mnemonics that are potent for you. The more strongly you imagine and visualize a situation, the more effec tively it will stick in your mind for later recall. The imagery you use in your mnemonics can be as violent, vivid, or sensual as you like, as long as it helps you to remember. Association: this is the method by which you link a thing to be remembered to a way of remembering it. You can create associations by:
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Placing things on top of each other. Crashing things together. Merging images together. Wrapping them around each other. Rotating them around each other or having them dancing together. Linking them using the same color, smell, shape, or feeling.

As an example, you might link the number 1 with a goldfish by visualizing a 1 -shaped spear being used to spear it. Location: gives you two things: a coherent context into which you can place information so that it hangs together, and a way of separating one mnemonic from another. By setting one mnemonic in a particular town, I can separate it from a similar mnemonic set in a city. For example, by setting one in Wimbledon and another similar mnemonic with images of Manhattan, we can separate them with no danger of confusion. You can build the flavors and atmosphere of these places into your mnemonics to strengthen the feeling of location. For a detailed explanation of how to use imagination, association and location mnemonics, try these articles:
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The Link Method and Story Method Remembering a Simple List The Number/Rhyme Mnemonic Remembering Ordered Lists The Number/Shape Mnemonic Remembering Ordered Lists The Alphabet Technique Remembering Middle Length Lists The Journey System Remembering Long Lists

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The Roman Room System Remembering Grouped Information The Major System Remembering Very Long Numbers Using Concept Maps to Remember Struc tured Information How to... Remember People's Names Memory Games Have Fun While You Improve Your Memory

5 methods
Now let us discuss five simple techniques to improve memory: Four of these techniques are used to improve assimilation and thus to have longer retention. The last one is a simple strategy for recollection.
Chunking

Perhaps Chunking is the oldest method used in memorization. In this method, the items to be memorized are divided into small and easily memorizable chunks or groups. This method works best when the order of the items is not important. This method is found to be particularly well suited for memorizing multi -digit numbers (eg., ID nos., telephone nos., etc.) and for committing complicated spellings to memory. Example:
1. The number 472627607 may be memorized easily if it is grouped as 472, 627,607 or as 47, 26, 27,607. These chunks may then be learned by rote. Learning and retention are much facilitated if you further explore the nos. by finding some relationship among these different chunks. Finding the digital root will also be helpful. The more explorations or relations you do, the better. 2. Words like mathematics may be divided into mat +he +mat +ics, Together may be divided into to + get + her; Important may be divided into im + port + ant. This technique will make us learn much faster. 3. The list Apple, cucumber, paper, ink, cabbage, banana, grapes, beans, stapler, orange can be better learned by rearranging and applying chunking as : Apple, banana, grapes, orange, cucumber, cabbage, beans, paper, ink, stapler -- 4 fruits, 3 vegitables and 3 stationary items.

If possible, organize the material as meaningfully as you can and think out relationships among each group. This not only improves learnability and retention but also aids in faster and effortless recollection. Psychologists doing research on Human Memory have found that the capacity of Short Term Memory (STM) for humans is 7 s 2 that is from the range 5 to 9 items. So you should take care to keep the chunks you create within this limit.
Rhyming

This is also one of the popular and oldest methods in memorization. This technique makes use of the fact that we have a natural tendency to remember rhymes and rhythms. The following is a very popular example of application of this technique which almost all school students are familiar with. "Thirty days haveth September April, June and November All the rest have thirty-one February has twenty-eight alone Except in leap year, then the time When Febs days are twenty-nine." If possible create rhymes like this and it will not only aid in improving your memory but in improving your creativity as well.
Mediation/Bridging

In this method, a bridge is built in between the items given to be memorized. This technique is best suited for learning materia l involving word pairs or material that can be reduced to word pairs. An example often cited by memory experts is the learning of the capital of Poland. The capital of Poland is Warsaw. World War II started with Germany's attack on Poland. Thus it may be a rranged as Poland SAW War first. Here, the word pair to be connected together is Poland and Warsaw. The additional information of the World War II is used as a bridge or mediator in bringing these two words together. Again, like other techniques, the me diation technique calls for the learner's active participation in the learning process. This is because one is to bring in the mediator or the bridge from relevant items one has learned.

Bed-time Recital

In this technique, you do your recital or rote lea rning just before going to bed. The mind in the process of sleeping would then arrange the information in a systematic and effective way when you are sleeping. Psychologists have also found that if you sleep after thinking about your problems there is a be tter chance that you arrive at a solution the next day. Steps for Memory Improvement
1. 2. 3. 4.
Be in a relaxed mood Write down the things that you are supposed to remember in a piece of paper. Read it aloud (if possible) once or twice and recite it two to three ti mes. Now go to sleep without worrying or thinking about anything.

You will surely retain the item longer and find it more easy to recall it when in need.

Trying by Not Trying

All of us apply this method knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes when you try to recall you may not be able to recall it at that time even if you are sure that you know it very well. You experience a blocking that prevents you from recalling it. Normally you tend to try again and again but in vain. To handle this situation you just keep away from trying to recollect it and do something else; to your pleasant surprise that information automatically pops up into your mind after some time. This is because even if you stopped trying, the mind is searching for that information and brings it to awareness when it is found. Sometimes the information was blocked when you wanted, and mind brings it forward when the blocking is removed. This is where stress plays its role in hindering recall.

How to Improve Your Memory

TIPS AND EXERCISES TO SHARPEN YOUR MIND AND BOOST BRAINPOWER


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If our brains were computers, we'd simply add a chip to upgrade our memory. The human brain, however, is more complex than even the most advanced machine, so improving our memory isnt quite so easy. Just as it takes effort to build physical fitness, so too does boosting brain power. A strong memory depends on the health and vitality of your brain. Whether youre a student studying for final exams, a working professional interested in doing all you can to stay mentally sharp, or a senior looking to preserve and enhance your grey matter as you age, there are lots of things you can do to improve your memory and mental performance. Read on for some of the most promising ways to keep your mind and memory in top form.

Harnessing the power of your brain

How memory works


To learn more about how the brain learns and remembers new information, read What is Memory? (PDF) They say that you cant teach an old dog new tricks, but when it comes to the brain, scientists have discovered that this old adage simply isnt true. The human brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and changeeven into old age. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways. The brains incredible ability to reshape itself holds true when it comes to learning and memory. You can harness the natural power of neuroplasticity to increase your cognitive abilities, enhance your ability to learn new information, and improve your memory.

Improving memory tip 1: Dont skimp on exercise or sleep


Just as an athlete relies on sleep and a nutrition-packed diet to perform his or her best, your ability to remember increases when you nurture your brain with a good diet and other healthy habits.

When you exercise the body, you exercise the brain


Treating your body well can enhance your ability to process and recall information. Physical exercise increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.Exercise may also enhance the effects of helpful brain chemicals and protect brain cells.

Improve your memory by sleeping on it


When youre sleep deprived, your brain cant operate at full capacity. Creativity, problemsolving abilities, and critical thinking skills are compromised. Whether youre studying, working, or trying to juggle lifes many demands, sleep deprivation is a recipe for disaster. But sleep is critical to learning and memory in an even more fundamental way. Research shows that sleep is necessary for memory consolidation, with the key memory-enhancing activity occurring during the deepest stages of sleep.

Improving memory tip 2: Make time for friends and fun


When you think of ways to improve memory, do you think of serious activities such as wrestling with the New York Times crossword puzzle or mastering chess strategy or do more lighthearted pastimeshanging out with friends or enjoying a funny moviecome to mind? If youre like most of us, its probably the former. But countless studies show that a life thats full of friends and fun comes with cognitive benefits.

Healthy relationships: the ultimate memory booster?

Humans are highly social animals. Were not meant to thrive, let alone thrive, in isolation. Relationships stimulate our brainsin fact, interacting with others may be the best kind of brain exercise. Research shows that having meaningful relationships and a strong support system are vital not only to emotional health, but brain health. In one recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health, for example, researchers found that people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory decline. There are many ways to start taking advantage of the brain and memory-boosting benefits of socializing. Volunteer, join a club, make it a point to see friends more often, or reach out over the phone. And if a human isnt handy, dont overlook the value of a petespecially the highly-social dog.

Laughter is good for your brain


Youve heard that laughter is the best medicine, and that holds true for the brain as well as the body. Unlike emotional responses, which are limited to specific areas of the brain, laughter involves multiple regions across the whole brain. Furthermore, listening to jokes and working out punch lines activates areas of the brain vital to learning and creativity.As psychologist Daniel Goleman notes in his book Emotional Intelligence, laughterseems to help people think more broadly and associate more freely. Looking for ways to bring more laughter in your life? Start with these basics:
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Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take ourselves less seriously is talk about times when we took ourselves too seriously. When you hear laughter, move toward it. Most of the time, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, What s funny? Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily both at themselves and at life s absurdities and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun. Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.

Improving memory tip 3: Keep stress in check


Stress is one of the brains worst enemies. Over time, if left unchecked, chronic stress destroys brain cells and damages the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in the formation of new memories and the retrieval of old ones.

The stress-busting, brain-boosting benefits of meditation

The scientific evidence for the mental health benefits of meditation continues to pile up. Studies show that meditation helps improve many different types of conditions, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Meditation also can improve focus, concentration, creativity, and learning and reasoning skills. Meditation works its magic by changing the actual brain. Brain images show that regular meditators have more activity in the left prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with feelings of joy and equanimity. Meditation also increases the thickness of the cerebral cortex and encourages more connections between brain cellsall of which increases mental sharpness and memory ability. To learn more about meditation and other brain-boosting relaxation techniques, see Relaxation Techniques for Stress Relief: Relaxation Exercises and Tips.

Get depression in check

In addition to stress, depression takes a heavy toll on the brain. In fact, some of the symptoms of depression include difficulty concentrating, making decisions, and remembering things. If you are mentally sluggish because of depression, seeking treatment will make a big difference in your cognitive abilities, including memory. Read: Understanding Depression: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Help

Improving memory tip 4: Bulk up on brain-boosting foods


Just as the body needs fuel, so does the brain. You probably know already that a diet based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats will provide lots of health benefits, but such a diet can also improve memory. But for brain health, its not just what you eatits also what you dont eat. The following nutritional tips will help boost your brainpower and reduce your risk of dementia.
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Get your omega-3s. More and more evidence indicates that omega-3 fatty acids are particularly beneficial for brain health. Fish is a particularly rich source of omega-3, especially cold water fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, halibut, trout, mackerel, sardines, and herring. In addition to boosting brainpower, eating fish may also lower your risk of

developing Alzheimer s disease.If you re not a fan of fish, consider turning to fish oil supplements. Other non-fish sources of omega-3s include walnuts, ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, pumpkin seeds, and soybeans. Limit saturated fat. Research shows that diets high in saturated fat increase your risk of dementia and impair concentration and memory. The primary sources of saturated far are animal products: red meat, whole milk, butter, cheese, sour cream, and ice cream. Eat more fruit and vegetables.Produce is packed with antioxidants, substances that protect your brain cells from damage.Colorful fruits and vegetables are particularly good antioxidant superfood sources. Try leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, and arugula, and fruit such as apricots, mangoes, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Drink wine (or grape juice) in moderation. Keeping your alcohol consumption in check is key, since alcohol kills brain cells. But in moderation (around 1 glass a day for women; 2 for men), alcohol may actually improve memory and cognition. Red wine appears to be the best option, as it isrich in resveratrol, a flavonoid that boosts blood flow in the brain and reduces the risk of Alzheimer s disease. Other resveratrol-packed options include grape juice, cranberry juice, fresh grapes and berries, and peanuts.

For mental energy, choose complex carbohydrates.


Just as a racecar needs gas, your brain needs fuel to perform at its best. When you need to be at the top of your mental game, carbohydrates can keep you going. But the type of carb you choose makes all the difference. Carbohydrates fuel your brain, but simple carbs (sugar, white bread, refined grains) give a quick boost followed by an equally rapid crash. For energy that lasts, choose complex carbohydrates such as whole-wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, high-fiber cereal, lentils, and whole beans.

Improving memory tip 5: Give your brain a workout


By the time youve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that help you process information quickly, solve familiar problems, and execute familiar tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But if you alwaysstick to these well-worn paths, you arent giving your brain the stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things up from time to time! Memory, like muscular strength, requires you to use it or lose it. The more you work out your brain, the better youll be able to process and remember information. The best brain exercising activities break your routine and challenge you to use and develop new brain pathways. The activity can be virtually anything, so long as it meets the following three criteria:
1. It s new. No matter how intellectually demanding the activity, if it s something you re already good at, it s not a good brain exercise. The activity needs to be something that s unfamiliar and out of your comfort zone. 2. It s challenging.Anything that takes some mental effort and expands your knowledge will work. Examples include learning a new language, instrument, or sport, or tackling a challenging crossword or Sudoku puzzle. 3. It s fun.The more interested and engaged you are in the activity, the more likely you ll be to continue doing it and the greater the benefits you ll experience. The activity should be challenging, yes, but not so difficult or unpleasant that you dread doing it.

Use mnemonic devices to make memorization easier


Mnemonics (the initial m is silent) are clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by helping us associate the information we want to remember with a visual image, a sentence, or a word. Mnemonic device Technique Example Associate a visual image with a word To remember the name Rosa Parks Visual image or name to help you remember them and what shes known for, picture a better. Positive, pleasant images that woman sitting on a park bench are vivid, colorful, and threesurrounded by roses, waiting as her dimensional will be easier to bus pulls up. remember. Make up a sentence in which the The sentence Every good boy does Acrostic (or first letter of each word is part of or fine to memorize the lines of the sentence) represents the initial of what you treble clef, representing the notes E, want to remember. G, B, D, and F. An acronym is a word that is made The word HOMES to remember Acronym up by taking the first letters of all the the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, key words or ideas you need to Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and remember and creating a new word Superior. out of them. Rhymes and Rhymes, alliteration (a repeating The rhyme Thirty days hath alliteration sound or syllable), and even jokes September, April, June, and are a memorable way to rememberNovember to remember the months more mundane facts and figures. of the year with only 30 days in them. Chunking breaks a long list of Remembering a 10-digit phone Chunking numbers or other types of number by breaking it down into information into smaller, more three sets of numbers: 555-867-5309 manageable chunks. (as opposed to5558675309). Imagine placing the items you want For a shopping list, imagine bananas Method of loci to remember along a route you know in the entryway to your home, a well or in specific locations in a puddle of milk in the middle of the familiar room or building. sofa, eggs going up the stairs, and bread on your bed.

Tips for enhancing your ability to learn and remember


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Pay attention. You can t remember something if you never learned it, and you can t learn something that is, encode it into your brain if you don t pay enough attention to it. It takes about eight seconds of intense focus to process a piece of information into your memory. If you re easily distracted, pick a quiet place where you won t be interrupted. Involve as many senses as possible. Try to relate information to colors, textures, smells and tastes. The physical act of rewriting information can help imprint it onto your brain.Even if you re a visual learner, read out loud what you want to remember. If you can recite it rhythmically, even better. Relate information to what you already know. Connect new data to information you already remember, whether it s new material that builds on previous knowledge, or

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something as simple as an address of someone who lives on a street where you already know someone. For more complex material, focus on understanding basic ideas rather than memorizing isolated details. Practice explaining the ideas to someone else in your own words. Rehearse information you ve already learned. Review what you ve learned the same day you learn it, and at intervals thereafter. This spaced rehearsal is more effective than cramming, especially for retaining what you ve learned.

Using Memory Effectively

The following techniques with their exercises use associations with letters, images, maps, etc to help you remember.
As you proceed through this list of techniques, try to think of strategies that would be useful to you! Some people use letters, some images, even songs. Each depends on how comfortable you are with, or how useful they are to, your way of thinking!
1. Acronyms An acronym is an invented combination of letters. Each letter is a cue to, or suggests, an item you need to remember.

PEMDAS, sequence in solving or evaluating math equations Parenthesis | Exponents | Multiplication | Division | Addition | Subtraction ROY G. BIV, the colors of the visible spectrum Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo,Violet IPMAT, the stages of cell division Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telephase Practice your acronym
2. An acrostic is an invented sentence or poem with a first letter cue: The first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember.

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (PEMDAS, above) Sequence in solving or evaluating math equations Parenthesis | Exponents | Multiplication | Division | Addition | Subtraction

Acrostic exercise GARBAGE | Acrostic exercise EGBDF


3. Rhyme-Keys: (for ordered or unordered lists) First, memorize key words that can be associated with numbers.

example: bun = one; shoe = two, tree = three, door = four, hive = five, etc. Create an image of the items you need to remember with key words. Four basic food groups-- diary products; meat, fish, and poultry; grains; and fruit and vegetables Think of cheese on a bun (one), livestock with shoes on (two), a sack of grain suspended in a tree (three), a door to a room stocked with fruits and vegetables (four) Practice your rhymes
4. The Method of Loci: (for approximately twenty items) Select any location that you have spent a lot of time in and know well. Good for kinesthetic learners!

Imagine yourself walking through the location, selecting clearly defined places--the door, sofa, refrigerator, shelf, etc. Imagine yourself putting objects that you need to remember into each of these places by walking through this location in a direct path. Again, you need a standard direct path and clearly defined locations for objects to facilitate the retrieval of these objects. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Nixon, you could imagine walking up to the door of your location and seeing a dollar bill stuck in the door; when you open the door Jefferson is reclining on the sofa and Nixon is eating out of the refrigerator. Practice your loci
5. The Keyword Method: (for foreign language vocabulary)

First, after considering the foreign word you need to remember, select a key word in English that sounds like the foreign word. Next, imagine an image which involves the key word with the English meaning of the foreign word. For example, consider the Spanish word "cabina" which means "phone booth." For the English keyword, you might think of "cab in a ... ." You could then invent an image of a cab trying to fit in a phone booth. When you see the word "cabina" on the test, you should be able to recall the image of the cab and you should be able to retrieve the definition "phone booth." Practice your keywords
6. The Image-Name Technique: (for remembering names)

Simply invent any relationship between the name and the physical characteristics of the person. For example, if you had to remember Shirley Temple's name, you might ingrain the name in memory by noticing that she has "curly" (rhymes with Shirley) hair around her temples. Practice image-naming
7. Chaining: (for ordered or unordered lists)

Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember cues the next idea you need to recall. If you had to remember the words Napoleon, ear, door, and Germany, you could invent a story of Napoleon with his ear to a door listening to people speak in German. Practice your chaining

Study skills series


Concentrating while studying
Concentration: the ability to direct your thinking The art or practice of concentration, no matter if studying biology or playing pool, is to focus on the task at hand and eliminate distraction We all have the ability to concentrate -- sometimes. Think of the times when you were "lost" in something you enjoy: a sport, playing music, a good game, a movie. Total concentration. But at other times,
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Your mind wanders from one thing to another Your worries distract you Outside distractions take you away before you know it The material is boring, difficult, and/or not interesting to you.

These tips may help: They involve


1. What you can control in your studies 2. Best practices

What you can control in your studies:

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"Here I study" Get a dedicated space, chair, table, lighting and environment Avoid your cellphone or telephone Put up a sign to avoid being disturbed or interrupted If you like music in the background, OK, but don't let it be a distraction. (Research on productivity with music versus without music is inconclusive) Stick to a routine, efficient study schedule Accommodate your day/nighttime energy levels See our Guide on Setting goals and making a scheduling Focus Before you begin studying, take a few minutes to summarize a few objectives, gather what you will need, and think of a general strategy of accomplishment Incentives Create an incentive if necessary for successfully completing a task, such as calling a friend, a food treat, a walk, etc. For special projects such as term papers, design projects, long book reviews, set up a special incentive Change topics Changing the subject you study every one to two hours for variety Vary your study activities Alternate reading with more active learning exercises If you have a lot of reading, try the SQ3R method Ask yourself how you could increase your activity level while studying? Perhaps a group will be best? Creating study questions? Ask your teacher for alternative strategies for learning. The more active your learning, the better. Take regular, scheduled breaks that fit you Do something different from what you've been doing (e.g., walk around if you've been sitting), and in a different area Rewards Give yourself a reward when you've completed a task

Best Practices:
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You should notice improvement in a few days But like any practice, there will be ups, levels, and downs: It will benefit other activities you do!

Be here now | Worry time | Tally Card | Energy level | Visualize


Be Here Now

This deceptively simple strategy is probably the most effective. When you notice your thoughts wandering astray, say to yourself "Be here now" and gently bring your attention back to where you want it. For example: You're studying and your attention strays to all the other homework you have, to a date, to the fact that you're hungry. Say to yourself "Be here now"

Focus back on subject with questions, summarizing, outlining,mapping, etc. and maintain your attention there as long as possible. When it wanders again, repeat "Be here now" and gently bring your attention back, and continue this practise, repeatedly. It will work! Do not try to keep particular thoughts out of your mind. For example, as you sit there, close your eyes and think about anything you want to for the next three minutes except cookies. Try not to think about cookies...When you try not to think about something, it keeps coming back. ("I'm not going to think about cookies. I'm not going to think about cookies.") You might do this hundreds of times a week. Gradually, you'll find that the period of time between your straying thoughts gets a little longer every few days. So be patient and keep at it. You'll see some improvement! Do not constantly judge your progress. Take it easy on yourself. Good practice is enough to say that you did it, and that you are on the road. The mind is always different and the practice unfolds over time with many ups and downs.
Worry or Think Time

Research has proven that people who use a worry time find themselves worrying 35 percent less of the time within four weeks.
1. Set aside a specific time each day to think about the things that keep entering your mind and interfering with your concentration. 2. When you become aware of a distracting thought, remind yourself that you have a special time to think about them, 3. Let the thought go, perhaps with "Be here now," 4. Keep your appointment to worry or think about those distracting issues

For example, set 4:30 to 5 p.m. as your worry/think time. When your mind is side-tracked into worrying during the day, remind yourself that you have a special time for worrying. Then, let the thought go for the present, and return your focus to your immediate activity.
Tallying your mental wanderings.

Have a 3 x 5 inch card handy. Draw two lines dividing the card into three sections. Label them "morning," "afternoon," and "evening." Each time your mind wanders, make a tally in the appropriate section. Keep a card for each day. As your skills build, you'll see the number of tallies decrease

Maximize your energy level

When is your energy level at its highest? When are your low energy times? Study your most difficult courses at your high energy times. Sharpest early in the evening? Study your most difficult course then. Later in the evening? Work on your easier courses or the ones you enjoy the most. Most students put off the tough studies until later in the evening when they become tired, and it is more difficult to concentrate. Reverse that. Study hard subjects at peak energy times; easier ones later. This alone can help to improve your concentration
Visualize

As an exercise before you begin studying, think of those times when concentration is not a problem for you--no matter what situation. Now try to feel or image yourself in that situation. Recapture that experience immediately before your studies by placing yourself in that moment.. Repeat before each study session.

J. R. Hayes, The Complete Problem Solver. Franklin Institute Press, 1981

Thinking and recall series


Critical thinking I

Strategies for critical thinking in learning and project management


Critical thinking studies a topic or problem with open-mindedness. This exercise outlines the first stage of applying a critical thinking approach to developing and understanding a topic. You will:
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Develop a statement of the topic List what you understand, what you've been told and what opinions you hold about it Identify resources available for research Define timelines and due dates and how they affect the development of your study Print the list as your reference

Here is more on the first stage: Define your destination, what you want to learn Clarify or verify with your teacher or an "expert" on your subject

Topics can be simple phrases: "The role of gender in video game playing" "Causes of the war before 1939" "Mahogany trees in Central America" "Plumbing regulations in the suburbs" "Regions of the human brain"
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Develop your frame of reference, your starting point, by listing what you already know about the subject What opinions and prejudices do you already have about this? What have you been told, or read about, this topic? What resources are available to you for research When gathering information, keep an open mind Look for chance resources that pop up! Play the "reporter" and follow leads If you don't seem to find what you need, ask librarians or your teacher. How does your timeline and due dates affect your research? Keep in mind that you need to follow a schedule. Work back from the due date and define stages of development, not just with this first phase, but in completing the whole project.

Critical thinking I | Critical thinking II | Critical reading

Summary of critical thinking:


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Determine the facts of a new situation or subject without prejudice Place these facts and information in a pattern so that you can understand them Accept or reject the source values and conclusions based upon your experience, judgment, and beliefs

Flash exercise contributed by Lisa Reed and Professor Brad Hokanson, Interactive Media (DHA 4384) School of Design, University of Minnesota; revised and edited by Joe Landsberger

See also: Teaching with questioning; teaching critical thinking

Thinking and recall series


Thinking creatively
Thinking creatively is a state of mind that enables you to approach tasks, problems, and situations with openness to alternatives.

Summary of the exercise:

Nine strategies towards creative thinking and meeting challenges:


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Re-think: Look at a challenge in new or unusual ways. Visualize: Picture your problem and its solutions. Map it! Produce: Don't be lazy! Get busy! Combine: Make new combinations-- in considering options, put them all on the table to find grains of truth or possibility. Then refine! Form relationships Make connections--similar to mapping but adding text as to why concepts connect. Think in opposites Often extremes present middle ground where solutions lie. Metaphor! Simile! Build an image. Fail: Learn from experience: think as if you have eliminated a solution toward finding one that does. Practice patience Outlast the challenge!

Text of the exercise: Looking for a job? Re-think: Look at a challenge in new or unusual ways. Find new ways that others are too lazy, or don't think about, to try: Example: Finding a job or internship. Expand your target visits: What class did you do well in, and what jobs might be related? What other fields are interesting? Market yourself: develop your "brand." Develop a portfolio, a list of qualifications, and or examples of your work that match each company you visit. Prepare a summary of each company you go to and how you match their interests. Check every resource you can think of: online Web employment sites; your school's job search; business windows

Ask friends, friends of your parents, neighbors, teachers, and/or community leaders about opportunities and referrals Visualize: Picture your problem and its solutions. Map it! In just a couple words, summarize a challenge you are facing. Then add three related concepts. Then draw lines to connect the words. Remake the map on a separate piece of paper; add images. Play with this idea and find your solution. Produce: A genius is productive. Don't be lazy! Combine: Make new combinations. Combine and recombine ideas, images, and thoughts no matter how strange or unusual. Form relationships; make connections. This applies to people and objects. Get to know the people in your area of interest that can help you improve. Demonstrate interest in them; ask questions! At the arrow, enter some contacts, either by name and/or by title and/or by qualification. Opposites Think in opposites. Think opposite these words: Hip hop | Flow | Employment | Organic | Blue | Nature Then find a middle concept for one Metaphor! Simile! A simile uses "like" or "as" to build an image. Examples: The jungle's river was like a peaceful path through a chaos of green. The bird rose straight and fast as a rocket. The service line moved as fast as stalled rush hour traffic. A metaphor is more direct:

The event was viewed through the mist of sadness. The garden became a quilt of cared-for colors. She led them with the carrot of reason and the stick of embarrassment. Now create your images: The exercise illustrates how situations can take on new meaning, problems new solutions. Enter your thought quickly for the following phrases with the first image that comes to mind. Print, reflect, and make new connections if inspired. The football team played as if they... The computer screen looked... My study schedule is a... Fail! Great accomplishments are often the result of chance, but chance born of many "unsuccessful" experiments. Learn from these experiences; preparation to fail is the path to success. Patience Some people are not recognized until their "later" years. Paul C zanne (1839 1906), French impressionist, did not have his first exhibition until age 56. Accomplishment does not come in 10 minutes. Give yourself ten days, or ten years! Practice patience. We hope one or two of these tips serve you well. May your successes and failures bring you knowledge and peace.

Cooperative learning series


Radical thinking
Are you looking for new ideas? Has your path reached a dead-end? Are your options limited, or just invisible? Often the way we experience the world is built on and bordered by our experiences! When we find ourselves in a situation, we form solutions with shortcutsbased upon patterns we have learned in our lives. Most of the time, these shortcuts serve us well by providing answers based upon how we have solved problems in our past. They provide efficient rules that guide us in decision

making and problem solving. This is also called a heuristic approach to learning, discovery, and problem solving. However, these rules also can lock us into stereotypes, pre-conceived ideas, and uncritical analysis. When they are not helpful, one strategy or approach can be radical thinking, an approach to creatively engage with options! Perhaps radical thinking may help you generate new ideas? Let's try this radical three-screen process.
1. First, briefly summarize your situation or challenge. 2. Now list three radical "O's" or options Think quickly and creatively. Think in terms of opposites, even contradictions. Brainstorm your way out-of-the-box! 3. For each radical O, 1 - 3, enter up to three middle "O's" or options. 4. Prioritize the M-O's after printing to consider the best solutions.

Situation example 1: My elderly grandmother cant get to the phone in emergencies. Opposite mode: Move her out of her house to assistive living. One option mode: get a wireless device for her to wear that calls. Situation example 2: I talk too much Opposite mode: I will be silent. One option mode: I will practice active listening. Situation example 3: I am disorganized. Opposite mode: I will do nothing. One option mode: I will create and prioritize a to-do list for a few items and ignore the rest

Learning to learn series


Thinking aloud/private speech
When we learned as infants and children, thinking aloud or saying what we are thinking was accepted as a way of demonstrating our knowledge, or of opening ourselves to "get it right." We sounded out words, expressed ideas, formed sentences. When corrected, we practiced until we imitated correctly, or conformed to the model of our family, neighborhood, school, etc.

Thinking aloud was essential to our early learning. Thinking aloud is also called private speech. As we grow older and mature, thinkingaloud is internalized, and speech shifts to communicating with others.
"Nevertheless, the need to engage in private speech never disappears. Whenever we encounter unfamiliar or demanding activities in our lives, private speech resurfaces. It is a tool that helps us overcome obstacles and acquire new skills". 1

We tend to use only phrases and incomplete sentences in private speech. What is said reflects our thoughts, but only what is puzzling, new, or challenging. We omit what we already know or understand. So also private speech decreases as our performance or understanding improves. Applications of private speech in learning include planning, monitoring progress, or guiding ourselves in working through challenging tasks and mastering new skills. It can help us manage situations and control our behavior by verbalizing our feelings, or venting to ourselves. Private speech is a useful tool in learning. The more we engage our brain on multiple "levels," the more we are able to make connections and retain what we learn. We read, create images or diagrams, listen, use music or motion, talk with others (collaborative learning) and with ourselves. Some of us like to talk things through with someone or in a group, either to help us understand or to remember better. And some of us don't need another person around to talk with in this process! This can be a learning style, and a very effective one. We use multiple senses and experiences to process and reinforce our learning, and the combination of these strategies is very individual. Applications of private speech in learning include;
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memorizing vocabulary by saying the words appreciating poetry by "dramatising" it editing papers by reading the text aloud talking through math problems to arrive at solutions

"Nevertheless, the need to engage in private speech never disappears. Whenver we encounter unfamiliar or demanding activites in our lives, private speech resurfaces. It is a tool that helps us overcome obstacles and acquire new skills". Berk. L.E, Why Children Talk to Themselves, Scientific American, November 1994, pp 78 - 83 as seen at http://www.abacon.com/berk/ica/research.html 10/23/00 "In a think-aloud activity, the teacher shares with students the thinking process..." U.S. Department of Education, 4. Modeling is an important form of classroom suppo rt for literacy learning. (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/StateArt/Read/idea4.html, October 30, 2000) State of the Art: Transforming Ideas for Teaching and Learning To Read, November 1993 "Adults who are not smooth readers also read out loud, but they have learned to muffle it for social purposes - they subvocalize, or just move their lips when they read, because they know that other people will think less of them if they read out loud. However, it is the easiest and most natural way to absorb concepts." Wenger, Susan, Image-Streaming, http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1179/ 10/25/00 "As stated in Child Development, Research has confirmed that children, like adults, use private speech when they find tasks difficult or when they made errors, and that when th ey use task-relevant private speech, their performance on a variety of tasks improves Agres, Jaime, Why do Chilren Talk to Themselves?, http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jbattenb/ling/ Student Research Papers, 10/25/00

Learning to learn series


Learning as a student-athlete or student-performer
Indicators of a "kinesthetic intelligence" or body smarts:
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Talented or aptitude for moving your body or handling objects Well-developed and well-coordinated physical and motor skills Can be effectively used for communication and productivity Highly developed physical memory (Images in your thoughts can involve movement)

Besides in athletes and dancers, kinesthetic intelligence is found in inventors, lab technicians, and architects; physical therapists, chiropractors, surgeons, and dentists; actors, sculptors, jewelers, and gardeners; those in mechanical, construction and crafts trades; and of course in do-it-yourselfers.

How can your kinesthetic aptitude, intelligence, and skills, be applied to a successful academic life?

With time management:

Complete our exercise in scheduling No "performer" would prepare for the big event without a training program and schedule. Intentional, balanced scheduling is the foundation of the successful athlete or performer: the same principle applies to learning

There are strategies you can develop and use to be a successful (kinesthetic) learner:
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Develop routines and habits for learning Schedule when you study, what you study (begin with easier subject matter to build confidence) Simplify instructions down to basics, and build up from there Practice and repeat basic elements to strengthen recall Be directly engaged; move and act things out Jump in and try things; learn by trial and error Ask for real-life examples, or for an idea to be demonstrated if you don't understand Seek out courses with labs and field trips Ask your teacher for printed summaries lectures, or alternative methods to get the same information Involve all of your senses in learning. Use a hands-on approach constructing or modeling things Use concrete objects as learning aids Use your hands to explain things; your body to act things out Be proactive in writing things down Put examples in note summaries Use pictures and photos to illustrate points Talk about notes with another Kinesthetic person Use community-based assignments in developing writing skills Use concept mapping to organize information in order to more actively engage with what you wish to learn Use technology to take advantage of your hand-eye coordination Multi-media technology can be used to gather and organize information from multiple

sources Computer simulations and games can help you o see the big picture or system o work with parts of it and experiment with them o simulate, substitute for, and practice responses for situations that may come later in performance or the "real world" Prepare yourself for exams: Write test questions and compare with study mates or tutors Write practice answers Role-play the exam situation before the test Ask if your accomplishment can be assessed through building a model, delivering a presentation, or some optional activity other than a standardized or written test

The role of the coach An academic counselor, a teacher, even a tutor can act as your coach, director, or trainer. Each can provide guidance, encouragement, and context for your progress:

Academic development
Seek out a single reliable coach or support "center" that
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Provides encouragement/motivation, monitors progress, and assesses achievement --Provides resources for general wellness Assists in developing a personal and individualized set of performance- and mastery-oriented academic goals that mesh with your skills and interests --Develop selected study skills as fundamentals of learning Assists you in developing your academic team for mutual support in achieving goals and progress Holds you accountable for academic performance Provides for positive feedback and celebration

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