Transcript Chapter 2 Improving Memory and Reading

Improving
Memory
and Reading
How does the memory
work?

Three Stages
 Sensory Register
 Short Term Memory (STM)
 Long Term Memory (LTM)
Sensory Register
Lasts less than a second
 Records sensory experience
 Allows the brain to process info
 Helps us to focus on relevant info

The Sensory Register is like
a quickly fading photo of
your sensory experience
Short Term Memory
Lasts about a half a minute
 Temporary and limited
 Records what we see, hear, do, taste,
touch
 Purpose is to ponder significance
and decide if it is important enough
to remember

Magical Number 7

It is easier to remember material
grouped in chunks of seven (+ or –2)
Common 7’s
Telephone Number
 License Plate
 Days of the Week
 Colors of the Rainbow
 Deadly Sins
 7 Dwarfs (Snow White)
 Can You Name Some Others?

Long Term Memory
Large capacity
 Permanent storage
 Use it to store important information
for future use
 Use it to store information for college
success

How are long term
memories formed?
Takes purposeful action
 Repetition
 Meaningful association
 It must have survival value
 Personal reasons
 To pass a test

These Help Motivation
Interest or
 Joy in learning

Is It True that We Never
Forget?
We remember what is stored in
Long Term Memory (LTM)
 This is the goal of college study

How Long Do We
Remember?
Sensory Register less than one
second
 Short Term less than one minute
 Long Term permanent

Summary
To Store Information in
Long Term Memory
Requires rehearsal
 Apply memory techniques

•Rate of Forgetting (or
losing access)
•AFTER 20 MINUTES 47%
• AFTER 1 DAY
62%
•AFTER 2 DAYS
69%
•AFTER 15 DAYS
75%
•AFTER 31 DAYS
78%
Hermann Ebbinghaus
When is the best time to
review?
Review within 20 minutes
Ready for a
memory test?
How did you remember?
Memory Techniques
Meaningful Organization
Memory is like a library
If you miss-file a book,
You cannot find it.
It is still there and you may
stumble across it one day.
File your books correctly.
Organize those thoughts!
Organize it.
Learn
from the general to the
specific
Make
it meaningful
Remember the
Magical Number 7?
Organize in Groups of 7 or Less
Visualization
Make a mental picture of what you
want to remember
 Commercials make good use of this
technique

Recitation
One of the most powerful techniques
 Memories exist in the form of a
chemical neural trace
 Some researchers think it takes 5
seconds to establish this trace
 Repeat it 5 times or keep it in your
mind for 5 seconds

READY FOR THE TEST
AGAIN?
YOU’LL DO BETTER THIS
TIME
More Memory Techniques
Develop an Interest

We tend to remember what interests
us
Can You Remember?
Music
 Sports
 Hobbies
 Styles

Find Something Interesting
in Your College Studies
See the Big Picture

Understand the main points first and
the details second
Imagine trying to see a
painting one inch at a time!
It is difficult to appreciate or
understand.
“The essence of genius is
knowing what to overlook.”
William James
Intend to Remember

Tell yourself that you are going to
remember.
Intend to remember where
you put your keys!
Distribute the Practice
Learn small amounts at a time
 Review frequently

EXAMPLE:
SAFMEDS
SAY
ALL
FAST
ONE MINUTE
EACH
DAY
SHUFFLE
Create a Basic Background
We remember by making
connections to what we already
know
 At first college is difficult because
you are establishing the basic
background

Relax While Studying
You can’t remember if you
are embarrassed
Frustrated
Tired
Memory Tricks
Acrostics

Creative rhymes, songs or poems
Musical Notes: Every Good Boy Does Fine
Acronyms

Create New Words as Memory Aids
NASA
LASER
SCUBA
Exercise: Practice with
Mnemonics
Peg Systems
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Bun
Shoe
Tree
Door
Hive
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Sticks
Heaven
Gate
Wine
Hen
Picture the Peg
Bun
Connect what you want to
remember. Use a picture.
Bun
Milk
Exercise: Remember a
Grocery List
Peg Systems
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Bun
Shoe
Tree
Door
Hive
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Sticks
Heaven
Gate
Wine
Hen
Loci Systems

Use places to remember
 A House
 A Hallway
Can you strengthen your
mind?
Exercises to Strengthen the
Mind
Puzzles
 Music
 Fix Something
 Art
 Dance
 Aerobic Exercise
 Interesting People

Keeping Your Mind Healthy
Exercise
 Rest
 Balanced, low-fat diet
 Eat proteins and carbohydrates
 Drink caffeine in moderation
 Don’t abuse drugs or alcohol
 Use safety gear

Part II: Read to Remember
Warm Up Your Brain
Can You Remember the
Grocery List?
Peg Systems
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Bun
Shoe
Tree
Door
Hive
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Sticks
Heaven
Gate
Wine
Hen
Sum: Apply these super
learning techniques

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





Meaningful Organization
Visualization
Recitation
Develop an Interest
See the Big Picture First
Intend to Remember
Distribute the Practice
Create a Basic Background
Relax
Myths About Reading

If I read, I should remember what I
read.
Generally people cannot
remember 50% of of the
material they have just read!
Myths About Reading
If I read, I should remember what I
read.
 I do not need to read if I go to class.
 Practice makes perfect.

SQ4R
A shortcut to
college reading
Read once
Instead of Re-reading.
Recite for memory
improvement
Step 1
Survey
Question
FAST
Why?
•Beginning of speed reading
•Improves comprehension
How?
Quickly look over the chapter
 Turn the subtitles into questions

Survey
See the big picture
 Ease into studying
 Warm up
 Create a basic background
 Get started

Question
Read to find answers
 Improves reading comprehension
 Forces you to concentrate

??
Keeps you awake
Become an Active Reader
Exercise: Surveying and
Questioning a Chapter
Step 2
Read
Recite
SLOW
FAST
This step is most important
for
Memory
How?
Read to identify
the topic sentence
or main idea
Underline or highlight the
idea if it is important.
When reading is tough
Read it again
 Look up new words
 Read it aloud
 Ask the instructor
 Stand up and read
 Use tutoring
 Pretend you understand
 Take a break and come back later

Read with a Dictionary
Use 3X5 cards to
learn new words
Recite
Most powerful memory technique
 Converts information from short term
to long term memory
 Keeps you alert

FAST
Step 3
Review
FAST
Reflect
Why?
Reinforces
memory
When?
Within 20
Minutes!
Most of the forgetting occurs
in the first 20 minutes.
How to Review
After each main section, review the
main points
 At the end of the chapter, quickly
review the main points one more
time
 Do your review quickly

Reflection is the creative
step
Reflection
How can I use this?
 What is important?
 How does it relate?
 How can I use it
in my career?
 Is it true?

A step beyond
memorization is
Wisdom
REFLECT
Sum:SQ4R
Online Reading
Strategies
What is your purpose for reading?
For college material:
Scan first.
Look for key points.
Make note of the important points.
Review.
What to do if the reading goes
in one ear and out the other.
What to do if the reading goes
in one ear and out the other?
Tell yourself you can do it!
 Try visualization.
 Look for personal meaning.
 Scan for important points.
 Talk to the text as you read it.

4 Gears of Reading
Skimming (2000-3000 WPM)
 Rapid Reading (300-800 WPM)
 Slow Reading (150-300 WPM)
 Studying (200 WPM)

Guidelines for Marking a
Text
A Mind Map for Marking a
Text
“THE ESSENCE OF
BE SELECTIVE GENIUS IS KNOWING
20%
WHAT TO OVERLOOK”
Marking
WHY?
MEMORY
SAVE TIME
“THE ESSENCE OF
BE SELECTIVE GENIUS IS KNOWING
20 %
WHAT TO OVERLOOK”
Marking
WHY?
MEMORY
SAVE TIME
“THE ESSENCE OF
GENIUS IS KNOWING
BE SELECTIVE WHAT TO OVERLOOK”
20 %
GUIDELINES
READ FIRST
ORGANIZE
NOTES IN MARGIN
BRIEF
FAST AND NEAT
Marking
WHY?
MEMORY
SAVE TIME
SYMBOLS
1 2 3
*
**
“THE ESSENCE OF
GENIUS IS KNOWING
BE SELECTIVE WHAT TO OVERLOOK”
20 %
GUIDELINES
READ FIRST
ORGANIZE
NOTES IN MARGIN
BRIEF
FAST AND NEAT
Marking
WHY?
MEMORY
SAVE TIME
SYMBOLS
1 2 3
*
**
“THE ESSENCE OF
GENIUS IS KNOWING
BE SELECTIVE WHAT TO OVERLOOK”
20 %
GUIDELINES
READ FIRST
ORGANIZE
NOTES IN MARGIN
BRIEF
FAST AND NEAT
Marking
DOUBLE SYSTEM
WHY?
MEMORY
SAVE TIME
SYMBOLS
1 2 3
*
**
1. UNDERLINE IN PENCIL
2. HIGHLIGHT AS PART OF
REVIEW
“THE ESSENCE OF
GENIUS IS KNOWING
BE SELECTIVE WHAT TO OVERLOOK”
20 %
GUIDELINES
READ FIRST
ORGANIZE
NOTES IN MARGIN
BRIEF
FAST AND NEAT
More Ideas on Text Marking
Point out definitions by writing DEF
in the margin. Circle the word being
defined.
 Point out examples by writing EX in
the margin
 Write SUM in the margin to point out
useful summaries to reread.

Group Activity:
Make a Mind Map
Use How Does the Memory
Work?
An Example of a Mind Map
Understanding the main
ideas= Success on tests
The Listing Pattern Presents
a List of Items
Your task as a reader is to identify all
items listed
 Watch for clues such as numbers or
letters

Sequence Pattern
Presents a list of items in a specific
order. The order is important.
 As a reader, identify and mark all
items in the series and note their
order.
 Again clues are numbers or letters.
 Notice words such as then, next,
finally

Definition Pattern
Presents an explanation of a term
 As the reader, understand all parts of
the definition
 Watch for words such as: is, is
defined, this term means, is known
as, refers to

Comparison/Contrast
Pattern
Presents similarities or differences
 As a reader, recognize these
similarities or differences
 For comparisons, notice these
words: similarly, likewise, also
 For differences, notice these words:
however, in contrast, on the other
hand, nevertheless

Cause/Effect Pattern
Presents the reasons things happen
(causes) and their results (effects)
 As a reader understand the cause
and effect
 For cause notice these words:
causes, produces, leads to, results in
 For effect notice these words: results
from, was caused by, due to,
consequently, therefore

Keys to Success:
Positive Thinking

You can improve your reading and
your life with positive thinking!
If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win but think you can’t,
It’s almost certain that you won’t.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger woman or man,
But sooner or later, those who win
Are those who think they can.
Exercises:
Check Your Textbook
Reading skills
Scenarios