Field Trips and Notes - Week 6

How to Study Model

A major part of studying is remembering material. But until we can see all the parts of studying, we may not know exactly how studying itself works. Chapter 2 begins with the Information Processing Model. However, let's put this more in the context of study skills. Really what we need is a How to Study Model. If we clarify the input items and the output, we will have such a model.

What does input mean in a how to study model? Where do we get "the stuff"? Actually we have lots of input for studying:

  • the assigned textbook
  • notes from lectures
  • class discussion
  • homework assignments
  • outside readings
  • videos
  • portfolios
  • other assignments

Your job as a student is to put all of these pieces together and churn and process and remember this information.

Why? What is the output going to be? In general terms, it will be learning, but in very practical terms the output is the test.

This is a very active process that requires work outside of just reading the textbook and just doing the homework. It may require memorization and it will certainly require remembering.

Visit the studyweb to see the How to Study Model and resources available for you at

http://studyweb.chemeketa.edu/overview.htm

See the Theories and Practices of this how to study model from the University of Texas in Austin. Especially note the section on Forgetting!

http://www.utexas.edu/student/lsc/makinggrade/theories.html

 

Memory
Principles

The rest of Chapter 2 gives you the memory principles that you will need to study. You will need to know all 12 principles. (Note: whenever a teacher says "You have to know this stuff." It translates into you have to memorize the stuff and be able to apply it.)

Virginia Tech has 17 strategies for Remembering. They talk about general remembering and verbatim remembering. How many items on their list correlate to the 12 memory principles from your book?

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/remember.html

Visualization

Now let's look at field trips for the individual elements of SAVE CRIB FOTO.

The University of Texas' Improving Memory has several suggestions for visualization.

http://www.utexas.edu/student/lsc/makinggrade/improving.html

Effort

Some things that we have to learn are boring and not particularly interesting, but in order to remember something, you have to put the effort in. Read Intend to Remember.

http://www.ma.psu.edu/~malc/memory.htm

Reciting

What does the research on reciting show? Dartmouth College can tell you in 10 Memory Principles.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/lsg/memory.html

Time

Time is also important in studying. If you want to improve your effeciency at remembering, look at the University of Waterloo's ideas to try and why they work.

http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/Study/learn.html

Ongoing Review

Why ongoing review is so important. For a graph of the forgetting curve or the percentage remembered when reviewing, visit Australia's Learning Resources.

http://www.cimm.jcu.edu.au/netshare/learn/notetaking/reviewing.html

Now here is an article on what to do about the curve of forgetting!

http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/study/learn.html

Remembering

Did you know that Remembering has 2 parts?

http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/remember.html

Mnemonics

Now let's look at the memory tricks (Mnemonics) that may help you be more efficient at remembering masses of material both for academic use and for general use.

Let's look at the general uses of Mnemonics first and then at the academic uses. Many of these field trips come from the same large Memory site.

Your goal as a student is not only to learn how to study, but to learn how to study to get A's. Check out this site on Using Mnemonics to learn more Effectively.

http://www.mindtools.com/mnemeffc.html

Many of the techniques suggested in your book are visual techniques. If your learning style is audio, try reciting outloud or rapping. Read How Your Learning Style Affects Your Use of Mnemonics.

http://www.mindtools.com/mnemlsty.html

See what the University of Texas has to say about Mnemonic Techniques and Specific Memory "Tricks".

http://www.utexas.edu/student/lsc/makinggrade/mnemonic.html

Maybe you just need some hints in how to recall lost information. Look at Hints on Memory Techniques.

http://www.mindtools.com/memhints.html

Why do we use Mnemonics? To use your whole mind and senses to remember. See Intro to Mnemonics and the table of contents of this site. You might want to bookmark this page.

http://www.mindtools.com/memory.html

Memory Fallacy

If you want to know how memory works and why it doesn't sometimes, read The Memory Fallacy.

http://www.mindtools.com/fallacy.html

Academic Uses of Mnemonics

Students have been using memory techniques for a long time. Some disciplines already have acronymns and acrostics built in to help students remember material. Here are some from Canada.

http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/mnemon.html

Lucy MacDonald - 10/28/00