11 Effective ways of improving memory skills to beat the Examinations.
- Moubita Deka
- Jan 2, 2021
- 4 min read
We often start rushing through our courses and materials when examinations suddenly come near without having a plan in mind. Most out there still struggle to finish their first lesson. I am someone who truly believes that learning and scoring in examinations are two different things. However, you can still merge them together and do well in your exams. Combining them both increases your chances of not only doing well in a 1-time exam but also helps you achieve great heights in the future.
Considering this fact I don't believe that your marks make you less intelligent or a poor learner because the reasons behind you not remembering things you had studied, the "getting blank" effect, not being able to recall the information you know you had studied are some significant points that can't be ignored as you had not learned them in the first place. So, if you had learned it you could have been able to write it down. So, don't be hard on yourself and your memory and consider yourself biologically or genetically less intellectual.
Anyways we are here to discuss how you can improve your memory skills to beat the examinations:-
Form a link between your new and old information: The most important and convenient way of recalling and remembering things is by relating them to the objects, situations, words, names that you're most aware of and use on a daily basis. Try and learn information and match it to what is already in your memory to help retention of that data for a longer period of time.
The level of processing technique: In Psychology, we have a very famous theory which is known as the levels of processing theory that basically tells that the degree to which you process or analyze the information in the very beginning or start decides whether you tend to remember that piece of data later on. So, next time when you start a new chapter pay attention and focus all your time on that chapter only. This will help you to recall the chapter better the next time when you sit to rehearse.
Organize and structurize your knowledge and facts. Consider the pictures and diagrams in your books quite well and it will help you a lot in the exams to remember better and frame your answers a lot more appropriately.
Mnemonics: Try giving code words and letters to the facts and figures that seem to be difficult to remember. For eg: We determine whether an organism is living or non-living by using these seven life processes: Movement, Respiration, Sensation, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, Nutrition.
Mnemonic: MRS GREN
If you’re frequently tempted to use an A when writing out the word cemetery, think “She screamed ‘EEE’ as she passed by a cemetery.”It’s also easy to confuse stationery (writing paper) and stationary (something that’s not moving)—unless you remember that “stationery is for a letter.”
Here are some tricks and ways to form Mnemonics and also some standard Mnemonics to view.
Rehearse or revise your data frequently: When you know you have a difficult time recalling things in your 'not so important' exams try following the method of elaborative rehearsal which is to attach meanings to a robotic piece of data that you want to remember for your exams. It is a method of expanding the information to make it fit into a logical framework.
Try remembering and learning information in a particular sequence: Learning or even mugging up information in a definite sequence or a particular order helps you to retain and remember the information better because, then, you put into use two different techniques for recall that is visual and cognitive memory. So try and learn the sequence of it rather than just rushing through it all.
Read loudly: Research published in 2017 suggests that reading materials out loud significantly improves your memory of the material.
Get enough sleep for yourself: you might have come across many articles saying how important a night of sleep is for remembering things better and to allow your brain to process the information that you have learned, well it turns out to be very true. In fact, one study published in 2014 found that sleeping after learning something new actually leads to physical changes in the brain. Sleep-deprived mice experienced less dendritic growth following a learning task than well-rested mice.
Try studying in the same room or environment: Well, this concept is known as context memory. Herein, reportedly, in an experiment conducted by Golder and Baddley to deep-sea divers, they found out that you better recall information that is learned in the same exact location where you recall it in rather than when done the same thing in one location and recalling the information in another place. So next time when you are in the examination hall, it will be helpful to imagine yourself back in that room or a spot, to remember specific information that may provide you with additional cues.
Take tests to improve and enhance or to even check with yourself: I cannot tell you how important of a point this is. This not only brushes your memory up but also helps you to organize your facts and data in place so that you don't mix things up and only study the things that are important for a 1-time test.
However, you can definitely go back and add on to your book of learning after the test to transfer all the information that is currently in the short-term memory to the long-term memory.
Take breaks: When you take breaks it's important for you to not just refresh your mind but also engage in the right activities to keep training your mind. Hence, play some games on training your memory. Follow this link and it will help you train your mind. https://www.mentem.eu/
References:
Comments