The current world is all about information: it is everywhere around us. Modern education is much more challenging than it used to be, and students are expected to demonstrate phenomenal memorization capabilities. Luckily, there are a lot of things both teachers and students can do for the latter to enjoy a bigger memory capacity.
Following some of the most effective memory strategies can help teachers revolutionize the learning experience of their students, and as for the students themselves, they get to reach greater academic accomplishments.
Use Effective Memory Strategies
There are lots of effective memory strategies and memory activities for students that can help to enhance their memory capabilities, including the use of visual images. With most students being visual learners, using visuals like images, multimedia presentations, documentaries, and other types of visual appeals in teaching will make it easier for students to memorize information, retain it and improve memory in general.
Furthermore, when learning new vocabulary or teaching some terms that cannot be made into a visual representation, teachers can paint something of a situation where students can associate some similar visuals with the word they are trying to memorize. Giving students charts, infographics, and showing the relationship between them helps visual learners use the potential of their memory to the fullest and consume more information. Asking students to watch a documentary on one of the curriculum topics will help them visualize some of the information they learned in class and retain it in their memory for longer periods of time. It will also give them a more diversified and engaging learning experience.
Deliver Information in Organized and Structured Pieces
It is much easier to memorize information when it is structured and well-organized. Delivering information in logical blocks will not only make it easier for students to work with new information, but will also make their memory more organized and structured. They will learn the invaluable skills of organizing studying materials, matching related terms and concepts, and creating meaningful connections – all of which will result in a much easier and enjoyable learning experience in general.
Students can also do this by themselves, especially when they have a lot of information to cover when preparing for an exam. Making outlines and notes of textbook materials transforms one’s memorizing capabilities and makes more room for new information. If you are a student yourself, developing your memory in such a way is an excellent idea. However, if you are rather pressed for time but want to explore this option, consider outsourcing some of your work to a professional academic writer from a reliable essay service, they can make your studying experience much easier by helping out with your writing assignments.
Turn Students into Active Readers
Reading is a valuable learning activity that can improve memory storage capacity, and you don’t even need to apply any effort to do actual memorization. It is something of a brain exercise that has been proved to enhance memory in young people and also prevent dementia and slow aging. Reading stimulates better neuronal current output by creating new openings to memory. Teachers can use their position at school to get their students accustomed to reading from an early age and, in such a way, invest in their memory capabilities.
It is even better if students do not just read their text, but also engage with it by underlining and highlighting keywords and areas in different chapters. Later on, they can scan through the text paying attention to the main highlighted parts only and refresh the knowledge they gained when reading the book for the first time. This exercise will help them transfer the acquired knowledge from their short-term memory into long-term memory. It is also a good idea to use graphic organizers in such activities. The latter has been proved to improve academic achievements in students.
Diversify Your Learning Routine
An occasional change in teaching practices and learning techniques can make the process of studying much more effective and enhance one’s memory capabilities. For example, it is reasonable to change one’s studying location. If you are a student, try spending one day studying at your college library and another one – in a nearby park or at home. Additionally, you can also vary the time when you study: if you are used to studying late in the evening, consider sparing a morning to do some of your assignments. Such an approach can revolutionize the capabilities of your memory as you will be adding new contexts to your episodic memory. This type of memory helps you perceive and store new information by providing context for it, letting you memorize everything that was surrounding you at the time when you learned a particular piece of information.
As a teacher, you can add this element of novelty into your teaching routine by taking your students to a history museum when presenting some new history topics to them. Alternatively, you can make some changes to their schedule and move classes from morning to evening – all of that will activate new “areas” in their brain and help their memorization efforts.
Introduce Retrieval Practice
Retrieval practice has been scientifically proved as an effective technique that can enhance one’s long-term memory. Retrieval practice is about revisiting some pieces of information that were learned a while ago. For example, students can participate in such a practice when taking a test – they go back to the memories they created a while ago by memorizing certain learning materials. It is what makes practice tests so effective both in teaching methods and self-studying experience. When preparing students for such tests, it is reasonable to ask them related questions that will help them retrieve the needed pieces of information from their memory and later on use in their test. It is also a good idea to ask students to make up their own tests and take them – that way, they will solidify their knowledge of specific subjects and enhance their memorization skills.
Leave a Reply