Time Management
Textbook Reading
Tests
Motivation

Memory:
page 1 -- Introduction
page 2 -- RECALL
page 3 -- Mnemonics
page 4 -- Other Techniques

The Road to Improving Your MEMORY

Your memory is like a complicated highway system, so let's do a little exploring. There are 4 main jobs for memory:

  1. Encoding information
  2. Storing information that has been encoded
  3. Retrieving information that is stored
  4. Being able to consciously work with ideas (comparing, contrasting, combining, etc.) which is known as working memory

Which Way?

Encoding information involves taking the raw stimuli (sights, sounds, etc.) and making them meaningful usually by associating their characteristics with things we already know. So identifying left or right turns, landmarks, etc. would be involved in encoding. Storing information is like driving a new route for the first time. Retrieving information is like remembering how to get some place you have already been. Working memory is like figuring out how to get from one place you have been to another. Memory problems can crop up in any of these areas (although retrieval is probably the most common difficulty).

If you UNDERSTAND what you are trying to store, obviously it will be easier to encode and store it in the most logical place. In order to make memory as efficient as possible, it is helpful to be able to PICK out the MAIN POINTS you need to remember. Then, by ASSOCIATING them with things you ALREADY KNOW, you make use of "routes" you already know, and this makes information easier to retrieve.

At the same time, if you NOTICE IMPORTANT DETAILS (using all of your SENSES) this will not only help you to understand, but will also make recall easier. Retrieving a memory is like taking a trip to another state. You need to know what roads to take so you don't get lost. Sometimes you get to an intersection and you cannot remember which way to go. The same thing happens with your neural pathways. When you have retrieved a piece of information a number of times, you get to know the "route" quite well. On the other hand, traveling a new route can be made easier by having "LANDMARKS" to look for along the way. The idea behind memory strategies (called mnemonic devices) is to provide those landmarks. On the following screens you will see some specific techniques that are based on this knowledge of how memory works.