TOPIC 5- Memory,learning and improving concentration

🧠UNDERSTANDING MEMORY PROCESSES🧠

WHAT IS MEMORY ?

-The ability to remember past experience and the power or process of recalling to mind previously learned facts, experience, impression, skills and habits.

MEMORY AND LEARNING

UNDERSTANDING MEMORY PROCESS

💢SENSORY MEMORY

⇥Numerous incoming information from 5 senses will be stored in the sensory memory for an instant.

⇥If one PAY ATTENTION to the stimuli, it will go to the short-term memory(STM). If one does not pay attention, then the information will be lost.

💢SHORT-TERM MEMORY(STM)

⇥Very limited storage.

⇥Information must be REHEARSED /REPEATED or use SOME ACTIVE LEARNING strategies in order to get information to LTM, otherwise information will be forgotten. 

💢LONG-TERM MEMORY(LTM)

⇥Unlimited and large storage.

⇥From STM, information moved to LTM and stored here for later use. If  the information is not being used for some time, forgetting may occur.

MEMORY PROCESS

👀MEMORY STRATEGIES👀

MEMORY STRATEGIES,WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?

💥Memory strategies will help students in their encoding,storing and retrieving the information(helps to remember and recall).

HOW TO FORGETTING COULD OCCUR?

• Did not pay attention to the information.
• Did not understand the information.
• Cramming(last minute study).
• Did not have good strategies.
• Interference(having 2 exams on the same day especially psychology and counselling).
• Test anxiety(negative thoughts about oneself,did not prepare well for the test).

GENERAL MEMORY STRATEGIES

⇝SPACE PRACTICE

• Research studies have shown that you'll retain more information if you study for 8 hours over 4 days(space practice)instead of 8 hours at one time(massed practice).
• Massed practice,like cramming,involves studying all the material at one time.
• Spaced practice,on the other hand,involves spacing your study time over a longer period,with breaks between practice sessions.

⇝BREAK  TASKS DOWN 

• Instead of trying to learn all of the material for your exam at one time(cramming),study only one or two chapters(and the accompanying lecture material)each day.
• When you study small chunks of material at one time,you can do a better job of getting it into LTM. 

⇝REPETITION

• If you continue to practice that same material over a period of days,you'll be able to strengthen and maintain your memory of it.
• Strengthen your LTM.

⇝OVER LEARNING

• Over learning is an important strategy for test preparation.
• Over learning involves continuing to work on material even after it's learned after it's in LTM.
• This practice is very helpful in improving your memory. Each time you review the material,you reduce forgetting and strengthen the path to your LTM.

SPECIFIC MEMORY STRATEGIES

⇻REHEARSAL STRATEGIES

• Rehearsal strategies involve practicing the material until it is learned.
• Low-level rehearsal -Reading over material a few times, saying it over again,or even copying it several times.
• High-level rehearsal strategies -Outlining, predicting question and creating charts and concept maps involve elaborative rehearsal . 

⇻ELABORATION STRATEGIES

• Association to associate or "connect" each word or event with person,place,thing,feeling or situation (e.g. spell dessert-remember that dessert has lots of sugar so it has two s's/ backward spell stressed)
• Acronyms/catchword (e.g. IPOS-information processing cycle for a computer)
• Acrostics/catchphrase(e.g. MJKHBIU-remember rainbow colors )
• Imagery- visualize the image of the information needed no.
• Organizational strategies.Tasks such as listing,ordering,grouping,outlining,mapping,charting and diagramming are all examples of organizational strategies.
• Comprehension monitoring strategies (e.g. take self-test, group discussion) 

CONCENTRATION

Focusing your attention on what you are doing

CAUSES OF POOR CONCENTRATION 

⇥Lack of attention.

⇥Lack of interest.

⇥Lack of motivation.

⇥Distraction from others.

⇥Uncomfortable environment.

⇥Physiological matters-illness, tiredness.

⇥Physiological matters-personal problems,worries,anxieties.

It is a comprehension strategy that facilities students think about the text they are reading while they are reading.