Amazing Memory Techniques

The end of the year means finals! Almost every student we know has big tests coming up. Here are some great study techniques to help your kiddos remember more and study less:

1. Learn from the general to the specific--start with the big picture and then fill in the details. Drawing pictures or creating flow charts can be very helpful!
2. Recite and Repeat--talking aloud while studying helps students remember material since they are utilizing two senses (touch and hearing).
3. Transfer material to long term memory--Have a short review within minutes or hours of a study session to reinforce concepts and materials just learned.
4. Remember something else--If your student is stuck on an idea, have her write down everything she knows related to the topic. It's likely the process will jog her memory!
5. Use daylight--Believe it or not, studying your most difficult subject while the sun is up helps improve the retention of new information!

Memory Terms...Explained

Phonological Memory
The ability to decode several sounds and temporarily store them to be able to effectively blend all those sounds together to read words. Phonological memory is an indicator of early reading success and can be improved through research based reading programs.

Short Term Memory aka Working Memory
The ability to store information that you need to remember and manipulate for brief periods of time (seconds, minutes, or hours). Through repetition and making meaningful connections, short term memory can translate into long term memory.

Long Term Memory (LTM)
The information that your brain retains for as little as a few days, or as long as a few decades. LTM is divided into explicit (facts you consciously learn like vocab words for a test), implicit (information you draw on automatically to perform tasks like driving a car) and semantic memory (automatic facts that don't require any effort to recall, like the days of the week).

Working Memory

A recent article in the Post about working memory and stress in children caught my attention. Working memory is essential for daily activities and for developing long term connections with subject matter. While researchers knew that stress caused physical and emotional deficits they were curious to find out how stress impacts cognitive abilities in children. The study showed that the longer children lived in poverty and stressful situations the lower they tended to score on working-memory tests. In fact, those who spent their entire childhood in poverty scored about 20 percent lower on working memory than those who were never poor. Read the entire article here.


Ways to Improve Working Memory
• Read more complicated and longer text that challenge you. Academic writings that you would find in journals are a great place to start. Though they may confuse and frustrate you at first, stick with them and keep reading until you gain a better understanding.
• Though it's often important to show your work on math assignments, try to perform as much mental math that you can. Even 3 digit addition - try it in your head!
Working memory games on the internet like Brain Connection, and Working Memory Challenge.