Between the Z
An uncountable number of possibilities.
The Brain
We don't know everything about how the brain works. It's mysterious and the continual research hasn't uncovered all there is to understand. What we do know is that brain is able to hold a vast amount of information whether you are aware of it or not. The brain is able to adapt, make decisions, etc. in the matter of moments. According to Benedict Carey, author of How We Learn - The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It happens, the brain is "...a cauldron of activity. It's churning like a kicked beehive...The brain interprets scenes in the instants after they happen, inserting judgments, meaning, and context on the fly. It also reconstructs them later on...scrutinizing the original footage to see how and where it fits into the larger movie. It's a story of life--our own private documentary...".* There is always something occurring with the brain.
As your teacher--and as students--let's focus on how and when learning occurs. Use this page to learn about and apply different strategies that will aid you in understanding how your brain acquires, stores, and uses information and also to reach success in your academics. "Remember, the director of this documentary is not some film school graduate, or a Hollywood prince with an entourage. It's You".*
Learning & You
Remember these numbers: 3, 3, 1, 1, 5, 9, 6, 5, 7, 1, 1, 2, 1, 0, 1, 8, 1, 5.
What if we gave the numbers meaning--the first set of five numbers represent a birth date, the next three are another birthdate, and the last eight, yet another birthdate--and chunked them? March 31, 1596; 571 BC; December 10, 1815, Descartes, Pythagoras, Ada Lovelace, respectively. Giving meaning to what was a random list of numbers makes them more likely to be remembered!
Strategy #1: Make Learning Meaningful.
Learning should be a rich, memorable experience! "That the brain can find [a memory] and bring it to life so fast--instantaneously, for most of use..complete with emotion, and layers of detail--defies easy explanation."* Remember, your brain has two halves, or hemispheres, the left and the right. "The left hemisphere [is] the intellecutal...the right side [is] the artist, the visual-spatial expert. The two work together, like copilots."*
How do we get this to happen? Do something different! The right side of the brain will remember the feel of an experience, the left side of the brain will recall the facts, put them together and operater as the "story maker".*
Define the purpose for your learning and set about applying it or finding a connection to a real world experience.
When studying:
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Vary the experience every time
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Visit the math museum.
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Watch tutorials.
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Work with a partner.
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Be the teacher.
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Connect to your real life.
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See me for more ideas!
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Tips to Enrich
Strategy #2: Practice What You Want to Remember.
Forgetting isn't necessarily a bad thing! "Think about it: To hold so many obscure [facts] in mind and keep the [important information] straight, the brain must apply a filter...the brain must supress--forget--competing information...and keep any distracting trivia from bubbling to the surface...We engage in this kind of focused forgetting all the time, without giving it much thought. To lock in a new computer password, for example, we must block the old one from coming to mind...When thoroughly immersed in a topic or novel or computation, it's natural to blank on even common nouns--'could you pass me the whatyoucallit, the thing you eat with?'"*
So we know that forgetting it can be helpful, but what about the information you don't want to forget? You guessed it! You have to use it (practice) or you will lose it (forget). The New Theory of Disuse states: "...that memories evaporate entirely from the brain over time if they're not used."* But don't worry! Memories don't disappear; "If [you] stored it, it's in there for good."* Storage strength is high. It just not easily retrievable or its "retrieval strength is low, near zero."*
Storage Strength
"Storage strength is just that, a measure of how well learned something is. It builds up steadily with studying, and more sharply with use...storage strength can increase but it never decreases."*
The brain is an amazing thing; it brings truth to the old addage: what is seen can never be unseen. What you experienced, is stored away for good; whether you can access the memory or not.
Tips to Increase Retrieval Strength
When studying:
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Use what you want to remember.
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Haven't factored a 3rd degree polynomial in a while, practice more often.
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Want to recall multiplication facts easily, practice more often.
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Struggling with proving the pythagorean theorem, practice more often.
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See me for more ideas!
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Retrieval Strength
"Retrieval strength, on the other hand, is a measure of how easily a nugget of information comes to mind. It, too, increases with studying, and with use. Without reinforcement, however, retrieval strength drops off quickly, and its capacity is relative small (compared to storage). At any given time, we can pull up only a limited number of items in connection with any given cue or reminder."*
This is why we practice, review, rehearse, go over.
Strategy #3: Set the Stage
Mood is important! Let's go back to remembering numbers: 9, 5, 2, 4, 4, 2, 9, 7, 8, 0.
Do something for 10 - 15 minutes and then try to recite the numbers. Were you successful? Chances are: not very.
What if we chunked the numbers? : 952-442-9780. What if I put the numbers to music so, instead or memorizing a list of digits, it was more like rehearsing the lyrics to a song? Perhaps, during that 10 - 15, you sing the song. What if the instrumentals to that music played in the background as you sang? How much more successful would you be? Chances are: VERY
What would be more impactuful for you: 1) A teacher who stood at the front of the room and lectured for 90 minutes or 2) A teacher who used a combination of lecture, visuals, hands-on activities, group discussion & practice and independent practice?
Tips for Setting the Stage
When studying:
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Create the environment
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Consistent lighting.
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Instrumental background music.
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Nature track (rain, waves, birds, etc).
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Use a scent diffuser.
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A certain time of day.
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Pre-determined length of time.
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Create a new set of notes*
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See me for more ideas!
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Research is favoring the idea "...that people remember more of what they studied when they return to that same study environment...Like the detective...features of the study location--the lighting, the wallpaper, the background music--provide the brain 'cues' to shake free more information...[called] reinstatement...recall is better if the environment of the original learning is reinstated."*
The scenery and setting are important. These "contextual clues"* assist in developing the brain's retrieval strength. "Having something going on in the study environment, like music, is better than nothing."* The experience alone has much more of an affect on retention than you may realize.* Past experiments have indicated that "a simple change in venue improved retrieval strength (memory) by 40 percent."*
When studying:
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Don't do it all at once.
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Set a schedule for interval studying.
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Don't cram the night before.
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Pick what topics to study on different days.
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Study for shorter lengths of time.
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See me for more ideas!
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Strategy #4: Break Up Study Time
Retention is key. Your test is tomorrow and you've waited until the last minute to study! It's time for an all night cram session! You stay up until the early hours of the morning packing in everything there is to know about rational and radical functions. After the test, you find out that you've earned a decent score and pat yourself on the back. Little did you know that the next assessment will contain review questions and for all the cramming you did, you cannot remember a single thing! That is the essence of cramming.
Cramming is highly effective but not in the least bit of lasting. "In terms of reliability...this nocturnal sprint is a little like overstuffing a cheap suitcase: the contents hold for a while, then everything falls out...It's like you never took the class."* It's like you never studied at all. How do we remedy this?
There is a "technique called distributed learning or, more commonly, the spacing effect."* Instead of attempting to memorize/understand everything all at once, take your time and study at different intervals before an assessment. "People learn at least as much, and retain it much longer, when they distribute--or 'space'--their study time than when they concentrate it...it is better to do a little today and a little tomorrow rather than everyting at once. Distributed learning...can double the amount we remember later on."*
Similar to weight lifting, do not work all muscle groups at once. Exercise different muscles daily, for the maximum effect. The added benefit: retrieval strength is developed. "You're not spending any more time. You're not working any harder. But you remember for longer."*
Tips for Spacing Out
Strategy #5: Study During the Test
The test is a study session! The test is now known as "retrieval practice"!
"The first thing to say about testing is this: Disasters happen."* You can follow all the strategies listed on this page, be very confident approaching the test, receive the document and your brain decides to take a vacation. Such is life! Don't stress--you've learned something about the type of assessments your dear teacher will administer. You've acquired some insight on what knowledge you need to have. After you request to reassess, you'll be even more prepared than before. You've studied and you don't even know it. How do you ensure this? Continue testing yourself!
"A curious peculiarity of our memory is that things are impressed better by active than by passive repetition." In other words: you'll remember something far more easily if "you read it ten times while attempting to recite it from time to time and consulting the text [only] when your memory fails."* Instead of spending your entire study session rereading and attempting memorization, "spend the first third of your time memorizing [the topic], and the remaining two thirds reciting [or practing] from memory...self-exam [has] a profound effect on final performance."* Testing, as a matter of fact, does a far better job of preparation that studying alone. "In short, testing does not = studying... testing > studying."*
Believe it or not, scholars, you want more assessments!
Tips for Testudying
When studying:
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Test yourself.
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Memorize what you can then try to recall without looking.
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Ask your teacher for additional practice.
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Create your own study flashcards.
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Ask your teacher for pre-tests.
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Use what you know from an experience with an assessment to guide your study session.
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See me for more ideas!
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*References
Carey, B. (2014). How We Learn - The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens. New York, NY: Random House.