January 13, 2022
Techniques for memorization play a significant factor in the forgetting process.
The best practices help keep the most information, and the worst let information easily slip away.
Understanding the information in the first place is extremely important for retaining information, according to an article by Daniel Willingham, a professor at the University of Virginia. There is not much to remember if not much is known in the first place. Many students have their own techniques for memorizing and retaining information, and various methods help different students.
“In terms of memorization, I create flashcards, Quizlets, I talk to my friends, I talk to my teachers about studying, and I find a website or something that would explain it pretty well,” Gupta said.
A 1991 study by Harry Bahrick and Lynda Hall shows that repeating a concept or a procedure thousands of times can commit it to someone’s long-term memory far after the person learns it. With no review, students who took college math courses practiced so much algebra that they barely forgot what they learned for half a century. So, one time-consuming but effective technique for memorizing information is practicing or recalling a fact thousands of times.
“For me, I don’t use techniques like the Pomodoro technique. I try to study for understanding, not memorization,” said sophomore Pranav Kamat.
The Pomodoro technique is a study method that breaks up studying into 25 minutes of study and five-minute breaks. The process is repeated until studying is completed.
It is not always practical, even with thousands of repetitions of the same concept. Information can still be forgotten and slipped away from memory. Chu said that she has to relearn things from the course that she teaches.
“I have not memorized [my curriculum]. I always have to go back and relook at it,” Chu said.
