The Memory Process (Segment of the Learning and Memory)

 

Learning outcomes for courses often require students to apply themselves beyond what's covered in lecture. The instructor may not be able to cover all the material during the lecture, and thus the students must delve into the text for supplementary information. Memory and its use in studying is key to student success. We believe that understanding the memory process will entice you to develop stronger study habits that will help you learn material consistently throughout the term.

Types of memory

We will look at three types of memory:

·         Sensory memory

·         Short-term or working memory

·         Long-term memory

Sensory memory holds information in sensory form for a few seconds. To then move the information in two short-term memory we must give it attention. If we don't, the information is lost. Attention is about focusing. With more information in the environment and in your textbook than you can process at one time, it is your responsibility to make choices about what to focus on. Limiting distractions and controlling the study environment is crucial to this process. While you may think that watching TV as you're reading for class will help you study, your brain is actually being forced to shift attention from the TV to the book. Multitasking is but a myth. Research shows that when you try to perform two tasks at the same time performance on one is detrimental to performance on the second. You wouldn't want your reading and understanding of the material to suffer because your attention was dedicated to the TV, and likewise, by trying to divide your attention between your favorite TV show and your school work, it's inevitable that you'll miss sections of the storyline.

Working memory is only useful when you're actively thinking about the material. In order to use that information later, you will need to transfer it to your long-term memory. In order to encode information and move it from the working memory to the long-term memory, we need to rehearse it.

Long-term memory helps store information for extended periods of time. But when we don't rehearse it, the information gets lost to memory decay. Try to encode information in a variety of ways. Encoding in a variety of ways means you're moving beyond rote memorization and diversifying your study activities. Some students choose to study based on already established learning styles, but we encourage you to go further. Though you may prefer a specific study method, you may find out that you're more effective if you approach your studies in different ways. Reading helps you learn about new ideas, and flashcards can quiz your memorization, but studying can incorporate more than these two activities. Try talking aloud, writing, drawing a diagram, quizzing yourself, and working in study groups. When you add this variety to your studying, you'll encode information in more ways, and you'll have more pathways by which to retrieve the information. Diversifying the encoding process is essential to retrieval, which is the process of actually remembering information when you want to. As mentioned earlier, the more ways you are able to encode information, the more ways you can retrieve information. So, when you're taking a test, for example, and need to retrieve something for the multiple-choice question or essay question, you can, because you've diversified your encoding process and also rehearsed the material.

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