Memory seems to have an intricate relationship with studying in many different ways. In order to show a fine performance on an exam, a student needs to be armed with high comprehension skills, but that alone seems not enough to reach grades the student desires. Students, however, are required to consistently take in new information regarding different areas of learning. And they are expected to demonstrate the mastery of the knowledge. Using memory-enhancing techniques, thus, could be quite important for success in school.
But many students, especially those having poor short-term/long-term memory, seem to struggle with memory problems since there is so much to learn and memorize. They are expected to remember new information learned in class, from books and through discussions among peers.
One of the courses I am currently taking is PSYC 306, in which I learn about behavioural neuroscience and evolution of social systems and human behavior. I am expected to learn not only a wide range of terms, but also to understand how the evolution of human behavior has occurred. This is certainly not an easy task, but there are several strategies that I can use to improve my memory and ultimately doing well on tests.
Spaced practice or learning, which is commonly referred as spaced repetition, is a strategy that involves learning over multiple shorter sessions. Spaced repetition mitigates the effects of the forgetting curve, which states that 90 percent of knowledge is forgotten within 3 days. Spaced learning has been shown to be effective due to the fact that it is more advantageous for the brain to form synaptic structure and connections involving new information before it turns into long term memory if it is given more time. According to the research by Karpicke JD and Blunt JR (2011) has shown that there is a limit to how long one can maintain one’s focus. When one is overwhelmed by the amount of new information to be learned, this may lead to decrease in the degree concentration and attention, ultimately resulting in poorer recollection of the material in future. Further to this, for memory to be consolidated, there has to be some periods between studying sessions. Deep sleep especially plays an essential role in memory consolidation – having a brief review of the material, for example using flashcards, prior to the break and trying to recall it after the break will further enhance the consolidation process. Cramming, which is trying to learn and demonstrate what has been learned over the course of only one study session, is thus a very poor way to retain information although it may be useful to do okay on an exam. But if studying is planned ahead and done through multiple shorter sessions, a much better performance will be highly likely.
Within a day after studying new information, I will review the notes that I took while studying. After reviewing the notes, I will attempt to recall the main points without the help of the notes. The following day, I will try to recall most of the information without the help of the notes, and use flash cards to test myself of the material.
In one study by Kornell (2009), a group of college students were given 20 vocabulary flashcards to memorize. Each word could be studied 4 times, but the participants were divided into 2 different conditions. Half of the participants were asked to study the words in one big stack while the other half were asked to study the words in four smaller stacks of 5 cards each. Since the group that was given one big stack had a longer period of spacing time between each time a word was studied, they showed better performance on the memory test than the other group, 49% as compared with 36%.
Chewing gum is another strategy that can be used to improve memory although there seems to be no relation between the action and memory improvement. An interesting discovery seen in some studies is the fact that the act of chewing leads to increase in heart rate. A study by has found that chewing gum raises the heart beat by approximately 3 BPM – increasing overall blood flow in cerebral area. Increase in heart beat means that person can stay alerted and active, making the brain function more actively and helping people to strengthen the degree of concentration. The action of chewing also makes the brain to expect food, resulting in salivation. The degree of salivation seems to be associated with the release of insulin receptors in the hippocampus, strengthening the ability to retrieve memory into consciousness. Another interesting finding is that chewing gum reduces the release of cortisol, a type of stress hormone that is known to negatively affect the prefrontal area which is involved with memory recall.
I, therefore, will probably chew gums while studying but not the entire time. Excessive chewing could possibly make me to consume the energy that should be used to make the brain to maintain active. And I will chew again at the time when the memory needs to be recalled, probably a little before an exam or at the beginning. Chewing could resemble the environment in which I took in information, helping it to be retrieved more easily at the time in need
According to a study by Smith (1969), conducted a study in which one third of participants chewed gum, while the other half of participants did not make any motion of chewing as a control group. The memory recall performance of the participants who chewed gum was better by the difference of 35%, especially in delayed word recall tests.