Students who cram too much information into their brains at one time will not retain all the information, the director of the Student Methodist Center said Tuesday.
Director David Semrad and student intern Phil Ulis, international business freshman, led a discussion on memory skills, the third session of a five-week study, "Where There's a Will - There's an A."
They presented 20 memory techniques categorized into four sections: organize it, use your body, use your brain and recall it.
In "organize it," Ulis said students must get the general idea of what they are working on before getting involved in details.
Students need to make their work meaningful and create associations with ideas already in their brain with the new information they are trying to learn.
"Get into your learning," Semrad said. "Active learning means 90 percent retention. The classes that have labs are helping their students because they are active."
Semrad discussed the first technique in the "use your body" section. Other techniques were to relax, create pictures, to recite and repeat out loud and to write down information.
"Overlearn your topic," Ulis said. "Go above and beyond. If you forget some of the information you've learned, then you can compensate with what else you've learned."
In "use your brain" techniques, Ulis said students must reduce interference by studying in a quiet space in two- or three-hour periods. Another tip Ulis gave is to study during daylight when one can see more clearly and be more awake.
Also, students should combine memory techniques, have a positive attitude toward classes and avoid the short-term memory trap by going over information quickly after receiving it.
"It's important to have a healthy information diet." Semrad examined "recall it" techniques in which students need to notice when they remember details and use information before they lose it.
The next session, "Test-Taking Strategies," will be at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday.
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