Strategy to Retain Information when Studying
Strategy to Retain Information when Studying
By: Arlene Gentallan
Are you one of those students who repeatedly read your notes, believe you retained most of the details, then end up forgetting about what you've studied in a matter of days or weeks?
Don't just read
Research has shown that repeatedly reading notes does make students feel competent about their knowledge but when they're competency is put to the test, their memory retention isn't as competitive as those who recall what they've studied (Karpicke, J. 2012).
Take time to recall
Recalling is the process of retrieving or reconstructing the information in your mind which you have previously studied. To put it simply, it is consciously trying to remember the notes you've read or the lesson you've listed to. There are many ways you can recall an information such as answering quizzes, and mentally recalling or writing down what you remembered after reading.
Did you know that recalling information after you've studied them makes that information easier to remember in the future?
The more you recall an information, the more fortified the memory it forms.
To put this to the test, research by Karpicke, J. assigned students into three goups:
The first group read the lesson once but did not recall what they've studied.
The second group read the lessonm recalled as much as they could afterwards, and then briefly reread the lesson. The third group divided the lesson into four parts, in each part, they read and recall the lesson (a total of 4 study periods and 4 recall periods)
After a week, their knowledge retention was put to the test. They found out that the third group who repeatedly recalled what they read had 80% of the information retained. The second group who only recalled once had 34% memory retained, while the first group who only reads had only 15% memory retained.
Given the advantage of recalling information to facilitate long-term memory retention, only a small portion of people use it. Research has shown that out of 177 collegue student participants at Washington University in St. Louis, 84% preferred rereading their notes as a learning strategy, while only 11% practiced recalling what they've studied. (Karpicke, Butler, & Roediger, 2009)
Remember the old saying "What you don't use, you loose."
Resources:
Karpicke, J. (2012). Retrieval-Based Learning: Active Retrieval Promotes Meaningful Learning. Psychological Science, 21(3) 157–163. doi: 10.1177/0963721412443552.
Karpicke, J. & Phillip, G. (2012) Retrieval-Based Learning: A Perspective for Enhancing Meaningful Learning. Educational Psychology Review, 24:401–418. doi: 10.1007/s10648-012-9202-2
Karpicke, J., Butler, A., & Roediger, H. (2009). Metacognitive strategies in student learning: Do students practise retrieval when they study on their own? Memory, 17(4):471-9. doi: 10.1080/09658210802647009.
Roediger, H. & Karpicke, J. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Psychological Science, 17(3):249-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
By: Arlene Gentallan
 |
| Strategy to Retain Information when Studying |
Are you one of those students who repeatedly read your notes, believe you retained most of the details, then end up forgetting about what you've studied in a matter of days or weeks?
Don't just read
Research has shown that repeatedly reading notes does make students feel competent about their knowledge but when they're competency is put to the test, their memory retention isn't as competitive as those who recall what they've studied (Karpicke, J. 2012).
Take time to recall
Recalling is the process of retrieving or reconstructing the information in your mind which you have previously studied. To put it simply, it is consciously trying to remember the notes you've read or the lesson you've listed to. There are many ways you can recall an information such as answering quizzes, and mentally recalling or writing down what you remembered after reading.
Did you know that recalling information after you've studied them makes that information easier to remember in the future?
The more you recall an information, the more fortified the memory it forms.
To put this to the test, research by Karpicke, J. assigned students into three goups:
The first group read the lesson once but did not recall what they've studied.
The second group read the lessonm recalled as much as they could afterwards, and then briefly reread the lesson. The third group divided the lesson into four parts, in each part, they read and recall the lesson (a total of 4 study periods and 4 recall periods)
After a week, their knowledge retention was put to the test. They found out that the third group who repeatedly recalled what they read had 80% of the information retained. The second group who only recalled once had 34% memory retained, while the first group who only reads had only 15% memory retained.
Given the advantage of recalling information to facilitate long-term memory retention, only a small portion of people use it. Research has shown that out of 177 collegue student participants at Washington University in St. Louis, 84% preferred rereading their notes as a learning strategy, while only 11% practiced recalling what they've studied. (Karpicke, Butler, & Roediger, 2009)
Remember the old saying "What you don't use, you loose."
Resources:
Karpicke, J. (2012). Retrieval-Based Learning: Active Retrieval Promotes Meaningful Learning. Psychological Science, 21(3) 157–163. doi: 10.1177/0963721412443552.
Karpicke, J. & Phillip, G. (2012) Retrieval-Based Learning: A Perspective for Enhancing Meaningful Learning. Educational Psychology Review, 24:401–418. doi: 10.1007/s10648-012-9202-2
Karpicke, J., Butler, A., & Roediger, H. (2009). Metacognitive strategies in student learning: Do students practise retrieval when they study on their own? Memory, 17(4):471-9. doi: 10.1080/09658210802647009.
Roediger, H. & Karpicke, J. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Psychological Science, 17(3):249-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
