How to Remember What You Learn

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Introduction[edit | edit source]

Memorisation is a process that involves cognition and it occurs in the human brain. To complete the process of memorisation, the information that needs to be memorised must be repeated periodically.[1] To capture student's interest, a massive amount of information and engaging materials are now available for their studies. [2] Yet students often complain about challenges of studying when they have to memorise, learn and master all of the information presented in the class. It is never ending and arbitrary stream of facts and students have to decide which ones to retain in memory. [3] The teachers' assumption is that students know how to learn. In reality students practice ineffective learning and study technique.[2] They trust a specific study condition, which often does not offer an expected outcome.[2]

The use of internet technology and social media has changed how people receive, retain, and share information.[4] Searching for information in the internet may lead to offloading memory and forgetting. On the other hand, retrieving information from memory, even when unsuccessful, can help to strengthen memory and enhance learning of new information. [4]

This article offers a toolkit that can be utilised when students accomplish a task of remembering. It may help to prevent students' drowning in the material they need to learn and memorise.

Memory[edit | edit source]

Memory is the capacity to store and retrieve information. [5]

Broadbent Filtering Model[edit | edit source]

Broadbent Model of Attention is based on theory that humans cannot consciously attend to all of the sensory input at the same time.[6] Individuals can only process a limited amount of sensory information at any given time so only a fraction of the information they are exposed to makes it their conscious experience of the world. Human brain has ability to filter out most of the incoming sensory information. This is called selective attention, or the ability to focus on the task at hand.

Effective Learning Rule # 1 : selective attention. Set up your environment to pay attention to the information that matters.

Memory Storing[edit | edit source]

Memory storing occurs in two steps:

  • Step # 1: Holding information in the working memory (short-term memory)
  • Step #2:

Short-Term Memory[edit | edit source]

Short-term memory (STM) is the working memory that enables to store information for short periods of time, holding it for later processing. STM stores about four to seven pieces of information known as chunks. Chunking is a grouping of small chunks into larger chunks. This is a form of information compression to make it more memorable and to increase the capacity of working memory.


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References[edit | edit source]

  1. Kiswardhani AM, Ayu M. Memorization Strategy During Learning Process: Students' Review. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning. 2021 Dec 31;2(2):68-73.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 McGuire SY. Teach yourself how to learn: Strategies you can use to ace any course at any level. Taylor & Francis; 2023 Jul 3.
  3. Bhattacharjee R, Mahajan G. Learning what to remember. Proceedings of The 33rd International Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory in Proceedings of Machine Learning Research 2022; 167:70-89.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Wang Q. Memory online: introduction to the special issue. Memory 2022; 30(4): 369-374.
  5. Zlotnik G, Vansintjan A. Memory: An Extended Definition. Front Psychol. 2019 Nov 7;10:2523.
  6. Mcleod S.Theories Of Selective Attention In Psychology. Available from https://www.simplypsychology.org/attention-models.html [last access 7.10.23]