© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Chapter 3: Understanding How Learning and Memory Work College Reading and Study Skills (9th Edition) by Kathleen T. McWhorter

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Objective: In this chapter you will learn how memory works and you will become familiar with the principles that make learning easier. LEARNING PRINCIPLE: If you understand how a process works, you will be able to put it to use more easily.

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers The Retention Curve Your recall of learning information drops to below 50% within an hour and to about 30% within two days unless you use certain memory techniques. Check Figure 3.1 in your book to view the retention curve.

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers How People Learn and Remember ENCODING: You receive stimuli, which are transmitted to your brain for very brief sensory storage and interpretation. SENSORY STORAGE: Data is kept here for less than a few seconds and either fades or is replaced. Your job is to send it to your short-term memory. See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers How People Learn and Remember SHORT-TERM MEMORY: Data here lasts for less than a minute unless you practice or rehearse the information to get it into long-term memory. NUMBER SEVEN THEORY: Short-term memory stores from five to nine bits of information at a time. See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers How People Learn and Remember LONG-TERM MEMORY STORAGE STRATEGIES: Rote Learning—Knowledge Level Elaborative Rehearsal—Comprehension and Application Levels Recoding—Analysis and Synthesis Levels See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers How People Learn and Remember LONG-TERM MEMORY Unlimited in span (length) and capacity (size). Once information is in long-term memory, you recall it through a retrieval process. See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Strategies for Improving Encoding Exclude Competing Stimuli Use Various Sensory Modes Carefully and Specifically Define Your Purpose Use Prereading

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Strategies for Improving Storage Use Immediate Review Use Periodic Review Use Mnemonic Devices Use Numerous Sensory Channels Organize Information into Groups or Chunks Use Elaboration Connect New Learning with Previous Learning

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Strategies for Improving Retrieval Use Visualization Develop Retrieval Clues Simulate Rehearsal Tasks Overlearn Use Context

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Summary Questions What is forgetting and how does it occur? How do we learn and remember? What can be done to improve encoding, storage, and retrieval?

© 2004 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers Take a Reading Road Trip! Take a trip to MOUNT RUSHMORE and visit the Memorization and Concentration module on your CD-ROM.