Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
1
Revision and Memory Skills
Memory for Learning Revision and Memory Skills
2
Memory test 30 seconds to look at the words 30 seconds to write the words down IN ORDER 30 seconds to check your answers
3
Nothing Date Band Punch Gas Beard Object Jacket Secret Edge
4
How did you memorise these?
Was it the best way?
5
Now let me give you a different memory experience….
6
Feet Knees Thighs Bottom Belly Chest Shoulders Neck Mouth Eyes
Johnson Nixon Ford Carter Reagan Bush Sr. Bill Clinton Bush Jr. Obama Donald Trump
7
Why do we need to learn how to revise?
Consider where you want to be next year…….or in 5 years’ time Exams matter – maybe not now but perhaps in the future By getting better at the skill of revising you can get better at another skill and you find out about yourself and what you can do
8
Working memory Attention Long term memory Encoding Consolidation
EFFORT EFFORT
9
lack of retrieval practice
Encoding Consolidation Attention Working memory Long term memory EFFORT EFFORT Distractions Too much Information/ No Consolidation lack of retrieval practice
10
How your memory works Every time you meet something new your brain makes a new connection between neurons (chemical and electrical signals) Your memory is a set of neurons that are grouped together and send signals together
12
How your memory works If you process that information again it recreates the signal pattern. If you keep processing this information, the signal becomes stronger and faster The memory/knowledge eventually becomes automatic – you don’t have to really think about it – useful in an exam!
13
If you leave that information from a lesson just there in that lesson?
15
If you reinforce that memory by processing it again and again?
18
Cells that fire together wire together BUT…..
You have to fire those neurons…….. be active (not passive) be effortful …….use it or lose it!
19
Use it or lose it! Memory is the residue of thought
Learning has to be effortful for it to become effortless Memory is the residue of thought
20
Take a couple of minutes to write down any key points
Pause and Check in Take a couple of minutes to write down any key points
21
Working memory Attention Long term memory Encoding Consolidation
EFFORT EFFORT
22
Memory starts with Attention
You have to pay attention and eliminate distractions Eliminating distractions reduces the demands on your working memory, so that you learn more effectively Draw a 20p piece
24
Why is it difficult? You don’t pay attention to it because it is not important Your lesson material is important!! How does this link to revision and learning? Pay attention! Limit distractions or the information won’t go in!
25
What distracts you?
26
NO PHONE! You remember 20% less if you revise with your phone near you…..even if it’s off!! Put it in another room Information can’t get into your wm because you can’t pay attention Even if the phone is off it reminds you of FOMO It also uses up some of your WM so you can’t hold and manipulate enough information
27
“But I revise well listening to music”…. No you don’t Stop it
NO MUSIC! “But I revise well listening to music”…. No you don’t Stop it You think you do…….. If its easy its not working!!
28
Students who revise in quiet environments performed over 60% better than peers who revise listening to music that has lyrics They did 55% better than those who revised with no lyrics Check out inner drive
29
Context and state dependent forgetting
31
Recreate the exam You sit the exam in silence, no music and no phone
You have to revise in silence, with no music and no phone Create the same conditions as the exam or your memory will not work as well and you will be unable to recall your knowledge in as much detail State and context dependent forgetting Chewing gum No drinking and revising
32
How long should you revise for?
If you just sit down to revise, without a definite finishing time, your learning efficiency falls lower and lower, like this:
33
How long should you work for?
If you decide at the beginning of a study session, how long you will work for, with a clock, then as your brain knows the end is coming, the graph rises towards the end
34
How can you improve this even more?
If you break up a 2-hour session, into 4 shorter sessions, each of about 25-minutes, with a short planned break between them, then it is even better. Compare the next 2 graphs:
35
One solid session 4 shorter sessions The yellow area shows the improvement.
36
For example, Suppose you start work at 6 pm.
You should decide, looking at your clock or watch, to stop at 6.25 pm --and no later. Then at 6.25 pm have a break for 5-10 minutes. When you start again, look at the clock and decide to work until 7 pm exactly, and then have another break. This way, you are working more efficiently.
37
Also You can only really concentrate for about 20-30 mins
Take a 5 minutes break after this time
38
The Pomodoro technique
39
Take a couple of minutes to write down any key points
Pause and Check in Take a couple of minutes to write down any key points
40
What works and what doesn’t? And Why?
So how should I revise? What works and what doesn’t? And Why?
41
STEER your knowledge So how should you learn? S – Space T – Transform
E – Elaborate E – Examine R – Retrieve
42
Spaced practice/Distributed practice
Space Your Knowledge Spaced practice/Distributed practice
43
Spaced practice means allowing time to elapse between learning to make the practice more difficult, producing stronger learning and memory Remember effort = learning!
45
How does it work? Revising for eight hours in one day is not as effective as doing one hour of revision for eight days. The time in between allows you to forget and re-learn the information, which cements it in your long-term memory. In some studies, using spacing instead of cramming has resulted in a 10% to 30% difference in final test results
46
BUT….Cramming feels good!
You finish the study session, thinking “I know this” The problem is that although you’re currently holding it all in mind, the memories are more fragile Spacing your practice out doesn’t feel as satisfying, but it results in memories that are more likely to be useful when exam day comes around.
47
What should I do? Revise continually. Little and often 1-2 hours a day
This may seem strange at first, if you are used to cramming right before an exam; but it’s just a new habit that you will get used to if you persevere.
48
What makes Spaced Practice even better?
Interleaving two or more subjects during practice - switch between topics, don’t do the same topic for hours. Vary your practice – don’t have all the same type of questions, vary them Both of these techniques help your to apply your knowledge more easily in the exam You are more resilient to changes in questions and style They help build deeper and more durable learning.
49
Change your knowledge in some way, engage with it, effort = learning
Transform Change your knowledge in some way, engage with it, effort = learning
50
Do something with it Just looking at your notes won't help you learn them. Instead, you need to reorganise and recode the information in some way This approach, called "depth of processing", is the way to ensure material gets lodged in your memory.
51
Transform your knowledge
Try to come up with different ways to represent the information visually, for example an infographic, a timeline, a cartoon strip, or a diagram of parts that work together A story…….who can remember the Presidents? Do the picture test now
52
I'm going to show you an image for one second…..
54
Who could write a sentence about this?
Who could tell me something about the emotion in that picture? Who could tell me something about the colour? ………..A picture tells a thousand words
55
Let’s try it…..
56
Elaborative interrogation, add detail to your knowledge
Elaborate Elaborative interrogation, add detail to your knowledge
57
Elaborative Rehearsal and Interrogation
Elaborative Rehearsal is when you associate new material with material already learned or with other new learning e.g. using concept maps to link information together. Elaborative Interrogation involves asking yourself questions about why and how things work. Questions might include: “why does x happen?”, “How does y happen?”, “What are the similarities and differences between x and y?” As you ask yourself questions, find the answers in your class materials. Doing so will help you to make connections among topics, and help you to see whether you truly understand the ideas you’re trying to learn.
58
How does it work? It’s about forming connections in your brain that actually matter to you and between old and new information The more connections, the more likely you will remember and be able to retrieve the information in the exam.
59
Exam Practice
60
Why do this? The real exam cannot be the first time you see exam questions or practice retrieving your knowledge for them You need to know what you know and what you don’t know BEFORE the exam
61
Why do this? Practice involves mental manipulation of your knowledge, a deep process activating many areas of the brain The more you practise something, the more likely that it will become automatic. Once things are automatic, they take up less space in your working memory, meaning you can do it on autopilot (like brushing your teeth - you’ve done it so many times you don’t require much conscious effort to do it).
62
You can also….. Make up exam questions for each of the exam command words Write markschemes for your questions, highlighting the assessment objectives you are testing (AO1, AO2 and AO3) Test each other Challenge each other to answer the hardest question you can Daniel Willingham says, “practice makes perfect: but only if you practice beyond the point of perfection” To prevent forgetting you need to learn even after you know the material - a good rule of thumb is to put in another 20% of the time it took to master the material Practice until you never get it wrong
63
Read examiners reports
Every year the exam boards make public a document that is written by the people who are going to mark your papers And in it, they tell you what they like to read They also give you examples of what not to do
64
Retrieval Practice/Low stakes Quizzing/The Testing Effect
Retrieve Retrieval Practice/Low stakes Quizzing/The Testing Effect
65
Think Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? How confident are you?
Name them to the person sat next you Were you accurate in your confidence?
66
Think Do you know the names of the 5 Oceans of the world 7 Dwarfs
Harry Potter books The last 5 UK Prime Ministers Last 10 US Presidents
67
Think What is your favourite song? Do you know all of the words?
How confident are you? Can you tell me them all now from start to finish? Without singing?
68
Just because something is familiar it doesn’t mean you know it in detail
69
Don’t practice recognition - practice retrieval
We mistake our ability to recognise something for an ability to recall it Recognition and recall are different psychological processes. Recognition is a much easier task But in your exam you don’t get marks for things being familiar, you get marks for recalling relevant information and using it to answer the question Rereading and highlighting create “illusions of knowing” You believe you know it (and that it will be easy to remember for the test/exam etc) You feel you’ve mastered the material when you haven’t It is just familiar – your brain does not process it as it has just seen it…………no processing = no LTM storage All you’ve done is move it around your WM which means you end up forgetting most of it. It is rewarding for your brain to feel comfortable and familiar……..but this does not = memory NB. sometimes rote rehearsal does work………times tables etc. BUT you cannot rote learn KS5 content. There is too much and you need to know more than just surface knowledge, you need to understand it and apply it in a range of contexts. What worked at GCSE will not work as well now!
70
The Problem with some revision techniques
Rereading and highlighting create “illusions of knowing” You believe you know it (and that it will be easy to remember for the test/exam etc) But, it is just familiar – your brain does not process it …………no processing = no LTM storage It is rewarding for your brain to feel comfortable and familiar……..but this does not mean it is a memory NB. sometimes rote rehearsal does work………times tables etc. BUT you cannot rote learn KS5 content. There is too much and you need to know more than just surface knowledge, you need to understand it and apply it in a range of contexts. What worked at GCSE will not work as well now!
71
Overcome the “Illusion of Knowledge”
The best way to overcome our illusion of knowledge is testing or “retrieval practice” When you test yourself, you find out whether you can actually recall what you’ve learnt or not. Research shows that retrieval practice is highly effective in making learning deeper and more durable.
72
How does it work in the Brain?
When the brain is retrieving information it’s working harder than when it just sees the information again. That extra effort increases storage and retrieval strength. When we successfully retrieve a fact, we re-store it in memory in a different way as it becomes linked to the other facts we’ve retrieved, making us even more likely to retain it.
73
Why is Retrieval Practice so good?
Testing both strengthens learning and shows where improvement is needed It aids later retention It identifies gaps in knowledge It produces better organisation of knowledge It improves transfer of knowledge to new contexts It prevents interference from prior material when learning new material
74
How do I do it? Write from memory…….and then check
Test yourself frequently – MCQ, SAQ, Essays…….from memory Look, Cover, Write, Check – do this with your flashcards Create mindmaps from memory – use your notes to check and fill in gaps afterwards Create tests with answers from memory – use your notes to check afterwards
75
How do I do it? After practicing retrieval, it is best to then check your book and notes from class to make sure you correctly and completely retrieved the information. This process corrects any misunderstandings, and gives you feedback about what you know and what you don’t know. Then, a bit later on, practice retrieving the same information again, and watch it get easier!
76
An added bonus…. Exams can often be stressful for students, and stress can impair memory. A recent study found that participants who learned by re-reading demonstrated typical stress-related memory impairment However, those who learned by retrieval were immune to these effects of stress. So, not only does testing yourself improve your memory, the effect is magnified during times of anxiety.
78
What else works?
79
Nine Swap Cell Ring Lust Plugs Lamp Apple Table Sway Army Bank Fire
2 minutes to remember… Nine Swap Cell Ring Lust Plugs Lamp Apple Table Sway Army Bank Fire Hold Worm Clock Horse Colour Baby Sword Desk Find Bird Rock
81
Nine Swap Cell Ring Lust Plugs Lamp Apple Table Sway Army Bank Fire Hold Worm Clock Horse Colour Baby Sword Desk Find Bird Rock
82
Chunking Your STM has a limited capacity
Increase it by grouping things together
83
Horse Cat Dog Fish Bird Orange Yellow Blue Green Black Table Chair
Desk Bookcase Bed Teacher School Student Homework Class Apple Banana Kiwi Grape Mango This is called clustering
85
Horse Cat Dog Fish Bird Orange Yellow Blue Green Black Table Chair
Desk Bookcase Bed Teacher School Student Homework Class Apple Banana Kiwi Grape Mango This is called clustering
86
What else works? Teaching the material to someone else
This forces you to think about the material in a clear and structured way
87
What else works? Speak it out loud
This is an effective strategy to improve recall, more so than just repeating the content in your own head. Research has found that it can improve recall by 12%
88
What else works? One of Daniel Willingham’s other tips for improving memory is to encourage students to read more books and magazines. As he explains, ‘the more you know, the easier it will be for you to learn new things’.
89
What else works? Sleep plays an important role in memory.
Whilst sleeping, new connections form between your brain cells, which aid memory and learning. This not only means that sleep increases how well we can recall information, but also how well we make links between new and old information.
90
What else works? Ensure that you are drinking enough water.
Not being fully hydrated can have a significant impact on your mood, memory and concentration.
91
What else works? Eat Breakfast – Over 60% of teenage boys and 70% of teenage girls regularly skip breakfast. Eating breakfast, especially cereals rich with complex carbohydrates, helps boost your concentration and memory over the course of the morning.
92
Thank You!!
Similar presentations
