- Make a commitment to remember: You must be motivated to succeed and have an intention to remember or else learning can’t take place.
- Organize the information you want to learn: When taking notes you can cluster information in meaningful groups or categorize items by importance. Don’t rely on remembering information you’ve heard if you don’t write it down.
- Recite information aloud to help transfer from short-term to long-term memory: Recitation works because it actively involves not only your mind, but also your body as it strengthens the neural trace in your brain.
- Create mnemonic devices to remember information: This is a memory aid when you assign words, phrases, and/or rhymes to remember difficult principles or facts. This is how elementary children remember the names of the five great lakes (HOMES=Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior). Mnemonics serve us for the rest of our lives when we want to recall information such as how many days there are in a month.
- Visualize what you want to remember by creating a story or situation around it: Using familiar stories or situations allows you to remember things better.
