Memorization is a form of learning to get through a mountain of information. A correct approach is required for this. These methods are not complicated, but still require some small steps. This not only allows you to memorize faster, but also retain content in your memory for the long term.
Many people still find it difficult to memorize. They are frustrated and sit in front of their documents for hours. That's why we've collected the best methods and tips for you, with which you can memorize learning content quickly and effectively.
the essentials in brief
- Tricks used in memorization can actually train memory. A good memory is also an important prerequisite for education in order to store learning content in long-term memory and to be able to call it up when needed.
- When memorizing, it is important that you create the optimal learning environment for you to learn in a targeted and concentrated manner. For some it's a quiet café, for others it's their own room and for some it's the university library.
- Which learning method is used for memorizing, everyone has to decide for themselves individually and depends on the learner type.
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Background: What you should know about memorization
Memorizing never stops. In addition to school and university, you also have to remember things at work or in everyday life. Certain tricks can help you retain information. We explain what you should know about memorization.
Fresh air, regular breaks and sport help to clear your head so that you can learn by heart in a relaxed manner. (Image Source: Jared Rice / Unsplash)
Does it make sense to memorize?
As a pupil, student or even in working life, you cannot avoid memorizing. What you have learned should not only be available for the next exam, but also be understood in the long term.
Nevertheless, many are seduced by learning bulimia and immediately forget the content. We have summarized the advantages and disadvantages of learning by heart in a table.
It is therefore of great relevance to create the right conditions in order to memorize content effectively and sustainably. In particular, you should make sure that you allow enough time, choose methods that suit you and choose an environment that is comfortable for you.
What type of learner am I?
There are different types of learning and correspondingly different types of learners. Some are good at remembering content when they read it. Others, on the other hand, when they listen to someone present or when they write down the content. For some, it helps to exchange ideas about the subject matter with fellow learners.
We would like to introduce these learning types to you below:
The auditory type of learner
In this type of learning, verbal explanations are followed and processed. The person learns best when they hear the subject matter from others or when the subject matter is read aloud themselves. Noises in the environment are disadvantageous for auditory learners. Instead, this type needs quiet time to verbally repeat and reproduce the content.
The visual learner
This type of learner finds it easy to remember content when it is illustrated visually. Pictures, graphics and illustrations help him to better understand and remember content (1). The pictures are supported by written documents. He remembers well what he read and saw. A clean visual structure and order are essential for this type of learner.
The communicative learner type
For the communicative learner type, dealing with the content in language is of great relevance for understanding. It is important that the learner can take the position of both the questioner and the explainer. It is helpful to work in study groups and to have discussions. In this way, the learning content is quickly understood and internalized.
The motor learner type
It is important for the motor learner type to be involved in the process through "learning by doing" and thus to gain experience. It is therefore of great importance to absorb information through movement, action and feeling and then to understand and retain it. Working in groups, movements and imitating experiments and action processes are suitable for learning.
The more senses are involved in the learning process, the higher the memory rate.
There are different types of learners, but you should be aware that you don't learn with just one sense. Regardless of which learning method you prefer, you should include as many senses as possible in your learning process.
What is the best environment for memorization?
Which environment suits you best depends on the person and their preferences. While one person prefers the busy university canteen, another prefers the quiet garden or even the quiet and tidy bedroom.
Whether the best place to memorize is in a quiet café or outside in the garden depends on your personal experience and preferences. (Image Source: Zui Hoang / Unsplash)
That's why we recommend that you try out which places you can focus on best. Remember that you are fully focused on the learning content and have no other documents around you.
How do I get rid of a blockage?
Many have experienced this nightmare before. Especially when you are supposed to be preparing for an exam, a learning block occurs and makes learning impossible.
These tips should help you to overcome this learning block so that you can concentrate on memorizing undisturbed and focused.
- Identification of causes: Find out why you have this blockage. It has been scientifically proven that writing down negative thoughts improves your performance on exams (2). So write down your negative thoughts and rephrase them into positive and motivating sentences. Repeat the phrases out loud and place the pieces of paper in the present place to become aware of your potential.
- Use of different learning methods and information: We humans are sensual beings and should appeal to them. Therefore, you should use different learning methods and information to appeal to your senses. This not only brings variety and creativity to your learning process, but also makes it easier to remember content.
- Creating order and calm: Meditation exercises are recommended. These not only contribute to relaxation, but also improve memory, concentration and comprehension (3). Also free your place of study from any ballast. Only provide the necessary documents that you need for studying. Also, always provide fresh air and a generally clean and tidy environment.
- Exercise: Use your breaks to exercise a little. This supplies your lungs with oxygen and gets your circulation and mind going. A study states that sport, such as yoga (4), is not only good for our body, but also contributes to better memory performance (5). Exercise makes the brain more efficient as fewer resources are needed to retrieve information (6)
- Regular breaks: Plan regular breaks and always make sure that you get enough sleep, as you will consolidate what you have learned during this phase (7). During your breaks, you can continue to keep your brain fit by solving tricky tasks (8). Multitasking training with video games can also improve working or long-term memory (9).
- Set realistic goals: Set daily goals and reward yourself at the end of the day for achieving your goals.
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Which methods are particularly suitable for my elementary school child?
Even at primary school age, children are confronted with learning by heart. We have summarized 3 helpful tricks for you that can support you and your child in memorizing.
- Image-text trick: This trick works particularly well with poems and vocabulary. For this purpose, your child draws a picture that fits the learning material. In a poem, the text passages can be divided into several images. Let your child's imagination run wild.
- Repetition: This trick is helpful for children who belong to the visual and communicative learner types. Words or entire poems are written down and read out several times
- Vocabulary boxes: On index cards, write down the vocabulary on the front and the translation on the back. Keep all cards in the first compartment whose cards need to be repeated. If a word fits, it goes into the second compartment. If your child doesn't know a word, it goes back into the first subject.
So you have the opportunity to choose between many methods that best suit your child. Of course, you can also use several methods with your child to stimulate other senses at the same time, which means that your child can memorize content and information even more and more easily.
What tricks are there for memorizing numbers?
We would like to introduce you to a trick that should help you to remember numbers better. This is the number-symbol system, which belongs to the mnemonics. With this technique, numbers are replaced by symbols or images.
These images will help put the numbers to remember in a specific order. In doing so, one uses symbols whose form is related to the number. It is important that you can remember the picture well.
We have listed some examples of number-symbol combinations in the following table.
| Number | symbol | Number | symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candle | 6 | Snail |
| 2 | swan | 7 | flag |
| 3 | trident | 8th | hourglass |
| 4 | shamrock | 9 | reverse golf club |
| 5 | human hand | 10 | 10 euro note |
After matching pictures to the numbers, you can make up a story based on the symbols.
An example of the number 6427 would be this short sentence: When the snail (6) reached the cloverleaf (4), the swan (2) was lucky enough to have the flag (7) for him.
Let your creativity run free when inventing your story so that you can remember it easily and quickly.
Memorizing: The best methods & tips to memorize in a short time
In the course of school and study, but also in everyday life, you have to remember a lot. There are methods designed to improve a person's memory. Accordingly, these tricks can be used to better memorize.
mnemonics
Mnemonics are well-known methods for memorizing and help to cope with school and study material. They help to remember and retrieve content better. Creativity is also encouraged. We have listed all the pros and cons of these mnemonics for you.
With the right mnemonics, you can memorize better and faster and get your brain fit. These include four methods that we would like to introduce to you below.
loci method
The loci method is based on associations. Abstract information (numbers, texts or formulas) is connected with practical things from everyday life. This method makes sense because you are better able to memorize images and connections than pure facts.
After you have associated symbols or images with the content you want to remember, you go into a room in your apartment. Now go off the wall on the left from the entrance. You are now looking for distinctive objects, which you now link to the previously selected images.
Be creative and imagine crazy stories in your head.
If the order or arrangement of the content is relevant, the loci method will help you ensure that the arranged content also has the same order in space.
Example: You should remember the 45 US Presidents. The first President is George Washington. You combine this with a large white wig. If the first item in your room is a mirror, then you associate the white wig with the mirror. The result is an image of an old gentleman in a white wig looking at himself in a mirror.
If you often run through the process in your room and go through it, you can simply close your eyes later and list the individual contents. The learning material is actually stored in the long-term memory.
mnemonic
A mnemonic is a creative memorization method and particularly supports memorizing vocabulary and formulas. A mnemonic creates a connection between the impersonal information and exciting or funny connections that you can remember better.
At the same time, the content is stored in the long-term memory through the strange connection. This method is taught to us from a young age. We have selected a well-known mnemonic for you that you already know from your school days.
Example: The four cardinal points (North, East, South and West) are converted into the mnemonic "Never Wash Without Soap".
story technique
In the story technique, learning content is incorporated into a self-invented story. It is thus learned visually and associatively. This makes it easier to retrieve the content later. The more extraordinary and creative you are, the more effective this method is.
alphabet method
The alphabet method is suitable when you want to memorize several pieces of information. Here, individual letters of the alphabet are linked to a specific object that begins with this letter. So up to 26 associations can be created.
When choosing the pictures, you should make sure that you can build an emotional connection to them.
Now when you think about letters of the alphabet, the crazy pictures and the learning content associated with them come back to your mind.
Learning with all your senses
If you decide to learn with all your senses, you will be able to absorb liters of learning material and keep it in your head. The procedure with this method is to reduce the learning content further and further and to repeat it using all the senses. We have briefly summarized all the advantages and disadvantages of this method for you.
Since this method of memorization requires a few steps, we will introduce you to each point in turn.
- Writing: Before you start writing, you should get an overview of the learning content and create a summary with the most important information. Make sure that you do not copy all the content, but consciously select the relevant information.
- Reduce: Now, in the next step, you have to filter out the content that is suitable for memorizing. Determine sub-topics for this and write out all important aspects. By repeatedly writing down content, the brain already stores learning content (10).
- Visualize: Next, the learning content is visualized. Use index cards or mind maps, for example. This step will help you anchor the content in your mind because you are addressing more senses.
- Speaking: Now you should recite the learning content out loud. A learning partner makes sense so that you can quiz each other. Here you address a further sense and consolidate the learning content.
- Passive learning: If saying the information already works well, then you can incorporate passive learning into your learning process. Place the learning content in your apartment so that you always remember and repeat your learning material.
Remember to take regular breaks. Treat yourself to a green tea. This comes with many benefits, such as improving memory, attention, and brain function (11). Even a piece of chocolate before memorizing can jump-start your working memory (12).
If you focus on the essentials with this method and address various senses, then this approach is both a varied and effective method of memorizing. By incorporating it into your everyday life, you can save a lot of time and be even more successful at memorizing.
Conclusion
Memorizing requires simple methods that make learning more effective and fun. Which method is best for you depends on your learning style. What is relevant here, however, is that what you have learned can be called up in the long term, that you do not put yourself under pressure and that you start learning it by heart early enough.
The multiple benefits of memorization depend on conditions such as time, environment, and emotional stability. With a proper approach to memorization, content will stay in your memory for a lifetime.
itemizations
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- Ramirez, G., & Beilock, SL (2011). Writing about testing worries boosts exam performance in the classroom. Science (New York, NY), 331(6014), 211-213.
- Basso, JC, McHale, A, Ende, V, Oberlin, DJ, & Suzuki, WA (2019). Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators. Behavioral brain research, 356, 208-220.
- Brunner, D., Abramovitch, A., & Etherton, J. (2017). A yoga program for cognitive enhancement. Plos one, 12(8), e0182366.
- Weinberg L, Hasni A, Shinohara M, & Duarte A (2014). A single bout of resistance exercise can enhance episodic memory performance. Acta psychologica, 153, 13-19.
- Smith JC, Nielson KA, Antuono P, Lyons JA, Hanson RJ, Butts AM, Hantke NC, & Verber MD (2013). Semantic memory functional MRI and cognitive function after exercise intervention in mild cognitive impairment. Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD, 37(1), 197-215.
- Diekelmann, S., & Born, J. (2010). The memory function of sleep. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 11(2), 114-126.
- Brydges, CR, & Bielak, A. (2019). The Impact of a Sustained Cognitive Engagement Intervention on Cognitive Variability: The Synapse Project. Journal of cognitive enhancement : towards the integration of theory and practice, 3(4), 365-375.
- Anguera JA, Boccanfuso J, Rintoul JL, Al-Hashimi O, Faraji F, Janowich J, Kong E, Larraburo Y, Rolle C, Johnston E, & Gazzaley, A. (2013). Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults. Nature, 501(7465), 97-101.
- Karpicke, JD, & Blunt, JR (2011). Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping. Science (New York, NY), 331(6018), 772-775.
- Mancini E, Beglinger C, Drewe J, Zanchi D, Lang UE, & Borgwardt S (2017). Green tea effects on cognition, mood and human brain function: A systematic review. Phytomedicine: international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 34, 26-37.
- Crichton, GE, Elias, MF, & Alkerwi, A. (2016). Chocolate intake is associated with better cognitive function: The Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. Appetites, 100, 126-132.