Roth
Study Skills
THE CURVE OF FORGETTING
The Curve of Forgetting graph
below shows how easily we humans forget new information we encounter only
once. For example, consider new
information we might hear in a class on Monday. If we don’t reinforce or "touch" this new information
often after we first hear it, notice what happens: After 24 hours without reinforcement, we will forget about 40% of
it. After two days without practice, we
will forget 60%. Forgetting 40 to 60%
of new information results in a D or F on a test over it.
THE CURVE OF FORGETTING
100 The
moment we first hear new information
% 80
R 60 One
day later without reinforcement
E
T 40 Two
days later without reinforcement
A
I 20
N
E
0
D 0 1 2 7
ELAPSED
TIME IN DAYS
So we can see that forgetting
information we hear only once or twice is not the result of a poor mind; in fact, it is the result of an efficient
mind that remembers what’s important and forgets what isn’t. How do we tell our minds that something is
important enough to remember? By
turning our attention to (reviewing) the information several times after we
have heard or read it. Unfortunately,
we do not feel we need to review this new information because when we are in
class hearing it or reading it in a book, it seems fresh and locked in our
memories. However, without
reinforcement and review, we will likely forget a large portion of it within
hours.
KEY RULES TO EFFECTIVE STUDY
Rule 1: Remember that the purpose of all studying is
to keep The Curve of Forgetting from affecting your recall and ability to use
what you have learned.
Rule 2: The more times you touch new information,
the less The Curve of Forgetting will affect it. Eventually, if you touch the new information enough times, it
will become part of your permanent memory.
Your name is a good example of this.
Rule 3: Study in Question/Answer format. In other words, whether you are reading a
textbook chapter or going over your lecture notes, you should always be looking
for an answer to a question you have created to focus your attention. In addition, the question/answer format is
precisely the format of a test.
Studying in this format means that you immediately begin learning the
information in the way a test will ask it.
Remember--it is possible to learn the right information in the wrong way
and fail a test.
Rule 4: Use FLASHCARDS when
possible: Put any information you can
on flashcards--term or question on the front of the card with the definition or
answer on the back. Remember to put
only one term, question, idea, or list on a card. Flashcards automatically show you information in question/answer
format. In addition, flashcards are
very portable--you can take them with you everywhere and use those 5 to 10
minute free periods in each day to quiz yourself.
Rule 5: The very best way (perhaps the only way) to
learn anything well is to trickle it in to your mind in little bites or brief
intervals over a period of time.
Keep in mind that this method is
the opposite of cramming where you try to absorb large amounts of information
in one or two long sessions. Cramming
is the least effective study method because The Curve of Forgetting will
immediately begin to erase the information from your memory. Consider what might happen if you cram
information you will need to know for a job or for the next level of a course.
An Example of the Trickle-in
Method:
You have a 25-term vocabulary
test facing you on Friday. You need to
begin to trickle in the information on Monday or Tuesday, not the night before
the test. You put each vocabulary word
on a separate 3-by-5 card with its definition on the back. You carry these cards in your pocket or
purse. You go through the cards and
quiz yourself on the ten-minute bus ride in the morning. That same day before lunch, you quiz
yourself again. Five minutes before
your favorite soap or Oprah starts, you
look at the cards again. While supper
is cooking, you give yourself another
quiz. Just before you go to bed, you
quiz yourself once more.
Time spent to do this: four or five 10-minute periods. If you continue to do this each day, you
will do very well on the test Friday, and you will not have missed the time you
used to study. You have touched the
information several times in little bites (trickled it in) and will have fairly
permanent knowledge of this material.
This is good news for the final, too.
A FEW MORE HINTS
1. Try to study in the same
place as much as possible.
2. Try scheduling classes and
study periods when you are most alert.
For example, if you are a "morning person," try to organize
your schedule accordingly.
3. Have a study plan and study
according to priorities.
4. Break long study periods into
shorter segments. Also vary the
activities.
5. Remember--little
bites--question/answer format.
6. Keep a calendar of upcoming
tests and assignments--begin trickling in the information well before the date,
using flashcards when possible.
7. Your grade on a test or in a
course is not determined by how many hours you spend studying but by how much
quality study time you spend. Study
smart--remember--you can waste hours and hours studying improperly.
8. Do whatever it takes and do
not give up. If this were easy,
everybody would have a degree or certificate.