My long-term memory is terrible... PLEASE HELP!!!

[Tennis Guy]

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So, it seems that my long-term memory needs to be improved. I study for quite some time, but I can never seem to retain the information long-term. It's like I can't remember anything, and I will just forget the material a few minutes later. It is so frustrating because I know that I'm putting forth the effort, but I'm just not achieving the desired result. I can remember so many unimportant things... like songs, movies, video games, etc... but not the material for my classes lol 😀. This is specifically happening in my microbiology class this semester. Any advice/ suggestions will be greatly appreciated! 🙂

 

[TheShaker]

I usually write down the things that I need to memorize by brute force (lists, names, pathways) and this tends to lodge itself into my brain for a while. For conceptual stuff, you should try to understand it instead of just trying to remember it. Follow a thought process for the concept and explain to yourself. This will make it much easier to recall information rather than passively reading.

Also, try to question what you're reading. Debate yourself and the book to try and prove it wrong. When you manage to stump yourself and convince yourself beyond anything that the material you're studying is correct then you should know it well enough to remember and understand it. Obviously don't do this with everything, it will take up too much time but try and do it for the stuff that gives you trouble.

 

[impact2d]

Try a study group where you have to present a topic. Teaching something I'm weak on often makes it stick for me

Sent from my LePanII using SDN Mobile

 

[Stumpyman]

Talk to yourself and make a bunch of notes. It helps a lot to memorize something using pure muscle memory.

 

[IMSingular]

http://www.drugstore.com/ginkoba-me...677&aid=336064&aparam=ginkoba&scinit1=ginkoba

Conflict of Interest Disclosure:

I am not any way connected with production, sales or marketing of Ginkoba.
Neither do I take this drug to enhance my memory nor am I a physician licenced to prescribe drugs.
I am posting this just as a joke= Just Kidding.

 

[Hemorrage]

So, it seems that my long-term memory needs to be improved. I study for quite some time, but I can never seem to retain the information long-term. It's like I can't remember anything, and I will just forget the material a few minutes later. It is so frustrating because I know that I'm putting forth the effort, but I'm just not achieving the desired result. I can remember so many unimportant things... like songs, movies, video games, etc... but not the material for my classes lol 😀. This is specifically happening in my microbiology class this semester. Any advice/ suggestions will be greatly appreciated! 🙂

try the studying tool called anki, it uses an algorithm that computes your memory retention time and then forces you to repeat what you forgot right when your ABOUT to forget.

 

[dougfunnie]

I usually write down the things that I need to memorize by brute force (lists, names, pathways) and this tends to lodge itself into my brain for a while. For conceptual stuff, you should try to understand it instead of just trying to remember it.

I totally agree with this.

One thing that has always helped me is to skim the text the day before the lecture, go to class in the morning, then review my notes in the evening and go back to look up things I don't understand. Then review those notes again the following day. That's 4 times in 3 days and it always works wonders for me (if I can make myself do it). The key is leaving time in between so that you are training yourself to RETAIN instead of REGURG.

 

[Scalpels]

try the studying tool called anki, it uses an algorithm that computes your memory retention time and then forces you to repeat what you forgot right when your ABOUT to forget.

That's kind of creepy...

But interesting. I'll have to check that out!

 

[StoicJosher]

 

[lucitrea]

It sounds like your studying habits are bad.

I suggest the cornell note taking method. it is a 2 inch column on the side of the paper. the rest of the paper is outline space. Outline on one side of the paper only. Put the information that is important in the review column. When it is time to study, line up the papers with only the review column showing and review the review columns until you can write it out my memory.

or

Take notes, put important info on index cards, review index cards only.

or

Make test questions based off of material in class like "what is the mechanism for bromination?" and write it out until you can do it correctly without the book. Re-do questions often. For me, I can do practice problems and then forget how to do it the next day. Then, I will re do those practice problems until i get them.

the key is filtering out all of the useless junk from the book into outlines or notes then reviewing the important things only.

you can probably find a bunch of books on "how to succeed in college" at your school library. Thats how i found out all of this info.

 

[scarshapedstar]

Anki is good. Basically you make electronic flashcards and you score them based on how easily you recalled the answer (it also times you so that you can't lie to yourself too much) and that determines how long it will wait before asking you that question again. Best of all it has a mobile app so you can review anytime. I had my own flashcard ritual but I'm pretty disorganized in the non-digital world so I'm glad to put those easily lost, smudged, and otherwise ruined index cards behind me.

There are also some extremely old memorization techniques that you might find useful. For example, counting on your fingers. It might sound silly but if you need to memorize a group of 5-10 things (5 being the ideal from my experience) it's reliable. And if you can make them rhyme you will probably remember that set for the rest of your life.

And like lucitrea said, after you read it, see how much you can write from memory. That's how I do biochem pathways. Once you can write the whole thing out from memory you just need to try it every so often to keep it fresh. You could even incorporate this into your Anki, just have a card that says "write the whole damn Krebs cycle!"

 

[Tennis Guy]

try the studying tool called anki, it uses an algorithm that computes your memory retention time and then forces you to repeat what you forgot right when your ABOUT to forget.

Ok, I'll definitely check that out... does it take a long time to make the flashcards, even though you do it on a computer? I'm sure that it takes less time than actually writing the information on actual note cards.

Ha ha... yea, I definitely agree. This seems to be pretty true for me lol.

It sounds like your studying habits are bad.

I suggest the cornell note taking method. it is a 2 inch column on the side of the paper. the rest of the paper is outline space. Outline on one side of the paper only. Put the information that is important in the review column. When it is time to study, line up the papers with only the review column showing and review the review columns until you can write it out my memory.

or

Take notes, put important info on index cards, review index cards only.

or

Make test questions based off of material in class like "what is the mechanism for bromination?" and write it out until you can do it correctly without the book. Re-do questions often. For me, I can do practice problems and then forget how to do it the next day. Then, I will re do those practice problems until i get them.

the key is filtering out all of the useless junk from the book into outlines or notes then reviewing the important things only.

you can probably find a bunch of books on "how to succeed in college" at your school library. Thats how i found out all of this info.

Ok, I'll definitely look into all of that... thank you for the advice!

Anki is good. Basically you make electronic flashcards and you score them based on how easily you recalled the answer (it also times you so that you can't lie to yourself too much) and that determines how long it will wait before asking you that question again. Best of all it has a mobile app so you can review anytime. I had my own flashcard ritual but I'm pretty disorganized in the non-digital world so I'm glad to put those easily lost, smudged, and otherwise ruined index cards behind me.

There are also some extremely old memorization techniques that you might find useful. For example, counting on your fingers. It might sound silly but if you need to memorize a group of 5-10 things (5 being the ideal from my experience) it's reliable. And if you can make them rhyme you will probably remember that set for the rest of your life.

And like lucitrea said, after you read it, see how much you can write from memory. That's how I do biochem pathways. Once you can write the whole thing out from memory you just need to try it every so often to keep it fresh. You could even incorporate this into your Anki, just have a card that says "write the whole damn Krebs cycle!"

Yea, I get tired of having to keep track of those notecards also... I sometimes even forget them somewhere lol. Do you know, if you can see your flashcards for Anki on different computers, such as one at the university... if so, how do you do it? Also, I'm reading books about memory and how to improve it... do you guys have any suggestions or books that you can recommend to me?

 

[catzzz88]

I can remember so many unimportant things... like songs, movies, video games, etc... but not the material for my classes... Any advice/ suggestions will be greatly appreciated! 🙂

Sounds like you have a specific kind of memory skill. I am the same way. Utilize this to your advantage. For example, tap into your visual memory using visual imagery and tap into your musical memory by composing cute little snippets of songs to help you remember things like formulas or vocabulary associations. There are tons of memory tricks that you can learn to perfect and it sounds like you might excel with these kinds of methods.

I googled "memory tricks visualization" and came up with tons of sites. Here is the first one that seems relevant because they specifically give examples from biology.

http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/best-memory-trick.html

I hope that this helps you! Good luck 🙂

Best,
C

 

[chemhead123]

1.) Check your sleep. If you are not getting 8-9 Hours asleep a night, that is your first thing to correct.
2.) Nutrition/ Exercise.
3.) Distractions when studying. I doubt it is really your long-term memory. It is more likely you are texting, facebooking, and watching tv while studying.

These are the three most common reasons people have trouble.