Regardless of whether it is about overviews mind maps, summaries, formulas or definitions: Students must acquire a large amount of knowledge during their studies and ideally be able to access it in the long term. But learning by heart does not necessarily mean learning successfully. Understanding is much more important than just stupid learning. Conversely, it is also unwise to counter memorization in the course of study par se with negative prejudices, after all, this learning technique has already been good and, above all, sustainable in our school days – we remember learning spelling, multiplication tables or Spanish vocabulary Services performed. Therefore, we present you the 5 best tips for long-term memorization and explain how you can quickly, effectively and, above all, sustainably feed your brain with study-relevant content.
Most Effective Methods For Learning By Heart
Internalize
Of course, it is not advisable to just stupidly memorize the study material for an exam. With such bulimia learning, the long-term effect is equal to 0. Your goal should therefore be to permanently impress your knowledge, especially the basics of your subject. This means that your brain can quickly fall back on the basics when learning more difficult facts that build on them, and you don’t have to start all over again. Memorization is therefore particularly recommended if you already know something about the topic. Our brain can only apply knowledge if it can relate it to other, already existing knowledge. You will see that you can secure such an enormous time advantage when preparing for future exams.
Use Mnemonics
The so-called mnemonic technology is used for long-term storage and retention of information in long-term memory. Various memory aids are being developed for this memory training. This includes, for example, donkey bridges, rhymes or graphics. For example, you can create chains of associations in which you attach the terms to be memorized, such as the links of a chain, in such a way that the correct order is retained. By coming up with a simple, easy-to-remember story, you will automatically remember the respective terms.
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
You can have the best learning method, without repetition you will still forget almost everything in the long run. Regular repetition and refreshment is therefore essential so that the learning material is really transported from short-term to long-term memory. In the case of formulas or vocabulary, it is advisable to use them practically, i.e. to consolidate them through exercise calculations or to form specific sentences with the vocabulary.
Switch Up Study Spots
Especially in the examination phase, where there are usually several exams to be prepared for, it is worthwhile to change the study location. For instance, you can study for topic A / exam A at your desk, in the kitchen only for topic B / exam B and on your bed for topic C / exam C. The knowledge is thus linked in the mind to different places and you can concentrate better on the respective learning content.
Study Before You Go To Sleep
Most people are at their best during the day. According to psychiatrist Manfred Spitzer, however, it is still worthwhile to put the last learning or repetition unit shortly before bedtime. If you really want to internalize definitions and summaries in the long term, the information in the brain has to get from the hippocampus to the cerebral cortex. However, this only happens when we sleep, because in deep sleep our brain downloads the stored information from the hippocampus and processes it during the REM phase. So if you only learn shortly before going to bed, all the information that has just been sent to the brain can be effectively processed and directly applied later.
