Mnemonic devices are excellent techniques for remembering lists and necessary facts.
TWO KEYS TO MEMORY:
Repetition and association are two essential components to any memory technique.
REPETITION:
Mnemonic devices demand active participation and a constant repetition of the material to be memorized. It is meaningful practice which involves familiarizing yourself with a list, trying to memorize it, duplicating it, and then checking it yourself.
ASSOCIATION:
New knowledge is more effectively stored in long term memory when it is associated with anything that is familiar. Mnemonics focus on a creative association that you can’t help but remember.
SOME MNEMONIC DEVICES:
There are many mnemonic devices from which to choose.
RHYME:
Familar rhymes from grade school such as nursery rhymes, spelling rhymes, etc.
EXAMPLE: Thirty days has September, April, June, and November; all the rest have thirty-one except February.
SENTENCE:
When the list must be memorized in order, make a sentence out of the initial letters of the words you are trying to memorize.
EXAMPLE: Remembering the division of the animal kingdom:
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
King Paul called out for Gus and Sam.
ACRONYM:
Make a word using the first letter from each word that needs to be remembered. This one only works when the list is fairly short and when the order of the words can be shifted.
EXAMPLE: NATO, SCUBA, NASA
VISUALIZATIONS:
Create a picture that incorporates the information you need to memorize.
EXAMPLE: Picture a porpoise jumping through a hoop to remember to begin your speech by identifying your purpose.
LOCI SYSTEM:
Create visual associations with locations you already know.
EXAMPLE: Grocery list items associated with the location where you store them in your kitchen.
ABBREVIATIONS:
Use the first letter of each word, though it doesn’t spell a word.
EXAMPLE: DMV—Department of Motor Vehicles; MVM for the three planets besides Earth that are closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
GIMMICKS:
Word games or tricks to help you remember.
EXAMPLE: Remember how to spell principal when talking about a school administrator by referring to him/her as your pal. The rule or belief principle, ends in "le" not "pal."
FLASHCARDS:
Write the name, date, etc. on one side and definition, formula, or pertinent info on the other side.
EXAMPLE: Vocabulary for foreign languages; definitions of terms in the sciences.
CLASSIFICATION:
Order information into groups, according to related and common characteristics.
EXAMPLE: Remember a grocery list by classifying the dairy products together, the produce items together, etc.
MIND MAPPING:
Put all pertinent information on one page in a cluster outline so you get an open visual picture of the whole thing.
Principles of Mapping:
- Main Topic: Written in the center of page in capital letters, and circled.
- Subtopics—Written around or below the main topic,connected by lines.
- Details—Written around or below the subtopcis,connected by lines.