1. How do you study?

2. 3 stages of memory

3. Encoding specificity

Memory works best when encoding and
retrieval conditions are the same
– Same environment
– Same mental and physical state
– Same ways of thinking

This works because the condition serves as a
reminder (retrieval cue)

4. Study Strategies
Generate and test
Organize
Avoid “illusions of learning”
Take breaks
Match learning and testing conditions
Elaborate

5. Generate and Test (GOAT ME)

Try to remember the material without help
− No reading!
− Teach it to someone else
− Talk about it out loud to yourself
− Test yourself (make up your own questions)

6. Organize (GOAT ME)

Group information in a meaningful way
− Based on relatedness, time, etc.
− Tables, charts, color coding, etc.
− Reduces load and serves as a reminder

CIAFBIKGBCNNUSABBCUK
− CIA FBI KGB CNN USA BBC UK

7. Avoid illusions of learning (GOAT ME)

Illusion of learning: when you feel that you have
learned the material but you actually haven't
− Fluency – reading the material becomes
easier after repetition, making you think you've
learned it
− Familiarity effect – recognizing the material
you've read, even if you can't repeat it without
looking

Highlighting, rereading, and rewriting don't help!

8. Take breaks (GOAT ME)

a.k.a. Don't cram!
– Your brain can only handle so much at once
– Best to study a bit throughout the semester

Sleep improves memory
– Nap between study session, or study before
bed

9. Match learning and testing conditions
(GOAT ME)

Encoding specificity: memory is best when
encoding and retrieval occur under the same
conditions
− Same environment
− Same mental and physical state
− Same ways of thinking

Alternatively: study under many different
conditions

10. Elaborate (GOAT ME)

Think about the material

Find connections within the material

Associate it with something else
− With what you already know (especially
yourself)
− Create a story
− Link it with an image
− Make up a song

11. Additional Miscellaneous Suggestions

Take notes beforehand (pay attention in class)

Go to study groups

Create your own materials (like “generate”)

12. Word of Caution

Different material must be studied differently

Some methods work better for some individuals
than for others

Now some EXAMPLES submitted by students!

13. I try to find videos that
help explain the material
(Elaborate)

14. I google the subject I'm studying,
plus “quizzes”
(Elaborate & Generate)

15. Tape important words on the bathroom
wall and read them every time you pee
(Take breaks)

16. visualizing as I read my notes aloud
(Elaborate)

17. I compare textbook and class notes
(Elaborate)

18. Writing everything I know down at
various times
(Generate & Take breaks)

19. If I have a list to memorize, I use
acronyms by using the 1st letter of each
item in the list and make a word or
sentence out of it.
(Elaborate)