Studying and Memory: Part 2

"Studying is defined as the active processing of information that involves attending, acquiring, organizing and integrating information into memory."

I left you with the above quotation in my last post. Let's look at what Schonwetter is really saying in this quotation. Attending, as I would describe it, is asking relevant questions and reading class materials when you are in class. If you do not do this in a first reading of the materials, you will need to do it later when you finally do read the text. Obviously, if you don't know what the text means or understand terminology, you need to either get an explanation from the module tutor or find out some other way. If the material you study is only half-understood, it will make a great difference in the exam outcome. Module tutors are there to explain terminology but sometimes a student must go further when they do not have the background in a subject. Sometimes, basic texts from undergraduate studies must be taken out and reviewed to ensure that you know all the basics in a particular subject - say for example Finance - if it has been many years since you first studied this subject.

Acquiring is a process that involves planning and taking the time to review all your materials. This includes going through your text, highlighting headings and important terminology which you may have to commit to memory. As discussed in previous postings, you need to use effective time planning skills to ensure that you allow yourself enough time to review your text more than once.

SQR3 is part of this. This is a short form which describes the study cycle. It stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. Exam rehearsal strategies are also helpful. When you are in the exam, let's say you need to cover three subject areas in a relatively tight time frame. Pacing is important here. It will help if you write a short outline covering the major points of the question. Straying from the question that is being asked and providing large swatches of irrelevant information is going to slow you down. Not to mention that markers will only give you marks for answering the question. They will not give you marks if you write around the question. This is why an outline can be helpful and make you stay on target.

Effective studying should make the exam clearer. Obviously, you are wasting your time and the marker's time if you write a lot on an exam question that you don't really understand and ignore a question that you really do understand. In fact, sometimes while you are planning how to write on the question you do know, you may find that you suddenly understand the other question you didn't understand. What I mean here is don't waste you time in the exam. Plan what you are going to write, write as much as you can on subjects you really DO understand before attempting a question you are unsure of.

The next post is going to be about organizing material for the exam so that you will be able to commit it to memory.