Download Making Notes and Developing Techniques to Assist Learning

Learning
Techniques
and Memory
1
Making Notes and Developing Techniques to Assist
Learning
Keep your file in order during the course by
using dividers to separate your work into chunks. Remember
the three c’s: take clear, concise and colourful/creative notes
during your course and you have more chance in successfully
completing it.
You will find that doing this will help you develop projects or
portfolios and you are more likely to enjoy re-reading them for
the exam!
It is important to remember that the following will help you,
particularly if you have an exam at the end of your course:
review your notes at the end of every class and do monthly
checks on what you have learnt and how much you remember.
How you go about learning depends on whether you remember
best by seeing, listening or through moving around.
So if you learn best through looking, these might help:
 Using coloured pens
 Using small cards of main points that you can put into order
(or an index) and that you can fit in your back pocket so you
can learn on the move.
 Highlighting vital information
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 Writing key points on post-it notes and sticking them up at
home.
 Making your own video!
 Using CD-ROM’s
 Using the internet
If you learn best through listening, these might help:
 Taping information onto an auditory cassette
 Explaining what you are trying to learn to somebody else –
even your cat!
 Making up rhymes or stories to help you remember – they
can be as silly as you like, after all they are for your eyes
only!
 Form a study group with other students and select
different information for each one of you to go away and
learn and then return to talk through to the rest of the
group.
If you learn best through interaction or movement:
 Taking yourself to exhibitions related to your subject may
help
 Relating the subject to your life in some way – e.g. For
Anatomy and Physiology: bend your limbs and start with the
skin and its functions, work your way through the muscles,
through the veins until you reach the bare bones!!
 Using mind maps or spider diagrams can get your mind going
and help you feel at the centre of your learning
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 Walking around or using other movement to help keep your
mind on the job – hop, skip and jump your way to success!
Whichever method you choose, plan a reward to give yourself
after a really focused piece of studying.
Now work out your own learning style.
Next, look at the following pages for memory technique.
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Barsch Learning Style Preference Form
Please tick appropriate box
Question
OFTEN
SOMETIMES SELDOM
1. Can remember more about a subject
through listening rather than reading.
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2. Follow written directions better than
oral directions
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3. Like to write things down or take
notes for visual review
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4. Bear down extremely hard when
writing.
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5. Require explanations of graphs,
diagrams, or visual directions
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7. Are skilful and enjoy developing and
making graphs and charts
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8. Can tell if sounds match when
presented with pairs of sounds
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9. Remember best by writing things
down several times
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10. Can understand and follow directions
of maps.
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11. Do better at academic subjects by
listening to tapes and lectures
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6. Enjoy working with tools
12. Play with coins or keys in your pocket
13. Learn to spell better repeating the
letters out loud than by writing the

Creating by Jeffrey Barsch, Ventura College, Ventura, California
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Question
OFTEN
word on paper.
14. Can better understand a news article
by reading about it than by listening
to it on the radio.
SOMETIMES SELDOM
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15. Chew gum, snack, or smoke during
studies.
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16. Feel the best way to remember is to
picture it in your head.
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17. Learn spelling by “finger spelling” the
words.
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19. Are good at solving jigsaw puzzles
and mazes.
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20. Grip objects in your hands during
learning periods.
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22. Obtain information on an interesting
subject by reading related materials.
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23. Feel very comfortable touching
others; hugging; handshaking, etc.
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18. Would rather listen to a good lecture
or speech than read about the same
material in a book.
21. Prefer listening to the news on the
radio than reading about it in the
newspaper.
24. Follow oral directions better than
written ones.
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Barch Learning Style
Perference Form: Scoring
From the answers to the questions we should be able to identify which
sense is used most to aid study. The categories are visual, auditory and
Tactile (Kinaesthetic).
Point Value for answers:
Often = 3 Points
Sometimes = 2 Points
Seldom = 1 Point
A. For each question on the Preference Form place the appropriate
point value in the grid below.
B. Add up the total for each section.
VISUAL
Question
Score
AUDITORY
Question
Score
TACTILE
(KINAESTHETIC)
Question
2.
1.
4.
3.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
14.
13
15.
16.
18.
17.
20.
21.
19.
22.
24.
23.
Score
TOTALS
Results:
The highest score indicates your learning style preference.
The lowest score indicates your learning style weakness.
Scores which fall within 4 points of each other indicate that you are a
multisensory learner.
Note: Different cultures have different learning styles.
What does it mean?
Visual Learner:
A visual learner prefers learning by seeing things, getting information
from books, reading instructions, imagining a scene. He/she likes to see
their work looking good. They like to make notes and write things down;
their hand-writing is clear. They don’t like untidiness around them or
too much movement when they are trying to work. They are usually
aware of sounds. They are quiet, do not talk a lot and become impatient
when they have to listen for a long time. They might use words clumsily
when describing something and don’t give a lot of details. They tend to
use words like see and look. They think for a long time and make plans
in advance, they organise their thoughts by writing them down, make
lists of problems.
Auditory Learners:
Auditory learners like reading dialogue and enjoy reading plays. They
may skip through or avoid descriptions, don’t look at illustrations. They
may read aloud or move their lips when they read. They may have
difficulties with learning how to write, and write very lightly. They
remember names and forget faces and remember by hearing things
over and over again. They are easily distracted by sound and usually
like to learn in a quiet place. They like listening but cannot wait to talk.
When they describe things they take a long time and repeat things
over. They like to talk about their problems and might give the answer
to themselves as they think of it. They use words like listen and hear.
Kinaesthetic learners:
Kinaesthetic learners like stories with lots of actions; they fidget when
they read and might not enjoy reading. They are good at writing but
find it hard to write in small spaces. They will remember what was done
and what happened rather than what was talked about. They might
appear often distracted because they find it hard to take in visual or
auditory presentations. They make many gestures when they speak and
do not listen well; they lose interest if talking continues for a long
time; they use words like get and take. They will take action to solve
their problems but don’t always think before taking action. When they
have a problem they will do something very active.
Learning Styles adapted from LLLU at South Bank University.
Visual
Use an OHP to highlight key points.
Put summary words in big print on the board
Write ¾ of the word on the board, makes the brain work to fill
the rest in.
Use symbols, colours, pictures to illustrate, Turn words and
numbers into pictures.
Use an illustrated outline at the start of the lesson, this will help
the focus.
Best seated at the front of the class so they can see you. Easily
distracted by others movement.
Tape your talk, lecture and keep a library for students to borrow
from.
Get students to listen first then write notes while reading a
text.
Use auditory predicates, eg ”Can you hear what I’m saying?”.
Best seated in the centre of the room so they can turn their
head to direct their dominant ear towards you. Don’t expect
them to look at you while you are talking.
Auditory
Low Auditory
Tactile
Avoid giving verbal instructions.
Write it down! Always provide written sequences of instruction
either on the board or on a handout for the student to refer
back to.
Tape you lecture/talk so the student can listen to it later, at
another point of their learning.
Set the student some pre-reading material, to be read before
you introduce the material to the class.
Encourage students to hold or fiddle with something while
reading, listening or studying, as hacky sac, bean bag, soft toy,
anything small and / or textured.
Provide tactile resources for students to work with, encourage
them to create their own.
Some other ideas for tactile resources in the classroom: board
games, magnetic letters / numbers, scrabble, writing in texture
material like shaving foam or sand.
Use tactual predicates eg “How does this feel for you?”.
Best seated towards the back of the room so their fiddling does
not disrupt the visual learners.
Kinaesthetic
Get these students moving whilst they learn.
Use these students to demonstrate what the class is going to do.
They will earn while they are doing the activity.
Ask kinaesthetic students to video – record the class and edit
material.
Make large cardboard letters/ number/ functions and lay them
out on the floor. Ask the student to move each component as
they work.
Whenever possible, give them a real life experience of what
they are learning about. A visit to a factory where they can
experience and walk through the full process of accounting for
example.
Use Kinaesthetic predicates eg “Can you get a sense of what I’m
on about?”.
Create a space at the back of the room for these students
Check Your Memory Style
What helps you remember things?
Here’s a simple way to find out.
 Colour in 10 words on the right.
 Read through the chart for 2
minutes, then cover it
completely.
 Write down all the words you
can remember.
 Read the following section
as you check your results.
What helps you remember?
Look at the words you recalled.
Does the selection of words
you remember suggest that
you used any of the strategies
below?
If so, you have valuable clues
about how you arrange
information you want to recall.
Sea
Saucer
Cheese
Windy
Sick
JAM
Fog
blue
Lenin
Cog
Circus
Glink
Walnut
Fred
Happy
Lost
Bread
Dog
Kitchen
Green
Student
merry
LOG
Spain
Jog
PINK
Hobby
Essay
Pills
chair
Butter
Harp
Sandwich
Pong
Sneeze
Tutor
table
Doctor
Sad
INDIA
Block
Gandhi
Maybe
Hand
kneel
Plate
Holiday
Bandage
Gloom
Real Names
You may have a
particularly good memory for
names.
Visual Features
Your memory may be assisted
by any or all of the following.
You may have
noticed
the look of a word (such as
the words in capitals or those
with shapes around them).
Recency effect
Visaul association
You may have
remembered best the words
you learnt last.
Primacy effect
You may have
remembered best the words
you learnt first.
Sound
You may have
remembered rhyming sounds,
odd-sounding words, or words
that you heard together in
your head.
Locus (place)
You may have associated a
word with a place you know.
You may have
remembered where items
were on the page. (If so, you
may find it easy to recall
flowcharts or pattern notes,
or be helped by visual spacing
or making links with a picture).
Semantic association
You may have
remembered words with
meaningful association, such
as bread, butter, sandwich.
Being bizarre and unusual
You may have noticed
odd things, such as the words
‘pong’ and ‘glink’ which stand
out. (If you did, you may find
it helpful to link ordinary
things with bizarre images.)
Stories
You may have linked unrelated
items so that they made a
story. (This can help with the
letters of a difficult spelling.
For example, ‘liaise’: Liam Is
Always In Such Ecstasy.)
Colour and activity
If you remembered several
of the words you coloured in,
you may be sensitive to colour;
or perhaps you benefit from
doing things with information
you are learning.
Musical association
Did you try singing or chanting
information to tunes you
know?
Individual Memory Styles
We each have a combination of memory
strategies that work best for us. We each use
varied strategies to remember different kinds
of information.
Activity: How do you remember things?
Event Strategies
Trying to recall your first day at school may
have called up different types of memory.
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Try to recall each of the items 1-6 below.
After each one, note down what you did to help
you remember.
1. What is your best friend’s phone
number?
2. How do you use a pencil sharpener?
3. What was you first day of school like?
4. What did you wear yesterday?
5. Where are your best clothes now?
6. How do you get to the nearest post
box?
You probably used different strategies to
remember the phone number than to recall
your first day of school. You may have used
some of the following strategies – if not,
experiment with them now.
Fact Strategies
Many techniques may help in learning a fact
such as a telephone number. You might try:
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Chanting a rhythm of the number
Using your fingers to map out the
pattern of movements needed to dial
the number
Seeing the number in your mind
Hearing your voice saying the number
Drawing out the digits with your finger
Writing the number down quickly
Noting any memorable peculiarity of the
number, such as repeated pattern
(2727) or a reversible pattern (1331)
Noting any smaller numbers of personal
significance to you, such as the year you
were born or a relative’s house number,
contained within the number
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The emotional memory of the event may
have come to mind – your excitement at
starting school, or your distress at
being left by your mother, or your fear
of the teacher. You might experience
this physically in your body, as a
tightening of the stomach muscles.
You may have a strong visual memory of
the journey to school, or of moments
during the first day. These may run
through your head like a film or a series
of snapshots.
You may be able to hear the noises of
the school – the shouts in the
playground, or the school bell. You may
remember certain smells, or even the
taste of chalk on your fingers.
Other Strategies
In remembering the six items above you
may have used quite different strategies.
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To remember how to use a pencil
sharpener you may have moved your
hands to guide you through the
sequence of movements.
To remember what you wore, you
may have recalled the place where
you were
To remember where your clothes
are now, you probably use a mixture:
visual recall of where they usually
are, and a check through your
memory of recent events to see if
there was any reason why they
might be somewhere else.
For the post box, you may have
visualised the local geography, or
remembered a time you posted a
letter, or imagined the walk to the
box, or repeated instructions under
your breath.
Improve your Memory
Particular practices can help you remember
things. Below are some that are well known,
and you may have others of your own.
Self-awareness
Know what tricks and methods you already
use to remember things.
Repetition or over-learning
This is essential. Go over information at
least three times. Check back often, for
short lengths of time (rather than once for
a long time).
Association
Link what you need to remember with
something you already know
Mnemonics
Any trick to help you remember is a
mnemonic (pronounced nem-on-ic). One
common mnemonic is to use the first letter
of each keyword to make a new ‘word’ that
sums up the whole of a subject. It doesn’t
matter if the letters don’t make a real word.
Active listening
Discuss what you’re trying to learn with
friends. Listen to your voice saying it or
reading it. Tape yourself. Exaggerate. Use
accents. Be dramatic.
Writing things down
In your own words, write things out over and
over again.
Personalising it
Relate what you learn to yourself. For
example in what way does it affect you?
Does it remind you of someone you know, or
somewhere you have been?)
Play
Play with information . Look for the fun in
it. Relax and enjoy the process.
Think about advertisements
Advertising agencies deliberately set out to
make us remember their advertisements.
The ‘tricks’ and ‘devices’ they employ to
prompt our memory can also be used to help
us remember what we study.
Think of three adverts (from TV, magazine,
etc).
What makes these three memorable for
you?
Devices used by advertises
Which of these devices are most effective
in helping you remember?
Music, simple stories, jokes, humour,
childhood memories, visual images,
repetition, invitations to interact –
competitions, encouragement to identify
with characters, encouragement to
telephone in.