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5. Study: Developing Your Memory, Study & Test-Taking Skills (Chapter 10)

Day 1

o Warm-up: Ask them to reflect on the question “How bad do you want to be successful?”
  • Show the inspirational video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1KyRtOWOc. Beforehand, share a little about the speaker Eric Thomas such as how he dropped out of high school after an argument with his parents and lived homeless on the streets of Detroit for two years. He finally got his life back on track but it took him twelve years to accomplish his goal of a bachelors degree. He is now a motivational speaker, author and minister.
o Memory Activity:
  • Show students a list of random words (e.g. Pony, Toaster, Microphone, Ice Cream, Locker, Calculator, Skateboard, Necklace, Trophy, Leaf, Picture, Cat, Potato, Shirt , Sun) and give them 15 seconds to read and remember them. Then, ask them to write down as many as they can remember. Have students share why they think they remembered the words that they did and why they forgot those they did.
o Memory Mini-Lecture
  • Talk about the basics with our memory – how information enters our sensory memory (temporary 1-3 seconds), then our short-term memory or working memory (limited to 5-9 pieces of information; easily to forget if there is no meaning e.g. phone number) and then out long term memory (unlimited better than a hard drive on your computer). End with how it is the goal to have what you’re learning in college stored in your long term memory.
Brain Rules (John Medina - from http://collegesuccess-fralick.blogspot.com/)
  • Using all the senses improves learning. This is called multi-sensory integration.
  • Visual learning is the most powerful.
  • Exercise is good for the brain and boosts brain power.
  • The ability to learn is affected by the emotional environment. Stress interferes with memory. A positive learning environment is best.
  • The human brain is multi-faceted and each is unique. This idea may support multiple intelligences.
  • Better attention equals better learning.
  • Repeat to remember. Long-term memory can become more reliable by repeating the information in timed intervals.
  • Sleep well, think well. It is during sleep that the brain processes material learned during the day and stores it in long-term memory.
  • Multi-tasking is a myth. The brain can focus on only one activity at a time. A person who is interrupted takes 50% longer to complete a task and the interruptions result in 50% more errors.
  • We create new neurons and learn new things throughout life.
Stages of Memory Overview
  • Provide students the textbook chapter “How Memory Works: Building Foundational Knowledge.” Memory Textbook Chapter.pdf Ask them to scan the first three pages and noting the structure of the three stages by highlighting, underlining or circling them– Encoding, Storage and Retrieval. Without reading, ask them what they think the terms refer to. What do they remind them of?
o Stages of Memory Group Presentations:
  • Break students into three groups and assign them one of the stages of memory. Ask them to read the section in the chapter and come up with a couple bullet points to explain the stage in their own words. Give them a large piece of paper to write them down.
o Homework: Ask students to read the section “Memory Strategies” of the chapter “How Memory Works: Building Foundational Knowledge” and break them into groups to become an “expert” on one of the topics for an activity during the next class 1. Rehearsal, 2. Elaboration, 3. Chunking, 4. Stories & Emotions 5. Mnemonics

Day 2

o Dusting Off the Cobwebs:
  • Have students partner up and recall what they learned in the last class without using their notes or book. Ask them to then open their notebook/book and discuss any content that that they “forgot”.(2 min). In essence, they are filling in the information gaps. (2 min) Large group review (5 min)
o “Memory Strategies” Jigsaw https://www.jigsaw.org/
  • Have students teach each other the following concepts using the jigsaw technique 1. Rehearsal, 2. Elaboration, 3. Chunking, 4. Stories & Emotions 5. Mnemonics
o Ask students to come up with an acronym to remember the most important neurotransmitters. SAN DOPE is the best. They might come up with POND EAS or PEAS DON.  This can help them see how they might use it as a cue in classes.

• Serotonin 5-Hydroxytryptamine
• Acetylcholine (ACh)
• Norepinephrine (NE)
• Dopamine (DA)
• Oxytocin
• Phenylethanolamine
• Epinephrine (adrenaline)

o Repeat the Memory Activity:
  • Show students a list of random words. Give them time to read them and use a memory strategy for remembering them. Then, ask them to write down as many as they can remember. Have students share their experience.
o Learning Styles
  • Have students take the VARK on page 178 of the textbook (make sure to have copies in case there are some students that do not have their book or prefer not to write on them).
  • Explain how we learn through all of the styles and the theory is that one might be more dominant (e.g. like we have a preference for folding our arms against our chest a certain way). Have them stand to demonstrate.
  • The goal is to make your studying more multisensory creating multiple paths to the same information. This helps your retrieval of information (like knowing more than one way to a friend’s house will make it more likely you’ll make it there if a road happens to be closed).
o Ticket Out the Door/One Minute Paper: Ask students to answer the following questions: What did you learn today? What does it mean for you? What are you going to do with the new information or understanding?


Day 3

o Show the video Pick Them Back Up - Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLvzOwE5lWqhQaMdlA9uIB9OxPPkchIr-6&v=zsZ5yOImHQQ (2 min).
  • Discuss the importance of learning from mistakes and that is often the way we improve (it is more obvious in skills in sports but not so much with academic skills). Talk about how this relates to tests and the importance of analyzing your performance on tests?”
  • When you have a graded test return, do not put them out of sight. Look for what you missed and understand why. See if you changed an answer to a right one or wrong one. Develop a strategy to improve next time. Test-taking is a skill that you can improve upon with practice and learning from mistakes.
o Exam Preparation Tips

Studying to Learn the Material Deeply
  • Use effective learning strategies from day one (SQ3R, annotation/chunking while reading, Cornell while taking notes, repeated reviews and quizzing yourself).
  • Organize information by preparing charts, outlines or a study guide.
  • Practice “teaching” the material to an audience real (study partner) or imaginary.
  • Make up a practice test from information in your notes and the textbook
Preparing for Game-time
  • Know basics about the test (number of questions, type of questions, how much time, material covered, etc.)
  • Prepare your body as you would a sports competition (well rested, fed, relieve stress – exercise, tensing and relaxing muscles, visualizing a “happy place,” deep breathing, etc.
Student Lingo - Exam Prep and Test-Taking Strategies (Go to www.studentlingo.com/aims) 
Show the video and follow the suggested outline below. 
  • Pause – AFTER Slide #3 (Learning vs. Studying)
  • What is the difference between studying and learning?
  • Pause – BEFORE – Slide #5 (The Study Cycle)
  • Group Exercise – Put the 5 points of the study cycle in order using laminated cards and volunteers at front of classroom Steps of Study Cycle.docx
  • Pass out the Study Cycle sheet Learning Levels and the Study Cycle.pdf
  • Pause BEFORE – Slide #8 (Before the Test)
  • Group Discussion - What do you do to prepare before the test?
  • Study Location self-evaluation sheet
  • Pause AFTER – Slide #8 (Before the Test)
  • Give information about using www.quizlet.com on devices to study
  • Blooms Taxonomy
  • Pause BEFORE – Slide #9 (Day of Exam)
  • Group Discussion – What do you do the day of the exam?
  • Pause BEFORE – Slide #10 (At the Test)
  • Group Discussion – What do you do during the test?
  • Group Exercise – Breathing exercise and video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxbdx-SeOOo
  • Pause BEFORE – Slide #11 (After the Exam)
  • Group Discussion – What do you do after the test?

o 10 Steps for Math Test Taking
1. Memory data dump
2. Preview the test
3. Second memory data dump
4. Test progress schedule
5. Answer easy questions first
6. Do difficult problems you know
7. Tackle the toughest problems
8. Guess at remaining questions
9. Review the test and check your work
10. Use all the test time

  • Ask students to read through the steps and chunk them into smaller sections. Discuss what they come up with. This demonstrates how chunking helps to understand information when it is lengthy.
o Go over strategies for specific test questions. (pg. 252-255)
  • Multiple Choice
  • True & False
  • Matching
  • Short-Answer
  • Essay
Test Taking & Study Apps
Day 4

o Think Pair Share: Question - “Research shows that the single best predictor of success in college is studying in groups.” Why would you think this might be so powerful? You might share the following quotes from what researchers found. (Source: https://source.wustl.edu/2006/07/discovering-why-study-groups-are-more-effective/)
  • “We noticed …… they were learning the material at a deeper level. They would read it verbatim out of the notes and then look up and paraphrase it to the rest of the group.”
  • “Study groups are so effective because they provide a way for students to make the lecture notes their own.”
  • “When students hear the voice of the professor and are taking notes, they are so busy writing that it’s hard for them to really absorb the material. What happens in the study group setting is that ……. students could absorb the lecture notes and make them their own.”
o Break students into study groups
  • Ask students to look at the tips on pg 250-251 of the textbook and decide on the objectives and goals of their session. Encourage them to use the time to discuss concepts from their study guides.
o Ticket Out the Door/One Minute Paper: Ask students to answer the following questions: What did you learn today? What does it mean for you? What are you going to do with the new information or understanding?


Day 5

o Pick a Side: Ask students to pick a side to the question “Should you change your first answer?” – Yes or No. Then, play the video for what research has found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-wfCW0UoWs (1 min)

o Review strategies for specific test questions. (pg. 252-255)
  • Multiple Choice
  • True & False
  • Matching
  • Short-Answer
  • Essay
o Have students immediately practice these strategies while taking the midterm.



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