U.S.A. = Use Some Acronyms

LEARNING and then RETAINING information in courses is essential to gaining useful facts and then succeeding on exams. Why do the methods we use work and how do they get planted in our brains and in our MEMORY?

One method I really found useful for my classes to learn information and memorize it so I could do well on tests, was creating ACRONYMS for things I had to learn and then memorize.

There are several steps in the process of information retention:
1. Memory aids
2. Background knowledge
3. Interest
4. Intention
5. Distribute practice
6. Associate
7. Organize
8. Select
9. Visualize
10. Rehearse
All these combined make up the 'formula' for keeping information in your head for good.

There are also seven essential ways to remember what we learn:
1. Select it (selective about your information)
2. Write it (note-taking, or index cards)
3. Recite it (study groups, reading aloud, taping yourself)
4. Relate it (new information relating to what you already know)
5. Imagine it (mentally visualize your information)
6. Practice it (review material in most helpful way)
7. Anticipate it (anticipating what you'll read or study)

I used ACRONYMS to memorize useful information in my classes. If I make up words to associate key terms in my courses, it is easier to memorize those terms and then learn them in my head. For example, I applied the acronym 'MNEMONIC DEVICE.'
Other mnemonic devices include: acronym sentences, rhymes, link system, method of Loci, and finally visualization.

I created acronyms for my Human Sexuality and my Psychology courses:



AND


This method helps me out a lot because I am a kinesthetic and visual learner. I gain my information through memorization and repetition by associating terms with silly phrases or sentences.
I recommend this method to anyone who wants to gain information and use the learned information in the future or for an exam.

All I had to do was USE study guides to organize my materials and notes in a good format so that I then later could attribute words to the terms in my courses. I thought this was a greatly helpful way to learn new information in organized ways so that I could memorize these details later in my future for my classes.

Save Time and Memorize Things Faster!

I personally hate when it is time to study and I have to really memorize a bunch of terms the test is going to be about. It's very time consuming and theres really no way to get around doing it if you want to get a good grade. A great way to learn informatoin faster is to studying and USE RHYMES

Using rhymes is a great way for me to study epescially because I am a visual and kinesthetic learner. I write down the terms and then create silly rhyes for them so it is easier to memorize the definitions. This always seems to be helpful for me even if the rhyme is stupidly absurd. I learn the material in an easy and faster way, and it pays off on tests. My PSC 121 class is based on a lot of terms that I need to memorize, about 25 in each chapter, and it pays off on the tests.

I would post examples of my rhymes on the blog to show you how I use this strategy but most my rhymes are usually too weird to post (I'm not like a sicko or anything....dont worry) but if you try this startegy for your next quiz or test you will understand what I mean and it will work for you!

Acronyms.

Have you ever used Acronyms?

Have you ever used Acronyms? They are a great way to remember things! If you haven’t tried it, you really should, because it works wonders!

How do you use it?

It is easy! Just make a list of the terms you need to remember, then underline or circle the first letter of each word. Try to arrange these into a word or something you will remember! This is easiest for memorizing things that there are many of and are only one word.

How did I use it?

I used this method in my CFS 388 and my Rel 120 class. This is a great method for me because I am a visual and aural learner. I put the terms in an order that makes the most sense, then I read them out loud until I fully memorized them. This is helpful for the visual aspect because I can picture the terms and the underlined letters in the future. It is also helpful because I read them out loud so this helps the aural aspect. I couldn’t figure out an actual word to fit with the letters I had underlined, so I made one up, but I certainly won’t forget it!

I'm a Poet and I Didn't Even Know it.

The brain is a powerful thing guys and today we will be discussing how to maximize on one of my favorite aspects of the brain.....MEMORY.
It's amazing how much information we can absorb but today we will be practicing a method that will help you absorb the information but also be able to recall it.

I used RHYMES to help me remember.
RHYMES:
Think about how you hear a commercial that has a rhyme or jingle and it just gets stuck in your head. That is what we are going for this week when using the Rhymes strategy.

For my ETS 145 class, there are a lot of terms that we need to know. They seem to be piling on top of one another and I feel overwhelmed. I am a kinesthetic learner so writing down rhymes really works for me. The process itself was really simple. All I had to do was make a little chart with the information I needed to know on one side and then on the other side I would put my rhyme. Simple enough, right?
Suddenly, words like Producerly texts made sense. My rhymes proved be more on the ridiculous side. I feel that it actually helps me remember them better if they are absurd.

I also used this strategy in my MAT 121 class. This might not work for most math classes but because stats has so many definitions and terms in it, this strategy proved to work well.
I took some of the terms I needed to remember like mean, binomial, distribution and I associated them with rhymes that I thought could stick in my brain and I would be able to make the connection when it came time for it.
Think about how you learned the alphabet. You learned it in a song that made it simpler to remember. If you can apply that to your class work, remembering things becomes a whole lot easier. I recommend this strategy for people who are creative because they rhymes should be fun too.

Having trouble memorizing hard to learn information? Use acronym sentences!

This easy to use strategy is a great tool to help you in any class that you need to memorize information in.

How you use it:

When you have information that you need to memorize, first list out all of the words you need to memorize (and the order if there is a specific order).

Then highlight the first letter of each word you have.

Next create a sentence to help you recollect the words by using the letters highlighted.

*remember the more unusual the sentence the easier it will be to remember*

How I used it:

I used this strategy in my HTW 318 and WGS 203 classes. For HTW I had to memorize the stages of addiction. I first listed out all of my words: expiriment, misuse, abuse, dependency. I highlighted the first letter of each of the words to help me look at them better. I then thought about a sentence that would help me recall these words in this order during the exam. I cam up with the sentence Everyone Must Always Dance . Now during the exam when a question is asked about the stages of addiction I will have this sentence prepared and be able to recall my words.

I did this as well for my WGS 203 class. The words I were trying to memorize were poverty, population, advances, decline. This time there was no specific order. I again highlighted the first letter and created my sentence. I came up with Dance At Peoples Place. Although this is a weird sentence it will stick with me and help me remember these phrases.

Who this works for:

This is a great strategy for visual and kinesthetic learners. I am a kinesthetic learner so this tool helps me visualize and do something with my material. Making acronym sentence can only help one in memorizing hard to learn information and it is a fun and easy memorization strategy!

For A Good Start---Use T.A.R.T.

For this week's tech assignment, I chose to use the T.A.R.T. technique to assess my reading challenges. This method compiles four stages to tackle any reading assignment.
Number 1: Terms:
Tells us to read the terms and definitions and then create abbreviations for the terms you expect your teacher to test you about later on an exam.
Number 2: Attend:
We now attend our lectures and reread the lecture notes after taking them.
Number 3: Read:
Now, actually read the chapter for clarification about the lecture as a whole.
Number 4: Test:
Finally, create test questions that you anticipate to be on the exams and answer the questions to the best of your ability.

I chose to apply this strategy to two classes in which I readily use my textbook:
Human Sexuality and Religion

T
For Human Sexuality, I was assigned a full chapter to read for a week. I went to the beginning of the chapter and reviewed each of the terms found in the front of the chapter, so that way I would know what exactly to look for and what I would expect to see. The most major terms I saw, I jotted down and tried to memorize before I began to take on the reading.

A
Human Sexuality only meets once a week, so I attended my lecture and listened very attentively, taking rigorous notes for the entire three hour length of the class. The next day after I got home from lecture and sleep, I immediately reviewed my notes, and even typed them up onto my laptop before going for the textbook reading notes.

R
Finally, I challenged the thing I avoided the most: reading the actual textbook chapter. I panned through the entire thing, reading every section in the chapter and jotting down what I thought would be important and relevant to my exam.

T
I then, to conclude this process, created test questions directly from my lecture and textbook notes. These were questions that I anticipated my teacher to ask on the exam. I then answered them with help from the textbook, online, peers, and even my teacher.

I similarly applied these four steps to my Religion 101 class.
I read the terms in BOLD in the entire chapter before reading the full assignment as a whole.
Then, I attended my class (which wasn't really a lecture) and took very detailed notes about my class presentations and teacher's power points. Then, right after class, I went back to my dorm and read all my detailed notes from class.
The next day, I began to read the textbook for class. I skimmed through quickly and jotted down major, key importances in each chapter.
Lastly, I created large essay test questions for my final exam for each religion and specific terms and facts about each religion.

The challenging part of this assignment for me was actually doing the reading. I am a Kinesthetic learner, and I much prefer a hands-on explanation, rather than something that I have to visually process, focus on, and remember.
It is also very hard for me to create all these notes accumulatively in an organized manner; I did my best, shown in the images all the way above.


The T.A.R.T. method worked well for me once I actually memorized and well understood the steps. It was tedious at first to make sure I was doing the right thing on schedule every time I started to read a new assignment...
Eventually though, I found this method very helpful and I will hopefully use it many times in the future.

Be Smart, Use TART!!!

For this week, I am going to talk about my experience using TART. Because tart is well suited for lecture classes I used TART in my ECN 203 and PSC 121 classes. Both class are very definition based, and the course closely follows the textbook so this reading strategy has been extremely helpful.

For the first T - Terms, I reviewed all the key terms listed for the chapter before lecture, because they are going to be important and frequently used. For the second letter A - Attend, I would attend lecture. Because I was comfortable with the terms used often in lecture, class was much better for me. for the third letter R - Read, I completed the assigned reading. Because I already became familiar with the terms and learned about the material in lecture, the reading in the chapter also became easier. I didn't find myself re-reading things because I didn't understand it. And for the last T - Test, I made test questions, which is a great way to study for the tests.

In regards to Vars, I am a Reading / Writing learner. Reading the terms before lecture definitely helped me to learn the material. Same with reading the textbook Creating test questions helped me stdy for the test becasue I was writing the test questions and answers and then re-reading them while studying.