Memory and Learning

The following are processes that can be applied for the learning of information. These can be helpful to students are are trying to learn a large amount of information.

     Chunking: 
Our short - term memory capacity is about 7 + / - items of storage. This means that our capacity to store information is limited. To overcome this limitation we can use the process of chucking. Chunking the individual unites that are actually larger units. Consider the following:

NFLNBCFBIMTV

Together the above seem like letters simply put together, however if we take a closer look we can see that they have a meaning 

NFL - National Football League
NBC - National Broadcasting Company 
FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation
MTV - Music Television

This process is known as chucking. It can be used to build your now learning of actual concepts.  Make an acronym with the letter of the beginning of the topics that go together and need to be learned. 

     The Process Of Rehearsal
Information that is not rehearsed will be lost. Sometimes even in the span of 20 seconds. This span is called Retention Duration.

Decay - Information is not rehearsed and lost, leading to cognitive decay.

Inference also causes information to be lost.  Example: Think of a desk, where there are papers that keep piling up on a desk, the papers that were there before may get displaced by the earlier arriving papers. This analogy can be applied to the retrieval of information. If we keep piling up more information, we loose and forget the information that was supposed to be learned earlier. 

     Paired Association Learning
This is when you pair words together, when you recall one word with the other. When asked to remember one word first, then when asked to re-call the next word, they will remember the word much more easily. Example if the word Ice Scream is paired with a cookie .When as to re-call the word Ice - Scream, the word cookie is also more likely to be re-called. This strategy can also be applied to the learning of concepts. 

Reference: 

Galottin, M., Fernandes, A., (Ed.). (2010). Cognitive
  Psychology in and out of the Laboratory. USA:
  Nelson Education Ltd.

​Image 1 - Web Link