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Many students face the case when they forget the data they just have studied. It isn`t enjoyable, especially during the exam. Usually, we regret a lot after this happens. Although, devoting more hours to memorizing doesn`t always pledge a successful outcome. A spaced repetition technique is an unusual way to solve this issue.
19th century was a dark time for technological advances, and scientists couldn`t make proper analysis in the field of psychology given superstitions and misbeliefs. Despite this, Hermann Ebbinghaus, a psychoanalyst from Germany tested and examined how human memory operates, learned all malfunctions, while it was thought to be meaningless.
The researcher came up with a considerable set of one-syllable combinations with no interpretation or associations with commonly used vocabulary due to analogous transcription, for instance, “Dax” or “Taz.” Later, the scientist continued his experiment with learning lists of the combinations by heart. He tested several variables like time and speed of forgetting, length of the listing to remember, amount of data saved, the number of repetitions. After the expert of psychology managed thorough scrutiny of information, he presumed the impact of the variables, as mentioned earlier, on the process of remembering the input. This experiment helped him to be the first scientist to discover the occurrence of the ‘forgetting curve’ and ‘spacing effect.’
Scientist`s experiment on memorization demonstrated how people`s memory deteriorates if the material is not revised within some period. This experiment was carried out twice in the 19th and recently by contemporary inquirers, and the results were practically the same. It proves that Ebbinghaus was a genius prober of his epoch. It confirms the connection between the retention and hours spent on memorizing since the first acquaintance with the data.
‘Learning curve’ is based on the spaced repetition as the German psychologist discovered. It can improve the quality of remembering and urge the human`s brain to memorize more material for a long time through several phases of rote learning. So, Ebbinghaus assumed that memory refines if you defeat the negative influence of the ‘forgetting curve.’
Realize the Phenomenon of Forgetting
Herman Ebbinghaus made a revolution in the studies of memory, but he was not right in his experiment. Modern specialists in the sphere of psychology say that the material a person memorizes doesn`t dissolve with the approach of time, but has a more complicated structure.
All humans have short term and long-term kinds of memory. When Ebbinghaus told about the irreversible course of forgetting, he meant a short-term memory. Modern psychology has a notion of trace decay theory of forgetting. This theory centers on time and data disappearing owing to the weakening of physical traces in the people`s nervous system. The human brain does not clear or eradicate material. So, if a person cannot remember the fact, it refers mostly to the retrieval failure rather than the process of forgetting.
Having learned about Ebbinghaus`s learning curve, scarcity of consolidation theory, readers understand that forgetting does not refer to the data dissolving. The theory mentioned above includes the improper change of chemical bonds between neurons. And it is not applicable in the spaced repetition technique based on the standard learning curve.
Imagine an individual who spent a substantial period of a reiteration of the fresh material during a specific time frame. One stored the data congruously, but now he is not able to revise the facts. Modern scientists say that the problem lies more in the ease of use of the data than saving.
Two primary criteria that need continuous use to operate correctly:
- Depository space. Neurons, nerves, and chemical neurotransmitters function as one apparatus. They form a set of stable bonds that establish an enduring memory accumulation.
- Approachability. It is connected with the notion of a retrieval cue. They can make internal and external. Imagine that you went to a scientific conference. External retrieval cues will be people who were giving a speech there, their appearance, food, and drinks served during the event. Internal retrieval cues will be your mood at the conference, opinion about its participants. Retrieval cues are things you can remember because they are encrypted in your memory. If you don`t have them, you don`t have entry to some piece of information.
Remember the theory of brain attic and well-known series of Sherlock Holmes? The famous detective developed a powerful visualization of his brain`s storage to know where every piece of data is situated. He removed all the unnecessary info from his brain and memorized all the important facts for his investigations.
Spaced Repetition Time Intervals That Work Better
To make your studies efficient, you need to practice the spaced repetition technique. After you apply it in the process of learning, your life will never be the same again. Using this method, you will remember more with spaced repetition for many weeks or even months. Let yourself have good marks in forthcoming exams.
Studies show that students forget 60 % of the information in 20 minutes after learning it, 65 % in an hour, and 80% in a week. Could you read the text and then close it? You will forget everything unless you use the technique. There should 4 phases of spaced repetition. The first repetition should be right after you read the text. The second one ought to be in 20 minutes after the first. The third one is in 8 hours after the second. And the fourth repetition has to be in 24 hours after the third one.
One day intervals also have a positive impact on the long memory. Thus, if you have an exam in seven days and hit the books today, you will pass it successfully if you revise the learned material two days later. Also, you will have to repeat it once again during the week and one more time before the test.
Apps for improving memory
Nowadays, writing on paper cards and sticking them in an apartment has become an outdated way of learning. Essay writers or professors prove that handwriting is more effective than typing. It is the most appropriate method of memorizing words. Technological progress shows students a great diversity of apps that can help to improve memory, so the student won’t forget to ask for essay help, do the home work, call his family and so on.
Mensa Brain Training is the biggest IQ community, and now it has released its app. Ithas stimulating games generated by Mensa professionals. It has exercised on memory, focusing, agility, attention, and logical thinking. After the end of each activity, you will be provided with a Mensa Brain index. You will receive a personal mark for every discipline.
Price: Free on App Store.
Lumosity is a popular application with an attractive design. Ninety million people worldwide use this app to improve their attention, flexibility, speed od reaction, math, and problem-solving skills and, of course, memory.After you download the app, you will have to pass a ‘Fit test,’ and you will receive exercises and workouts personalized to your level.
Price: Free of charge on the App Store and Google Play Store.
The One Brain app can be a useful assistant. In this app, you can improve not just memory but learn to use both hemispheres productively. The left hemisphere is responsible for analytical thinking, the right one responsible for feelings and emotions. Users get tasks where both hemispheres communicate. For instance, the question will claim ‘9+6=14’, and users have to tap the no variant. Over you notice that you are better at making decisions.
Price: Free to download on the App Store.
4 Pics 1 Word is an entertaining and hilarious app. As you can understand from its name, you are shown four pictures, and you aim to select only one word in common. As the name suggests, the app shows users four pictures, and they must use these to work out the one word in common. For example, users may be demonstrated a boxing ring, a courier with a delivery, a boy with boozing gloves, and Mike Tyson. From this, you can guess the common word is a box. The mentioned above app is a fun app to entertain in a company of friends.
Price: download and use it for free on the App Store and Google Play Store.
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