Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “memory”
By Katie Azevedo. M.Ed. When it comes to studying, there is a major difference between memorization and understanding. I’m going to explain the differences and when to use each method, but let’s start with this simple but important distinction: Memorization is temporary and limited to …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I have been using Status Notes for years. Of course, back then I had no idea that I would make them into a thing and eventually name them Status Notes, but over time I realized I should share my strategy. The …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. The best study tips for exams differ slightly from study tips for regular tests. Certainly, the list below contains many strategies that will help you prepare for that one high school or college chemistry test, but most of the study tips …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. The purpose of this post is to teach how to use interleaved practice to study. Although they may not know it, most students study with a less effective technique called blocked practice. Blocked practice is when a student studies one particular …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I studied really hard but still failed. Some variation of this complaint is one of the most common grievances that I hear from students. But what gets me is that they’re dead serious. They have legitimate pain in their voices. It’s …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Test anxiety is incredibly common. But it can be debilitating when it pops up during an actual test, as it impairs our thinking and impacts our memories – which we clearly need when we are taking an exam. According to a …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Multiple studies like this one and this one suggest that our working memory can only hold small chunks of information at a time. Exactly how much information our working memories can hold varies with which study you read, but it’s universally …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Let me start with this: The absolute worst way to study is to re-read your notes or your textbook. Re-reading is not studying. Re-reading is not learning. Re-reading is just your eyeballs moving over the same stuff it already moved over. …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Our brains are not meant for storing information; they are made for creating. We simply don’t have enough bandwidth (energy) to remember everything. How many times has someone introduced herself, but twenty seconds later you forget her name? Our brains have …
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. The study tip I’m going to explain here might seem obvious at first, but it’s one that I always see my own students forgetting to do. Read through to the end, and if you think it’s something you already do, I …
