Meanings for Memory

How did you learn for exams? 

Many of us were taught to rote learn. To write things out over and over and over again until it ‘stuck’.

Do you remember learning your times tables?

“One six is six. Two sixes are twelve. Three sixes are eighteen....”

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Over and over and over again until it stuck.

But is this a good way to remember things?

For somethings, maybe. But the science suggests otherwise. 

Experiments have shown that things that mean something to a person (things that they understand) are much easier to remember than things that don’t.

• Words are easier to remember than syllables.

• Real words are easier to remember than made up words.

• Words grouped in categories (a list of animals) are easier to remember than a random list of words.

• Sentences are easier to remember than words in a random order.

• Organised paragraphs are easier to remember than randomly organised ones. (Lyon 1914).

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All this shows that if something means something you it is easier to remember and the more meaning there is, the easier it is to remember. 

How do you learn for examples?

How do you assign meaning to help you remember things more easily?