Advanced Memory Retention & Fast Learning Techniques For CSIR and GATE Exams
Gone are those days when students used to study using Unscientific methods; in the 21st Century, Students are becoming increasingly smarter and better at what they do – Studies
So I thought of making a video to highlight some very effective Advanced Memory retention & Fast learning Techniques which can help you further step up your exam preparation.
Even before I start telling you about this advanced Memory retention & Fast learning Techniques, I wish to highlight 5 things that are very important if you want to remember better and recall faster.
And they are:
- Number 1: Sleeping for 7 to 8 Hrs per day
- Number 2: Exercising for 30 Minutes per day or 3 times per week for 1 hr each
- Number 3: Eat a Non-Fatty diet that does not contain unsaturated fats.
- Number 4: Plan your Day, Week as well as Months in advance
- Number 5: Improve on your Habits to follow a fixed plan & schedule
Now, if you have these 5 things covered, then only you can implement the advanced Memory retention & Fast learning Techniques.
So now let’s get started:
Our Brain works in a 3 step process that can be easily divided into:
Number 1: Encoding
Number 2: Storage
Number 3: Recall
Now a mistake in any of these 3 processes will hamper your memory retention as well as memory recall. So let me give you techniques that will help you enhance your encoding, storage, and retrieval abilities.
Encoding is the Precursor foundation of memory on which every other step depends. If the Precursor is wrong, everything falls apart. So you must pay attention to this step and if possible take notes.
Now encoding can be subdivided into 2 types:
- Applicatory Encoding
- Repetitive Encoding or Rattafication
The best way to remember is Applicatory encoding but most students follow repetitive encoding which is rattafication, now this kind of encoding will not help you remember for a longer period of time.
Now we need to know how can we use Applicatory Encoding to retain any concept for a longer period of time.
There are more than 5 advanced ways to do this:
Number 1: Visual Notes – While making notes use colour sketch pens, if you have access to a digital tablet such as an iPad and a digital pencil, use them extensively to make notes so that you can carry them anywhere
Number 2: Flowcharts – Flowcharts are an excellent way to encode right & balanced information into the brain, you can either make your own flowcharts or you can buy them from Biotecnika, in any of these cases you must personalize your flowcharts by scribbling on it with your own notes, then only you will remember it better and for a longer period of time.
Number 3: Chunking – Chunking is very old but also the most useful form of Memory encoding. For example, you have to remember the value of 1 Mole which is equal to 6.02214076×10 to the power 23 so you can chunk it as 6.022 (14) (076) X 10 to the power 23, Chunking helps you especially in remembering sequences of Numbers of repetitive alphabets.
Number 4: mNemonics – this specific memory technique will help you better remember details of anything you’re learning. “Mnemonics” refers to any system or device designed to aid memory–usually, patterns of letters, ideas, or associations, such as VIBGYOR to remember the colours of the rainbow. Or let’s take another example of Remembering the Planets of Solar System as “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas” (where the first letter of each word stands for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, respectively).
Number 5: Flash Cards – Now flashcards are an excellent way to Memorise and revise but while reading a concept for the first time you can create your own flashcards. This way you need not waste time making flashcards while revising
Number 6: Audio Notes – Record a Summary and important points of your topic in an App called Otter.Ai now. This will be helpful while you revise in the future.
Alright, now that you know how to remember for a longer period of time, I am going to show you how to move your memory from temporary storage to permanent storage.
Number 1: Using Spaced Repetitions – Revisions using the Spaced Repetition technique helps you in the most effective way. By introducing time intervals between study sessions, you can remember more – even if you spend fewer actual hours studying. Let’s give you a practical example, Suppose you study today, you must do the first revision after one day, or preferably the same day, the second revision within a week, the third revision within two weeks, and the fourth revision after a month. And after that, you revise it just a few days before the test. I have made a separate video in much more detail which you refer to later, link is given in the description.
Number 2: Listening to yourself – Now this is something which I have done myself during my student life. I used to record a summary of the chapters during studying and used to listen to it while exercising. That helped me revise almost every chapter every week.
Number 3: Coloring & Drawing – Remember you made visual notes when you were encoding the concepts for the 1st time? Now is the time to pick up a highlighter and colour the concepts, pick a sketch pen and draw the pathways, cycles and colour them too. This will excite your pictorial memory and will stay longer in your permanent memory.
Number 4: Teach & Share – This one is my favourite, in my student life I was always hunting for weak classmates who needed help in understanding concepts. The moment I spotted one, I will teach them. This used to do 2 things: Number 1 I used to earn a friend and 2nd teaching is the best way to move your concepts from temporary memory to permanent memory. No one word of caution here is many students think that if I teach someone by just making a video and sending it across to them will be helpful then you should know that it will not be as effective as you think. You need to personally teach them in an active manner.
Number 5: Buddy Revisions – Now buddy revisions are an extension of my previous point. If you have a friend or classmate who is also preparing then sit together and revise. It will help you answer many common questions and confusions together.
Alright, So now we know how to encode perfectly and how to store it in our permanent memory but still, the last & final step is pending
And that is: Recall
If you wish to recall faster than ever then you need to follow these steps:
- Step 1: Practice in exam Like Conditions – When you solve questions in perfect exam-like conditions then your brain neurons wire together to act in the same way as the actual exam. Remember the neurons which wire together always fire together. So you need to always practice in exam simulated conditions and also practice decision making on which questions to solve first and which questions to skip. This will help you minimize negative marking too,
- Step 2: Create your own Relational database – Now have you ever tried to feed a small baby in the mouth? As soon as you put the hand near to the mouth, you will notice your own mouth also opens up slightly. Now, this is called a relational database. You need to create conditions, simulate actions, and surround yourself with tools that help you create such a relationship with your concepts in your mind.
- Step 3: Use Comparision Tables – Now have you bought a mobile phone online? Whenever you go to buy a mobile, websites like Amazon or Flipkart allow you to compare features, that way you remember better the features of the competing mobile phones. Similarly, you can use this technique to remember better by creating comparison tables for famous and important concepts such as Glycolysis, glycogenolysis, mitosis, meiosis, etc. At Biotecnika we call it Koncept Comparision tables or simply Koncept tables which helps students remember better.
- Step 4: Use Koncept Wheels & Visual Notes: Remember during encoding you made visual notes, you can extend this idea by creating a Koncept wheel, where the central idea is the name of the concept itself and all its features are the various parts of the wheel. The logic behind the Koncept wheel is brain remembers various shapes & colours better than the text.
- Step 5: Utilise Mnemonics and Chunking – I have already highlighted this aspect during the revision process, however during the recall process it becomes super important if you remember the full forms of the abbreviations for example you need to remember VIBGYOR means the colours of the rainbow and vice versa.
Alright, So there you have it, we have enlisted some very advanced forms of Memory Retention & Fast Learning today and I am sure this video was helpful to you, do let me know in the comments section which techniques you employ while studying and how it helps you learn better.
See you in our next video. Till then Bye
