I have horrible memory! please help?

Question

I'm going to be a sophomore..and I'm taking AP World History. I have to read and take notes on the first 12 chapters this summer and I've only done the first chapter and have realized that my memory and concentration is horrible. I got a 4.0 as a freshmen - but i work really hard. And I read and took notes on the chapter and went to this website

http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0072957549/student_view0/chapter2/

...to take a practice quiz and got 50% right. And I have the worst possible memory for dates and numbers and horrible geography skills. I still want to stay in the class ... but what can I do to improve my memory and skills?

Answer 1

Study the twelve required chapters this summer and make yourself answer questions about them or something like that. Then you can always go to your local book store and go to the test prep isle where there is ap books and flash cards.

Pick up a book to study with. Don't worry about the "Brand Name" look at the books and see which one fits you best. Also, definately pick up some flashcards. They'll help you a lot. You can always call up some friends and work with them as well as sometimes when you do work with friends it helps you remember the info more!

Answer 2

Sad to say, there is no entree that provides super memory.    I'm sure there are magic memory pills to be found at the health food store, next aisle up from the magic beans, but save your money.

You'll have to find what works best for you in learning stuff.    My memory for a list of facts is fairly wretched, but if the facts can be tied together with an interesting story of some sort, so I can sit and reason about them then my mind is able to retain the facts (e.g. Plato was Socrates student and Socrates never wrote anything down.   What we know of Socrates came from what Plato wrote down about his teacher.   Having read that, I still don't remember exactly what the years were that Socrates was doing his thing, but at least I can get Plato and Socrates in the right order,   Since they were in years BC where the number of the year decreases as the years go by, getting them in the right order, even if I knew the numbers would be problematic).

Taking this into a non-academic context:   The other day I learned that if a life insurance policy is being issued with a husband as the primary insured, and the wife covered in a spouse rider, that if the husband's health is poor and he's declined by the insurance company, that the wife ends up uninsured too because you can't have a rider on a never-issued policy.    Therefore, if the husband's health is poorer than the wife's, we should make sure that the wife is the primary insured and the husband is the one in the spouse rider.  I was thinking about it and my brain asked "Hey, what if the wife is in a rider on an existing policy and the husband dies, making the existing policy go away?"   It only makes sense if the rider gets converted to its own policy when the primary insured dies.   So I checked with the boss to find out if that's so and indeed it is.    Seems like I just heaped more trivia onto my brain, but by making things into a self-consistent inter-related set of facts, my brain had something to latch on to.  

I'm not saying your brain works the same way as mine, but you need to find out what works for you.

One cramming technique that I've seen people use to good advantage, is to make a note-sheet with all the facts that they need to memorize.   Right up to the moment of the test, study that sheet to the point you can picture the sheet in your mind.   At the start of the test, before your mind is clouded by the pressure of all the questions, use a blank piece of scrap paper or the back of the test sheet or something, to write down everything you can remember from that sheet.   Now you've used up a few minutes of the test time, but in return you have a handy reference sheet for your use while you take the test.

In general, I suggest that rather than focusing on rote memorization that you work with the data.   e.g. if your concern is about a bunch of dates, arrange them on a time line.    Silly stuff like I remember king so and so was hard to fit on the time line because events X and Y were so close to his reign will actually help your brain retain the set of facts if your brain works anything like mine does.

Most tests are closed-book but the world tends to be open book so being able to find facts is probably a more valuable skill than being able to memorize them.  It's a good thing I wasn't the one on the witness stand in the film My Cousin Vinnie - I'd have completely ruined the climax of the movie.    So it goes.

Answer 3

Studies show that the more sensory input you use during memorizing something, the better able you'll remember it.  You can link what you're trying to learn to rhyme (in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue), song, some disgusting dirty thought, a smell, etc.  I have A LOT of success with writing dates on note cards and cooresponding events on other cards and then playing match-up.  (or putting a date on one side and the event on the other and just playing until I can get them all correct).

Also, think for a minute....how many windows are in your living room?  If you're like most people, in order to visualize this, you looked up and to the left.  That is what you should do when taking a test and you're stuck.  You can also access both sides of your brain better if you chew gum, bounce your leg up and down and change your pencil to the non-dominant hand (when your stuck try drawing a picture of the answer with your non-dominant hand). This is just when you're stuck, don't try to take the whole test with this hand.

Another technique I just read about is visualization (DON'T close your eyes), but start studying in a room where there is a large blank wall or curtains to look at.  Look at them and "draw" a picture in your mind of what you're memorizing.  You can also put what you need to learn on notecards with very short memory clues and tape these to the wall for a long period of time (and study from them weekly).  Studies show that when you're taking a test and these questions come up, your brain (and eyes) will "go to that place" and help you remember better.

I'm a teacher for the gifted. Try going to a bookstore (or a website) and getting a book on multiple intelligences.  You will find study techniques for each of the ways that people learn.  You should probably take an online test and see which way you learn best (see below).  Good luck.

Answer 4

eating habits wise, breakfast is good.

Answer 5

Don't stress out to much. Continue to take notes and review them over and over. Make connections with the things you have read. it will be easier to remember.  after a section try and state the mainpoints. if u cant go back and read it.

Answer 6

If I were you, I would catch up on the geography first. It's not so bad, in fact, it can be quite fun and interesting. That way you'll have a basic background that allows you to place the historical events that you have to study.

You should lay out a study plan where you schedule plenty of time for each chapter. Allow yourself time to review as well. The key is balance. Don't overwork and crash yourself. Schedule little breaks after each study segment (a walk, exercise, etc.)

Then I would prepare some sort of chronological time chart. You can get creative and stick several pieces of paper (or other material) together and put it up around the walls of your room. There you can write the years and events. Visualizing things can really help.

I suppose it would help you if you focus on how the events relate to each other and not just try to memorize hard facts. Picture yourself living in that time period. Involve yourself and get creative.

Maybe consider study groups or enlist the help of an adult to discuss what you are studying.

Of course, aside from sleeping 8 hrs a day, you should fit in some exercise, eat a healthy diet, and don't stop taking omega 3.

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark."