Step One: Association
The brain is an associating machine. It learns best by linking new information to information already known.
For example, did you ever learned to drive a car choosing a clutch? I did. There were many stalls, jerky starts, and times when I would roll backwards when starting on a hill.
After much practice we mastered the use of the clutch. In fact, we could do it automatically. Then, when we sat in another car with another clutch we were easily able to learn how to use that clutch smoothly and safely.
Why was it so much quicker to learn to use the second clutch? Research says that our brains were able to connect the experience of the first clutch to the learning of the second clutch.
Other examples can be found in the learning of language. People who have learned several languages always say that the third language was easier to learn than the second. Another example is in music. The first musical instrument is always more difficult to learn than the second or the third. We instinctively learn by making connections with information we already understand.
If you are faced with learning something new, you’ll have an easier time remembering and understanding it if you can connect it with something you already know.
Step Two: Rehearsal
Rehearsal means reviewing the information enough times so that it moves from the short-term memory to the long-term memory.
If you have ever studied for tests by saying things over and over or rewriting notes, you know about rehearsal.
One of the reasons that mnemonic techniques are becoming popular again is that they are designed to maximize the mind’s ability to learn by association.
Three: Retrieval
This is the final step of the process of remembering and it involves the retrieval of information.
When we forget there are usually two causes. The first cause is a result of us not learning the material in the first place. The second cause is that we can’t recall the information we learned. Have you ever been frustrated with yourself because you know you know something but you can’t remember it at the moment? Well, if you can relate, then you know what it feels like to forget where you placed a memory.
Summary
If you want to improve our memory, begin by realizing the process of learning and remembering involves three separate steps.
When you first learn something new, link it to something you already know. The act of associating something old with something new will help you remember it.
The second step is to rehearse, or review, the information a few times so that it can transfer from your short-term to your long-term memory.
When you need to Retrieve the information, think of the association you made in step one. Thinking and visualizing about the association becomes the link to the memory.
