Many of us students find it hard to concentrate in class, or to remember a specific topic that was discussed the previous day. Luckily, there are many little “tricks” even the average student can do to improve their memory and concentration.
Pay Attention!
It has become increasingly difficult to focus all of your attention to one object/activity for an extended period of time living in today’s world. Well, if you want to improve, then drop all that you are doing and focus on the task at hand. You can start right now by closing all other internet windows and turning off that iPod to read the rest of this article.
Use as many senses as possible.
Having five senses is a privilege which is often taken for granted. When doing any remedial task, try to see it from different perspectives. If you have to take some lecture notes you can feel how heavy the pencil in your hand is, or any specific odor the room may have at that time. This “cheats” the brain by making what you are doing seem important, allowing necessary connections to be made in order for the knowledge attained from that lecture to be remembered.
Exercise your mind.
Mentally challenging yourself can help to create new connections in the brain, which makes it more effective and more resistant to memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. So play more puzzling games, or read a difficult book. Ha! You could even read more school articles.
Relate new information to what you already know.
New information is much easier to remember if it can be contextualized. For example, when you are trying to cram for the science test you have the next day, you can try to see if there are similarities between the information you already know and the information you are trying to learn. That way, you are relaying old information with new information thus keeping those thoughts in mind.
Use mnemonics.
That is, tie information to visual images, sentences, acronyms, or rhymes. Instead of forcing a new math equation to stick in your head, you can try to put it into a funky new song. This increases your creativity and makes your memories stick. Think about it, you remember the newest song faster than the newest lesson at school.
Understand information.
Try to understand more complex material before you try to remember it. If possible, summarize the material in your own words and write or type out your summary. Reorganize the material or your summary of the material so that it is easier to remember. By manipulating the information in this way, you are forcing yourself to think about it actively.
By now, hopefully, you have realized that in high school, you can’t just float by with just proficient. We all need to challenge ourselves to achieve the next big thing. These are simple ways to help on that journey. Use them to your advantage.