Concentration and
Memorize
by
Sri Sundari Purbohadi
Contact:
sundari_purbo@[Link]
Medical Education Unit
Muhammadiyah University of
Yogyakarta
What causes lack of concentration when
studying?
• Distractions, such as phone calls, television, loud
noises
• Fatigue, lack of adequate rest
• Lack of materials needed for study
• Non-Peak study times
• Lack of organization
• Visual Distractions
• Friends
• Computer Games and Instant Messenger
So what can you do to concentrate
more effectively???
1. Create a study environment
2. Determine when your peak time is
3. Be organized
4. Get plenty of rest
[Link] agreement with a friend
Hints for Improving Concentration
Set goals before studying
Take breaks by doing something different
Keep pad of paper handy to jot down thoughts
Mix subjects and tasks when studying
Don’t mix work and play
Give yourself rewards
What kind of goals should I set?
• Determine what priority of what you need to study
• Determine the time you will need for each task
• Form a schedule with time slots for each task
• Include short break periods on the schedule
• Hold yourself to the schedule
• Set an appropriate reward
Remember-----
When you are trying to memorize facts or
material:
• Study the most important information first
Make sure you understand WHAT you are
trying to memorize. If you do not understand
the material—STOP and clarify or define
what you need to know. If you do not
understand it, chances are it will be more
difficult for you to memorize it.
Make a commitment
Make the task at hand personal
Take the task seriously
Make a detailed plan to finish it
Don’t procrastinate
Remember:
Students with better study methods and
strategies score higher on their exams.
Every student is different. What works best
for you, may not work well for someone else.
The following memory methods/strategies
are suggestions. We hope you can improve
your study habits, concentration and
memory.
Memorization
• Three Basic Factors
1. focus
an environment free of distractions
2. motivation
a willingness to do what it takes
3. techniques
What Affects Memory: 3 Basic
Processes
• Encoding- the process of readying information
for storage, making it your own
• Storage – the saving of information for future
use
• Retrieval – recalling information, which is a
continuous process
• Discover what your preferred learning
style is:
a. visual
b. auditory
c. kinesthetic
d. Some combination
Memorization
• Visual 70-80%:
Use visual clues, ie…color, size ,
pictures, graphic organizers, etc. to recall
needed information.
• Auditory
Use auditory clues, ie…active listening,
verbalizing, repetitive listening,
setting things to music or rhythm, etc.
to recall needed information
• Kinesthetic (guys especially)
Use physical clues, ie…acting things out,
writing things out 3, 5 10 times, taking good
notes, associating things with actions
or activities, etc. to recall needed
information.
Memorization Strategies:
– Acronym
– Acrostic
– Chunking
– Repeating
– Rhymes & Songs
Acronym:
• According to Merriam-Webster online, an
acronym is “a word (as NATO, radar, or laser)
formed from the initial letter or letters of each
of the successive parts or major parts of a
compound term; also : an abbreviation as FBI”
• Example: SCUBA is an acronym which stands
for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing
Apparatus
• (Acronyms work well when you need to memorize
facts)
Can you remember this list of words?
(you have 1 minute)
boy lemon under egg
behind over around timid
This time---try using the acronym
BLUE BOAT.
boy lemon under egg
behind over apple timid
(you have 1 minute)
Acronym examples:
• NFL = National Football League
• LSAT = Law School Admission Test
• FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation
• IRS = Internal Revenue Service
• EPA = Environmental Protection Agency
• FDA= Food & Drug Administration
Acrostic
According to Merriam-Webster on-
line dictionary, an acrostic is “a
composition usually in verse in which
sets of letters (as the initial or final
letters of the lines) taken in order
form a word or phrase or a regular
sequence of letters of the alphabet.”
Acrostic example
You may heave learned this sentence to solve
mathematical equations:
“Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”
• This acrostic tells you to do the following
functions in this order:
• Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication,
Divide, Add, Subtract
Chunking
Chunking is one of the more commonly used
mnemonic techniques especially when memorizing
numbers. It is based on the idea that short term
memory is limited in the number of things that can
be contained. A common rule is that the average
person can remember 7 (plus or minus 2) items in
short term memory. When you use chunking to
remember numbers, you decrease the number of
items you are holding in memory by increasing the
size of each item.
Chunking (continued)
Can you remember this 16 digit number?
20091776181215678
Now---try to break it down in groups of 4 numbers:
2009 1776 1812 5678
(this is called chunking!)
Repeating
Example: An ice breaker game that has
everyone in the circle go round and say “My
name is Sally and I like seashells.” Then, the
next person would say “Her name is Sally &
she likes seashells. My name is John and I like
jelly.” Then the next person would have to
repeat all the people & items before he says
his name & what he likes. This is an example
of the memorization strategy called repeating.
Repeating (continued)
Once you are able to repeat about 5-6 items
in a row, then try adding an additional item
and so on. This strategy seems to work well
with all subjects.
Repeating can also be accomplished, when
you can teach the material to another person.
This makes you repeat the material in order to
tell them.
Rhymes & Songs
• Example: When you were young, you probably
memorized the Alphabet song to the tune of
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
• According to [Link]: “One type of
learning strategy that works well for many
students is creating songs or rhymes for
memorizing multiplication facts. Look at the
popular Schoolhouse Rock series. Many students
have learned their multiplication tables with
these catchy tunes.”
Successful Student Tested Techniques
• Read the words, say the words, then write the
words.
• Relate the words to something that reminds
you of them.
• Test yourself using vocabulary cards or a
folded paper.
• Mentally use them in sentences.
• Say it out loud while looking at the word,
image or expression.
• Teach the words to someone else and in so
doing learn them yourself.
• Create a mental image or picture of the thing
or action.
• Use reverse cramming
Improve Concentration
• Eliminate distraction by considering:
1. the place your study
2. time of day your study
3. your physical condition
4. background noise
• Focus your attention by:
1. setting a special goal
2. timing yourself
3. varying the use of your skill and the level of difficulty of the
material
4. giving youself reward
