It doesn't take a genius to figure out that in order to learn how to study effectively you need to learn how to memorize information effectively. The problem is that most people don't know to how to do that. Instead, they just read over their notes 100 times and hope for the best. But let's put an end to that strategy. Let's use chunking to improve our memory recall instead!
Chunking is the process of combining the items you need to remember together into larger groups - typically through groups, categories and hierarchies. Items you can "chunk" include objects, names, dates, numbers, places, events, symbols and so on. The list of what you can possibly chunk is virtually endless.
You may like to group items together based on the first letter of the word or sentence (so you would group all words or sentences starting with the letter S or the letter C for example). Or you could group them together based on what type of item it is or what you do with it, or what it's made from, or even on how you use or apply the item. There are literally 100's of ways that items can be chunked together.
Whatever groups you use, make sure that the information is meaningful or familiar to you. In other words, don't create groups you won't even remember the group name of! If you do that, you will have no chance of remembering the smaller bits of information that are contained with the groups. Let's take a look at how this might work.
Let's look at how this may work by starting with eight objects: soccer, television, bread, sausages, strawberries, bean bag, basketball, television, and bananas. We could use chunking to group these items by the letter B - bread, bananas, basketball and bean bag. Or we could chunk them by sports - soccer and basketball. Or we could chunk them by fruit - strawberries and bananas. Or we could chunk them by food items - bread, sausages, strawberries and bananas. This is by no means an extensive list but you get the point. The items are being grouped together based on a common denominator.
Obviously this chunking list is quite basic but the reason these are useful is because it creates more memory traces that helps you to prompt your memory and find the data you need. In this instance, if you remember just the letters B, S, T and L you may actually remember all 10 items just by remembering the letters. Or if you remember just "living room, sports, fruit and food" you may also easily remember all 10 items. Keep in mind that this is much more effective than just trying to randomly remember 10 items.
Now let's take things a bit deeper. What about chunking numbers? Let's say you need to remember the following number - 3112196911222006. Say each number one by one. Did you get all that? Now repeat it out aloud without looking at it. Hmm - three, one, one, two - wouldn't have a clue? There was a six somewhere? Not sure? But if we use chunking all of a sudden this becomes much easier.
First up we have three, one, one and two. That's a good way to chunk it. This is the date of New Year's Eve isn't it? The 31st of December. The 31st day of the 12th month. 3112. Next comes 1969 which is the same year that man first trudged around on the moon. Is that easy enough to remember? The next two numbers are one and one which could be two or eleven. Eleven is the number of fingers you would have if you had one too many (I know thumbs are fingers but just play along!) After 11 comes 22. Well that's just 11 times by 2. Easy to remember! Finally we have 2006 to finish it off and that's the year that Brazil won the Soccer World Cup. And there you have it! It couldn't be much easier could it?
Chunking has taken what seemed to be a complex number and made it into an easy to recall number. What becomes obvious is that you are actually building memory traces by creating events around the numbers. So you don't have to remember all the numbers individually, you group them together and then just remember the date of New Year's Eve, the year man trudged around on the moon, one too many fingers, double that number, and Brazil wins the Soccer World Cup. 3112 - 1969 -11-22-2206. 3112196911222006. I know, it was much easier than you thought!
Let's not kid ourselves. The technique that we've shown you has been simplified to make it easy for you to understand. But the fact remains that it really works. Chunking works incredibly well and will really assist you by making how to study much easier through memory recall. Try it with your own work or any list you need to remember and watch your recall improve dramatically. Good luck!
Chunking is the process of combining the items you need to remember together into larger groups - typically through groups, categories and hierarchies. Items you can "chunk" include objects, names, dates, numbers, places, events, symbols and so on. The list of what you can possibly chunk is virtually endless.
You may like to group items together based on the first letter of the word or sentence (so you would group all words or sentences starting with the letter S or the letter C for example). Or you could group them together based on what type of item it is or what you do with it, or what it's made from, or even on how you use or apply the item. There are literally 100's of ways that items can be chunked together.
Whatever groups you use, make sure that the information is meaningful or familiar to you. In other words, don't create groups you won't even remember the group name of! If you do that, you will have no chance of remembering the smaller bits of information that are contained with the groups. Let's take a look at how this might work.
Let's look at how this may work by starting with eight objects: soccer, television, bread, sausages, strawberries, bean bag, basketball, television, and bananas. We could use chunking to group these items by the letter B - bread, bananas, basketball and bean bag. Or we could chunk them by sports - soccer and basketball. Or we could chunk them by fruit - strawberries and bananas. Or we could chunk them by food items - bread, sausages, strawberries and bananas. This is by no means an extensive list but you get the point. The items are being grouped together based on a common denominator.
Obviously this chunking list is quite basic but the reason these are useful is because it creates more memory traces that helps you to prompt your memory and find the data you need. In this instance, if you remember just the letters B, S, T and L you may actually remember all 10 items just by remembering the letters. Or if you remember just "living room, sports, fruit and food" you may also easily remember all 10 items. Keep in mind that this is much more effective than just trying to randomly remember 10 items.
Now let's take things a bit deeper. What about chunking numbers? Let's say you need to remember the following number - 3112196911222006. Say each number one by one. Did you get all that? Now repeat it out aloud without looking at it. Hmm - three, one, one, two - wouldn't have a clue? There was a six somewhere? Not sure? But if we use chunking all of a sudden this becomes much easier.
First up we have three, one, one and two. That's a good way to chunk it. This is the date of New Year's Eve isn't it? The 31st of December. The 31st day of the 12th month. 3112. Next comes 1969 which is the same year that man first trudged around on the moon. Is that easy enough to remember? The next two numbers are one and one which could be two or eleven. Eleven is the number of fingers you would have if you had one too many (I know thumbs are fingers but just play along!) After 11 comes 22. Well that's just 11 times by 2. Easy to remember! Finally we have 2006 to finish it off and that's the year that Brazil won the Soccer World Cup. And there you have it! It couldn't be much easier could it?
Chunking has taken what seemed to be a complex number and made it into an easy to recall number. What becomes obvious is that you are actually building memory traces by creating events around the numbers. So you don't have to remember all the numbers individually, you group them together and then just remember the date of New Year's Eve, the year man trudged around on the moon, one too many fingers, double that number, and Brazil wins the Soccer World Cup. 3112 - 1969 -11-22-2206. 3112196911222006. I know, it was much easier than you thought!
Let's not kid ourselves. The technique that we've shown you has been simplified to make it easy for you to understand. But the fact remains that it really works. Chunking works incredibly well and will really assist you by making how to study much easier through memory recall. Try it with your own work or any list you need to remember and watch your recall improve dramatically. Good luck!
About the Author:
HelpMeToStudy.org is the best online resource for learning new study skills, changing your study habits and finding the best study tips available. We will help you change the way you think about study - and even better - we will show you how to study effectively: How To Study Effectively | Memory Training
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