Memory...or lack thereof

We all know how difficult it is to remember so many different things and it only gets worse with age.I never thought that I would be having (small) difficulties remembering things at the age of 18. But trying to remember that you have a French test on Friday, a paper due Monday, dinner reservations on Thursday at 5:30, a meeting with your advisor on Tuesday at 12:15 and everything else on top of that can be a challenge. And yes, this is this is my schedule for the rest of the week. And I have to admitt that it's hard to always remember these things espically when I'm trying to remember everything I reviewed last night for my French test. So when Professor Cary (my adv professor, the one this blog is for) mentioned memory in class I knew that this would be benificial for me (which it has), so I figured that it would help other people too.

1. Ten tips on how to improve your memory:
1. be active. Try studying in different ways to get your mind going. Make studying interesting and different.
2. sort/organize what you learn into cateogories. This will make it easier to recall the information.
3. exercise. Not only your mind but your body as well.
4. repeat, repeat, repeat. One of the best ways to remember something is by repeating it until you remember it. Repetition also works by seeing something over and over again.
5. be patient.
2. pseudo forgetting- you never really learned the information to begin with. Your learning of that material was never complete. You may have
3. Three theories about why we forget things:
1. Never actually learned it. You may think that by mearly reading over a text a few times before an exam that you have done enough to ensure that you know the material, but in actuality just reading over something isn't very effective.
2. Cramming. Although it has been shown that cramming before a test or exam will help you retain some of the information, it will not help you remember everything. ( I love how the majority of college students are aware of this, yet still wait till the last minute to do everything)
3. Interference. When studying you are reaching into your long-term memory storehouse and get out the wrong information that you were looking for.
4.  "In 24 hours we forget 52% of the information if we do not review."
5. The MOST important thing in having a good memory is that it involves both putting information into memory and getting it back out (storage and retrieval).
6. 10 Foods to Help You Boost Your Memory: Studies show that certain foods can actually help you boost your memory in addition to the 10 tips listed above. Among the list are blueberries, coffee, apples, grapes, orange juice. Unfortunately (for me at least) fish, onions, spinach and collard greens made the list as well.
7. Another way to boost your memory would be to take vitamins. I would recommend something such as the Flintstone Gummy Vitamins, not only are they utterly delicious, but vitamins have been shown to help stimulate the mind and prevent memory loss. (I know it's hard to resist eating the whole container at one time, but sticking to eating 2 a day will give you the extra memory boost you need)

Links:

1. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1738621,00.html
2. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2007-03-12-memory-first_N.htm
3. http://michaelgr.com/2008/09/13/mit-study-human-memory-capacity-much-bigger-than-previously-thought/

RESPECT FOR YOUR PROFESSOR & CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE

1. Top 10 things professor's find annoying: 1.) Students being late to class, 2.) Students not turning assignments in on time, 3.) Students texting during class, 4.) Students not asking for help when they need it and then finally come to the professor the day before the final exam expecting to get help, 5.) Students not coming to class at all, 6.) Students not participating in class, 7.) Students who expect to get a certain grade but don't do anything to earn it, 8.) Students that complain to the professor, 9.) Students who obviously aren't paying any attention in class and are sleeping, 10.) Students who simply just don't care. 2.Top 10 things that would impress your professor: 1.) participating in class, 2.) attending class, 3.) asking questions, 4.) introducing yourself to the professor, 5.) turning in assignments on time, 6.) emailing them with anything that you may need help with, 7.) taking notes in class, 8.) making eye contact while they are teaching-so that they know that you are listening, 9.) listening to their instructions-and being sure to follow them, 10.) coming in to talk to them about what your study habits are and what else you can be doing to ensure that you are doing your best in the course. 3. Ms. Janelle has been trying to tell us that by us developing a relationship with our professors, we will have a better experience in the class and it will be easier to complete assignments because you will habe a better understanding for what the professor wants. She has also told us how the relationship you have with your professors in college is a lot like that of your employer. Establishing a good relationship with them will create a better working environment and will enable you to have a better understanding of what is expected of you. 4. When emailing your professor there are 5 things to keep in mind: 1.) Be sure to include an opening (such as: Dear Professor Smith), 2.) be sure to use proper grammar, 3.) Be sure to capitalize (ex: letters such as "I"), 4.) Be sure to write in complete sentences, 5.) Be sure to include a closing in which you state your name (ex: Respectfully, Emily Foster) Link: http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/170730468.html

Listening & Note Taking

1. For the quiz, what level listener are you, there were 3 different categories that your score could fit into, If you scored below 70 you need training in listening, if you scored between 70-90 then you listen will, and if you scored above 90 then your and extraordinarily good listener. I was a bit surprised with my results. I scored a 72. This was a bit surprising because I was just barely considered to "listen well".



2. I thought that I was a pretty good listener before taking this quiz. I see now why I may not be as good of a listener as I thought I was to begin with.



3.After learning some tips about listening/note taking, there are 5 things I can do to improve my in class listening skills: 1.) Look at the person who is talking to me- that way they know that I am actually listening, 2.) Ask questions-this way I can get a better understanding of what the speaker is trying to say, 3.) Don't interrupt- this comes off that you think that you are smarter than the person talking to you and don't have time for them, 4.) Don't assume, 5.) Repeat- restate what the speaker has told me so that I can make sure that I am understanding the correctly.

4. The approximate cost of 1 HPU lecture hour (50 minutes) for me this Fall is $69.

5. For a day that I have 3 classes, I am paying $207 for a whole day. 

6. For a whole weeks worth of classes I spend a total of $828 for all of my classes.

7. No student ever thinks " I am wasting my money by texting in class, not paying attention", rather we think "This class is SO boring, I just want to be in bed right now". The thought never occurs to us that we are the ones paying for this education and that we need to be taking advantage of every second that we have with our professors, to be asking questions, taking notes, etc. And it's hard to remember to do all of these things but I have to remind myself that class time is when I need to be serious and be focusing as much of my attention on what is going on in class.

Links Required:
http://www.d.umn.edu/kmc/student/loon/acad/strat/ss_listening.html
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/notes.html