Chapter 8 Impression post: Memory

--Original published at AlexisPattersonBlog

When I study for a test, I tend to start to study a week ahead of time. This gives me enough time to study all the material that is going to be on the test. This also allots time incase I have any questions about something I am confused about, it allows me to get the answer and grasp that concept before the exam. Yet this isn’t always as easy as it seems.

Sometimes I don’t get the chance to study every day of that week because I have a bad habit of being lazy. I have busy days and I get down to the end of them and get into the “ill do more tomorrow” mood. Yet this is a snowball effect and I don’t do more the next day. I do tend to fall into the typical college student image of cramming the night before. This isn’t my best trait, but what’s even worse is I have this “if I don’t know it by midnight then I don’t know it” mentality as well. But don’t get me wrong, I do study and I do put the time in that is needed.

I always get nervous for the first exams of the semester for the classes I am taking. I fear the unknown. so not knowing the style of the test makes me more nervous. For this first exam I first went over all of the power points that he displayed in class. I then went and compared them to my notes from the text book reading on those same chapters. I also went over the study guide that was given to us and used that also to review and compare my notes with.

Some things I would probably do different for next exam is to ask more questions about concepts I get confused about. For instance, I didn’t grasp some of the conditioning concepts and I tried to work it through myself, but you can only do so much without asking for help.

Memory

--Original published at Emily's college blog

Memory is essential for human life. Memory causes us to remember complex concepts for tests and simple everyday tasks. Some older memories can be so vivid and detailed as if it happened a few minutes ago, while others are blurry or misplaced all together. What causes our brain to decide which memories to store in detail and which to throw away? When I think about my past memories, most of them are ones that I hold very dear and want to last a lifetime. Others, however, are moments like, nationwide tragedies, that haunt my mind. For example, last year on Valentine’s Day, I remember my mother was washing the dishes when I had walked into my kitchen and found out about the Florida school shooting. I remember in detail what happened a year ago, but I do not remember what outfit I wore yesterday. The school shooting is something that impacted me and put our nation into a shock for several months. My outfit yesterday, however, had no effect on my or anyone else’s life at all. I believe events that shape us as a person and the country as a nation are the ones that our brain decides to keep. The everyday activities that are unimportant and useless to our future are ones that our brain decides to throw away. There is also only so much space our brain can hold for memories, so as we make more, the unimportant ones fade away or become blurry. However, the ones that have shaped us as unique person or our country as a nation are the ones that stick with us forever.

Chapter 8- Memory

--Original published at Maddy Vingom's PSY105 Blog

There are some memories that are permanently engrained in our minds, I know that one I will never forget is Parkland, Florida shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School. I vividly remember one year ago on Valentine’s Day a bomb threat was placed on my school, we were rushed out of my school and told to walk go the gym at a nearby college. I remember the immediate fear I felt when hearing about the threat, fortunately the kid that made the threat did not actually plant bombs throughout the school. All of the students were bussed home as soon as they discovered the threat was nothing more than a threat. On that silent bus ride our phones all received notifications from numerous news sources regarding the Parkland incident. A thousand things went through my mind, that could have easily been my school all over the news. I was disgusted, horrified and disappointed in humanity. The only thing on television all day was this event and talking about past school shootings.

Events similar in nature these are so significant and change our world views. The shock and horror we feel as they unfold before our eyes is so significant that our minds permanently engrain them. I believe the strong emotions, historical significance, along with the personal connection we make causes these events to become impossible to forget. Some memories aren’t kept as vividly, as the result of the brain being unable to store all the events that occur in our lives. The most significant and important are stored and the ones that are not important are forgotten.

Chapter 8 Impression

--Original published at WilliamsCollegeBlog

I believe that some of our memories are so vivid is because they are so unique or special in our minds, that there is no reason to remember something that does not match the same standards. I remember back in middle school, I heard how some memories you remember because they are bound to happen to you in real life. I did not believe it until a similar situation happened to me. The dream had way more details in real life, but the important parts of the memories stayed the same in real life. My overall theory about dreams is that our minds tend to remember the things which give us most joy or pleasure at the end of them. Now scary dreams are a different situation because they would not make someone happy. This would be because our minds will also remember the things we would never want to happen to us in real life.

I would propose studying this phenomenon by selecting a group of people and have them fill out a survey where they must answer questions about what they found special in life or what matters to them. Then have them come back after a week of healthy sleeping and talk about the dreams that they remember the best. It would just have to be a few, assuming they had dreams, and see if their dreams match what was categorized as most important to us. The same way would go for nightmares since they can be very vivid memories of those as well. Talking about life events or things in general before sleeping, can increase the chances of that talk being a part of your latest dream.

Chapter 8 First Impression Prompt – Memory

Regardless of which prompt you choose, please use the Tag “Memory” on your post:

Option 1:

One of the topics we will discuss related to memory is study habits. For this post, critique your current study habits. Discuss what do you do well and what do you need to improve. In particular, I want you to discuss how you studied for the first exam in this class and share any changes you might make for the second exam to improve your preparation. We will see how closely your ideas reflect what the research says about improving your memory for learned information.

Option 2:

Not all memories are created equal. Some seem to be so powerfully etched in our minds that we can recall them almost perfectly later in life. For example, many people from my parents’ generation know exactly what they were doing when President Kennedy was assassinated. A more recent example would be what you were doing when you heard of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in 2001. Then there are all the personal life events we remember “like they were yesterday.” Why do you think some memories are so much stronger than others? Explain your theory and propose a way to study how accurate these powerful memories really are.

I look forward to seeing what you write!

Header image: CC by Flickr user Caitlinator

Spotlight Blog #2 – Memory

--Original published at Wolfman Productions

When studying for tests/exams students tend to either cram the night before, study over a set period of time before the day comes, or don’t study anything at all. Students can fall into any of these choices and that all depends on their study habits/skills.

When it comes to college students may sites offer different advice for studying habits. The site I chose to look at is ExploreHealthCareers.org to see what tips they offer. The one I took the most to heart is there “Take a Break” section. They say it’s good to take a 10 min break after an hour of studying. They also say to limit the use of computers and social media and we tend to get distracted by these things. I can see this helping out, but some people are better off studying for hours with little to no breaks because they retain the information better that way.

High school students can have the same problems as others when it comes to studying, but they might be limited on their time if they’re dedicated to sports or other after-school activities. The source I found for these tips comes from LiveAbout.com. The one point that caught my eye was the very first one they list. They say to study alone if you don’t have friends that are super-serious about studying, but some people are able to study better in a group even if they get sidetracked. I can see the benefits of studying alone because you can focus into what you need to learn more and spread your time across the entire session. I still think studying with a group is better because you can ask questions if you don’t fully understand notes or a certain term.

Parents might have issues relating to their children on how to study their school work. The site I chose to look at is Edmentum.com which is a blog site that offers other information for parents and educators. The one point I picked out of these is “Teach your child to ask for help”. If parents don’t tell their children to ask for help when they need it, then they won’t be able to advance further with their studies because they don’t fully understand the topics they cover. I remember when I was younger, I was told to ask for help if I ever needed it for my assignments and other things I needed help with. I fully encourage this tip for parents everywhere to use on their children.

These sites are just a small selection of the ones I found searching. If you don’t like the tips in these sites then a good google search will lead you other sites with tips that you may find more to your liking. Hope these tips are able to help someone out with there study habits and I know some of these tips can help me out with studying my material.

Spotlight #2: option 1

--Original published at LivsCollegeBlog

Memory and studying is different from person to person. Some people can get away with less studying, while others have to put a serious amount of time and effort into studying to get the same results. In college, studying is an important part to academic life. There are different methods to go about studying. One online source is aimed at college students. It gives seven different tips to get the most out of studying in college. The first tip is “Good Notes = Good Grades.” This tip suggests that you should take notes on the key points of the lecture or textbook, without taking down too much information. This tip also states that it could be useful to record lectures and take notes from those recordings at a later date. The second tip is “Stay Organized,” which states the usefulness of using a calendar to keep track of due dates for assignments and extracurricular activities. It is important to plan out as much as you can so that you know when you will have time to study and for how long. Another part of this tip is to organize class material by using sticky notes to mark important parts of the textbook, keeping returned assignments, and making flashcards for key terms. The article also advises to “Unplug and Reconnect,” which basically means that you should limit the use of electronics to academic use rather than social media or games; at least while studying or in class. The fourth tip is “Don’t Cram.” In my opinion, this is one of the most useful points for college students. It says that by delaying studying until the last minute, you’re less likely to retain the information. Instead, try studying a little bit every day to ward off exhaustion and have a better chance at remembering what you learned. The next tip is “Don’t Over Study,” which deals with time management. It states not to study useless information and just stick to the key concepts of the subject. If you’re unsure of what information to study, contact your professor to make sure you’re studying the right information. The next tip is “Find Your Zone.” Find a spot to study that promotes focus and learning. Try to avoid places that are loud and crowded. Some people listen to music while studying, while others prefer silence or a quiet environment. If you’re not sure which environment works best for you, try different ones until you find the one that you can study the best in. The final piece of advice is to “Take a Break!” The article suggests taking a 10 minute break every hour or so, as well as taking a day or two off every week. Taking breaks helps students to stay energized and prevents over studying. Given how overwhelmed college can be, taking breaks is probably the most important tip when it comes to studying. I think all the tips included in this website are great study tips for college students.

Middle school and high school students also have to study, although it’s not necessarily as demanding as studying in college. An online sources gives 6 tips to help middle and high school students when it comes to studying. Most of the tips from this online source are similar to study tips for college students, however, they are more structured for the academic level of middle and high school students. The tips that the two sources have in common are finding the right spot to study, limiting distractions, practicing time management, and setting the mood. One tip given by this source that is different from the online source for college students is to try checklists. The article suggests that there is a form of satisfaction that comes from checking off a box after finishing an assignment. This tip is useful to make sure you don’t forget to do an assignment. I personally write down each assignment that I have to do on a post-it-note and line them up in a chain based on the due dates of the assignments and then throw away the post-it- note whenever I finish the assignment. I find this source credible because it shares the majority of its tips with the source for college students.

Parents are a group of people who don’t usually have to study, but there are some useful tips given in this article for parents to help their children form effective study habits. The first tip suggests creating a designated study space for your children. This is useful in making sure the children have the supplies they need, are organized, and are away from distractions. The article suggests letting your children make the area their own by having them decorate the area however they want. The second tip is to keep a planner, which teaches time management. The article suggests creating milestones for larger projects and tests so that the child doesn’t get overwhelmed. The parents should also make sure that their child sticks to the schedule, which can offset procrastination (which is a hard habit to break). The third tip is to take effective notes. The article lists several note taking methods that parents should be familiar with so they can determine which one works best for their child. By having the parents practice effective note taking strategies, the children will follow and begin taking notes effectively as well. The next tip is to practice for tests. The article suggests having the parents help the child practice more interactively rather than just reviewing the information. This could be done by making practice tests or using flash cards. Essay-style questions are also a great way to practice the material because it causes the child to recall the information rather than just memorizing definitions. The next tip is to avoid cramming. This tip works in conjunction with keeping a planner. The article suggests that the parent should create a study schedule so that the child can space out their studying and study different subjects rather than just sticking to one subject. This process is called interleaving and has been effective when it comes to retaining the information for multiple subjects. This tip also includes the use of taking a 15 minute break every hour or so to avoid becoming overwhelmed with information. The next tip asks parents to encourage their child to ask for help. Parents should teach their children that it is okay to ask for help and that they should ask sooner rather than later to prevent from becoming confused when it comes to studying. The final tip is to avoid distractions, which can be used in conjunction with creating a study space. Parents should make sure that the environment in which their child studies is free from distracting electronics. This tips also asks parents to encourage the child to focus on one thing at a time, because multitasking can take away from learning. The last thing mentioned in the article is to make sure that the child has healthy sleeping and eating habits in order to maximize studying and learning.

Studying is an important part of doing well in school. It can be seen how much a student cares about their learning based on whether or not they study and how much they study. Studying can be useful when it comes to retrieving information at a later time. Each student has their own approach to reviewing information. The tips and strategies given in this post and the sources below are beneficial for determining which strategy works best for an individual. Studying can be hard, but after following these tips, students can finally realize how beneficial studying can be to their academics.

Spotlight #2 Memory

--Original published at Gracie's Blog

There are several methods used when studying for a test or understanding different concepts. Memory is different for everyone, but some tips and tricks can help improve the memory of people of all ages. In college there are several different methods used to go about retaining information learned in class. Different online sources give some insight on different tips that are supposedly going to help boost a college student’s grades. In college studying is so important and a big factor when learning. One source gives seven helpful tips on studying for college kids. Good notes are a key to success when wanting good grades. Some students are unsure of what information is important. To help ensure the student is writing down all the needed information, attending the professor’s office hours is helpful. With the professor’s permission, recording the lectures and rereading notes is also helpful (7 Best Study Tips). Along with taking good notes, organization is a crucial task when studying for classes, as using sticky notes, keeping returned assignments, and making flash cards can be very helpful (7 Best Study Tips). Over studying can be a problem, and cramming all information in one night can be more harmful than helpful. We talked about in class how waiting till the night before an exam can be overwhelming for the brain. In order to recall information, studying for small increments at a time way in advance of an exam is beneficial. One of the worst distractions when trying to study is technology. An important tip to get high quality studying is to put the phone away and not pick it up ( 7 Best Study Tips). Phones nowadays are popular and the number one way to know what is happening in the world, it is so easy to waste valuable time searching on a phone instead of studying.

When in high school, grades are important because they impact the future of students intending to continue their education. The studying tips provided online for high school students are similar to the tips given for college students. One study tip is to be engaged in class, take solid notes, and participate in class (Top 10). When in class, it is hard to listen to the teacher and not think about anything else going on in your life. One tip is to engage in the class and take quality notes. In the long run, retrieving information from the class will be easier. Having a routine is beneficial in several ways. After school, students should go home, maybe enjoy a snack, and get all of their homework done. For some students it may look different, maybe with a sport practice, but sticking to a routine can ensure that everything that needs to be done, will be done (Top 10). Another tip given is to have a clean and tidy study space. Going somewhere quiet, with good lighting can be helpful when studying (Top 10). In class we discussed how even studying with music can take away the quality of our studying because there is more than just class material being taken in by the sensory memory. It is important to think positive and take a break when studying. Being overwhelmed and stressed about something can take away from the time you have to study (Top 10). All of these studying tips are correct and can benefit students who need help with studying. Now that I have talked about students in both college and high school, there are also tips online to assist parents with studying.

Some parents enjoy helping their kids study, or are very strict with what grades their kids are receiving. The blog, Edmentum provides several tips for parents who want to effectively help their kids study for school. In order to see good grades there needs to have a mix of good attitude, habits, and effort (Ho, Elaine). One tip is to design a study space to ensure that the time spent studying will be valuable and worth your time (Ho, Elaine). Studying in a noisy environment will lead to distractions and unfocus. Another factor that goes into quality studying is to take notes. Taking notes by hand has perks because you are more likely to retain the information and pay attention (Ho, Elaine). Along with taking notes, highlighting key terms or using active reading strategies helps improve concentration. Practice tests help to prepare a child for a test, so asking short essay questions or using flash cards helps to prove that they know the information (Ho, Elaine). It is important to make sure as a parent that your child knows how important asking their teacher questions is. If they are unsure about something, the smartest strategy to eventually comprehend what they do not understand is to ask the teacher questions (Ho, Elaine). Asking a teacher for help is what students are supposed to do, and in the end doing so is beneficial. Hearing repeated concepts that were not understood before can retained and remembered better the second time around.

Studying is an important role in school, and whether a student studies or not shows how much they care. After studying for classes, students can find retrieving the information easier. There are several tips and tricks given on different websites for people of all ages. Studying takes time, but after following these tips, students discover how studying can influence their grades.
Works Cited

“7 Best Study Tips For College Students”. CampusExlorer. Campus Explorer, 2018. Web. 2 November 2018.

https://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/2DF9E34D/7-Best-Study-Tips-for-College-Students/

Ho, Elaine. “7 Tips for Parents to Help Your Child Develop Effective Study Skills”. Edmentum. Blog.7 September 2017. Edmentum.com. 4 November 2018. http://blog.edmentum.com/7-tips-parents-help-your-child-develop-effective-study-skills

VanDuzer, Todd. “Top 10 High School Study Tips”. Student-Tutor. 4 November 2015. Web. 4 November 2018. https://student-tutor.com/blog/top-10-high-school-study-tips/.

Spotlight Blog 2

--Original published at Rachelsblog

School can cause many people stress due to all the work the kids are given by the teachers. They may not know how to correctly manage their time to get it done. On top of all the work they must do, they have to find time to study for exams and quizzes as well. After learning about memory and assessing my own study habits, I have found myself to be more successful when it comes to studying. I see better results on my exams and quizzes. College and high school/middle school studying vary immensely due to the difficulty of the exams, although, the tips for studying are very common.

Memory encoding has 3 steps. Encoding, storage, and retrieval. In order for short term memory to go to long term memory, it has to go through these 3 processes. Long term memory is arranged semantically , which is by a memory of facts. There are many tips to studying and to encoding memories so you remember them for the test.

On Campus Explorer, a variety of studying tips are given. The first one is to take good notes because it will lead to good grades. This is correct. It is important for the student to take notes in a way that they are retaining the information they are writing and not just writing it down because the teacher told them to. Organization is key. You tend to remember things better if they are organized. Kornell’s method is to rewrite your notes after the lecture because it helps you encode the information better. I find it helpful for me to bold, uppercase, or underline terms that are important. The second tip is to stay organized. The best method for effortful encoding is organization, we remember better when we organize the information as we learn it. The next tip is to stay off phones because it is a distraction. It messes with effortful encoding because our mind is remembering the information on our phones and not focusing on the information you should be studying. The next tip is to not cram. This is distributed practice. Study a little bit over time is good for the memory. It encodes a little bit each time you study instead of having to try and memorize everything at once, which is impossible to do. It exhausts the mind trying to memorize too much at once, and you really do not memorize anything at all. The next tip is find your comfort zone. You tend to study and remember things better when you feel comfortable and not stressed out. The last tip is to take breaks. It is good for encoding to take breaks and remember things in chunks and then go back to studying. I think all of these tips are very good for college students. I think what needed to be taken into account is that studying in your dorm room is not the same as studying at home. You are constantly surrounded by your roommate and other floor mates and it can get loud. Going to the library or a classroom by yourself is very efficient, or studying with a group is effective too.

High school studying is a lot different than studying in college. The exams are not as difficult, although studying is still difficult. Student Tutor gives some helpful tips to high school students. Once again it is important to be engaged in class and to take good notes. If you do not take good notes or be engaged in class, you’ll never full understand or learn the information. It is important for the students to be engaged in the class and to ask questions to help their understanding. The second tip is to keep up with homework. High school students have 7-8 classes a day, unlike college students who have 3-4 but have a day in-between to catch up on work in each class. Their schedules are more spaced out with classes. It is important for high school kids to keep up with their work. Once again, organization is key. A good study habit is to stay organized because it is a great method to encoding. Having a routine is important as well. Although, I do not think it really helps with studying. It is more of a way to help prioritize your time and help you to get your work done. Procrastination is also something high school students should not do. It is not good for encoding memory. You will not retain all the information you need to know the night before the exam. I think it is most important for high school students to pay attention in class and to be engaged because they do not have a lot of time in the day to try and study everything at once, considering they have classes everyday from about 8:00-3:00.

Lastly, it is very important for parents to be willing to help their kids study. It is also important for parents to not put a lot of stress on their kids for their grades, because odds are the kids put enough pressure on themselves to do well. Blog Edmentum gives tips to parents for helping their children how to study. One tip is to create a warm and comforting area for their child to study. It is also important for the parent to keep a planner for the kid to help them with time management. Another tip is to help the child review their notes and to quiz them on the notes. It helps memory encoding when the child is quizzed before hand and when they speak their notes aloud. Teaching your child to ask for help is also important. Memory works best when you completely comprehend everything you are learning. This is called elaboration, when you go beyond the definition and make connections to understand the information better. Parents should be willing to help their kids with this. Parents also must take distractions away. Parents can take the child’s phone, laptop, and/or tv to help them focus on their notes. This is important for memory encoding.

Studying can be a very difficult task. Their are plenty of tips to study successfully and they should be taken seriously. Memory encoding can be a complicated process and it is important for kids to focus when they are studying and to follow all the tips provided. Studying in groups or with parents can be very efficient. Use these study tips to best remember all the information!

Works Cited

https://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/2DF9E34D/7-Best-Study-Tips-for-College-Students/

https://student-tutor.com/blog/top-10-high-school-study-tips/

http://blog.edmentum.com/7-tips-parents-help-your-child-develop-effective-study-skills

Spotlight Blog 2 Prompts – Fall 2018

Regardless of which option you choose, make sure to use the tag “Spotlight” on your post. Also include the tag listed for the option you choose below.

Option 1 – Use the tag “Memory”

Now that we’ve discussed how memory works and you’ve had a chance to think about your own study skills, I want you to critically evaluate websites that give students advice about how to study. If you select this option, I want you to find three different websites that provide advice for studying: one targeted toward college students, one targeted toward middle or high school students, and one targeted toward parents. Evaluate the advice provided on each and compare it to what you know about how memory works (include sources), making sure to correct anything you think is bad advice. Be sure to include links to the websites you are evaluating.

Option 2 – Use the tag “Stress”

We’ve discussed a number of different stress management approaches in class, and now I want you to evaluate online resources for stress management. Specifically, I want you to identify three websites that provide stress management tips and discuss how likely you think the strategies they provide are to be successful. Make sure to explain your rationale using what we’ve learned in class and your textbook. Each of the three websites need to be targeted at a different audience but you may select the audiences you want to use (e.g., college students, athletes, parents, artists). Make sure to include links to the websites as part of your post.

Option 3 – Use the tag “Drugs”

One of the largest campaigns to prevent drug use among children was the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. This federal program sought to provide kids with information about the dangers of using drugs, using things like the slogan “Just say no!” While people had high hopes for the program, it ended up being very controversial largely because of how it ended up impacting the rates of drug abuse among children exposed to the program. Research what the data say about the DARE program and argue whether or not it was a successful program. Then take what we learned from DARE and argue whether or not you think similar abstinence-based programs (e.g., sexual education programs) should be used in schools. Make sure to cite your sources.

I look forward to seeing what you write!