Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

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UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND MEMORY 39

need not dwell on it here. At first the whole procedure will

seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just

another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to

the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then

one never can tell. (p. 722)

I am sure you recognized all the words in the paragraph. Yet, you prob-

ably still had difficulty understanding what you were reading. Don’t be

disappointed if you did not understand the passage or remember much

of the content. I didn’t remember one thing the first time I read it.

Now, read the passage again, but this time keep the title “Wash-

ing Clothes” in mind. You should be able to make more sense of the

passage because the title provides a meaningful context or frame-

work for understanding the text.

What does this simple experiment reveal? Anytime readers gain

information about a reading passage or section in a textbook and

relate the information to something they already know, they are bet-

ter able to understand the incoming information. This is why certain

authors provide outlines or questions before chapters or questions

imbedded in the text. These components help readers think about the

topics in the chapter they are about to read. When readers read out-

lines or think about the questions before they begin reading, they take

advantage of important aides to facilitate comprehension and mem-

ory (Halpern, 1996). The effect is the same when students read

assigned material before taking lecture notes. Note taking is easier

when students know something about the material being presented.

WHAT LEARNING STRATEGIES PROMOTE LEARNING AND RETENTION?

Before you begin reading this section, think about some content you

remember from a course that you took some time ago. Why do you

remember this information when so much other information in the

same course was lost? I will share some examples of my own learning

here. I have been waiting for years for someone to ask me to name

the planets from the sun, in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. I remember this infor-

mation from elementary school, because the teacher taught us a

mnemonic: “My very eager mother just served us nine pizzas.” The

beginning letter of each word corresponds to the first letter of each

planet. I also can identify the components and functions of the human

digestive tract many years after taking biology. My instructor taught

the class to first draw an outline of the human body and place the