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

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UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND MEMORY 47

One of the main points in this chapter is that there are different ways

to learn and that some ways lead to greater information retention and

retrieval. In Unit 4 you will learn how to use more elaboration and

organization strategies in your learning and studying behavior.

Key Points

1. There are seven flaws in human memory: transience, absent-
   mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and
   persistence.


2. The information processing system is a model that is used to
   identify how individuals obtain, transform, store, and apply
   information. It comprises the short-term sensory store, working
   memory, and the long-term memory.


3. Learning involves getting information into long-term memory.


4. There can be no learning without attention.


5. Memory is enhanced when the content is meaningful. When you
   learn something, try to relate it to something you already know.


6. Meaningful learning facilitates both organized storage and
   retrieval of information.


7. Many students use only rehearsal strategies in learning. As a
   result, they have difficulty understanding and recalling complex
   information.


8. Elaboration increases learning by linking new content to existing
   knowledge. It provides additional ways of remembering infor-
   mation.


9. Elaboration strategies include mnemonic devices, paraphrasing,
   summarizing, creating analogies and examples, writing notes in
   one’s own words, explaining, and asking questions.


10. It is difficult to learn unorganized definitions, dates, names, and
    ideas without organizing the information.


11. Organizational learning strategies promote learning by imposing
    order on new content. Classifying, outlining, and representations
    or mapping are examples of such strategies.


12. How information is organized and elaborated influences one’s
    ability to retrieve it when needed.

Follow–up Activities

1. Analyze a Student’s Behavior

Carla visited her biology professor to discuss her poor per-

formance on the midterm exam. She was disappointed

because she studied “very hard” for the exam. When the