1. Chapter 3: Understanding How Learning and Memory Work College Reading and Study Skills (9th Edition) by Kathleen T. McWhorter

2. Objective: • In this chapter you will learn how memory works and you will become familiar with the principles that make learning easier. • LEARNING PRINCIPLE: If you understand how a process works, you will be able to put it to use more easily.

3. The Retention Curve • Your recall of learning information drops to below 50% within an hour and to about 30% within two days unless you use certain memory techniques. Check Figure 3.1 in your book to view the retention curve.

4. How People Learn and Remember • ENCODING: You receive stimuli, which are transmitted to your brain for very brief sensory storage and interpretation. • SENSORY STORAGE: Data is kept here for less than a few seconds and either fades or is replaced. Your job is to send it to your short-term memory. See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

5. How People Learn and Remember • SHORT-TERM MEMORY: Data here lasts for less than a minute unless you practice or rehearse the information to get it into long-term memory. • NUMBER SEVEN THEORY: Short-term memory stores from five to nine bits of information at a time. See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

6. How People Learn and Remember • LONG-TERM MEMORY STORAGE STRATEGIES: • Rote Learning—Knowledge Level • Elaborative Rehearsal—Comprehension and Application Levels • Recoding—Analysis and Synthesis Levels See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

7. How People Learn and Remember • LONG-TERM MEMORY • Unlimited in span (length) and capacity (size). • Once information is in long-term memory, you recall it through a retrieval process. See Figure 3.2 in your book for a model of how memory works.

8. Strategies for Improving Encoding • Exclude Competing Stimuli • Use Various Sensory Modes • Carefully and Specifically Define Your Purpose • Use Prereading

9. Strategies for Improving Storage • Use Immediate Review • Use Periodic Review • Use Mnemonic Devices • Use Numerous Sensory Channels • Organize Information into Groups or Chunks • Use Elaboration • Connect New Learning with Previous Learning

10. Strategies for Improving Retrieval • Use Visualization • Develop Retrieval Clues • Simulate Rehearsal Tasks • Overlearn • Use Context

11. Summary Questions • What is forgetting and how does it occur? • How do we learn and remember? • What can be done to improve encoding, storage, and retrieval?

12. Take a Reading Road Trip! Take a trip to MOUNT RUSHMORE and visit the Memorization and Concentration module on your CD-ROM.