What Makes a Student 'Smart' #3

“Smart students” use “tricks of their trade” and they are constantly seeking to add more “tricks” to their collection. These tricks are actually skills of course; they are useful tools that help a student succeed at school.

It would take too long to gain these bits of information by trial and error, so “smart students” actively seek out information that can help them succeed. This information comes from teachers, other students (especially other successful students), internet resources, or any way and anybody that can help them achieve their job well and efficiently.

Here are a few examples from the “smart student” tool bag on memorizing information:

1. School requires more memory than just about any other time in life because education is driven in large part by the ability to retain a huge amount of content. Memorizing so much information is not natural for humans, so how to cope with this requirement? First know that people remember things best if they can categorize it by topic and bullets. Groups of no more than four work best. An example of this is the grouping of phone numbers; 3-3-4 is easier than 10 numbers at once. When taking notes, clump information by topic and details (bullets, not complete sentences). The topic prompts the memory of the details. Skip a line between topics (chunks) because it helps categorize the information. Highlight key names and terms only. For visual learners, drawing a diagram of the chapter helps, sometimes using colors for the different groupings can help, too.

2. Other memory aids are mnemonics, which can be anything to help remember lists; making a sentence out of the first letters of a list, a jingle (remember multiplication songs?), or recalling known information as a prompt (all the characteristics of batman are like the hero in the story for the English essay).

3. Movement helps people memorize information, so walk to remember facts. It is best to walk in a pattern, like around the block or up and down the hall. My son used to take his notes and jump very softly on a trampoline. A rocking chair is a great way to read, study or memorize too. When students wiggle feet, fiddle with something in their hands, or doodle, that is usually a way of getting their brain to work better.

4. It is the last period of the day, and next up is a test. Feeling mentally tired after an already taxing day? Pull out the emergency bag of M & M plain candies. Chocolate is a brain stimulant, and it is easy to munch a few handfuls on the way to that test. The sugar coating drives the chocolate faster into the bloodstream. Coca-Cola works this way, too; but chocolate is better as a rule for several reasons. Just be ready to handle the crash after about two hours, so plan accordingly, and don’t use this tactic unless really needed.

More tricks for your tool bag in the next blog!