Learning material only proves effective if you can accurately recall the information learned. Your short-term memory can only hold approximately seven pieces of information at a time, according to Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D., a professor at Scottsdale Community College. To recall information at a later date, you must retain the information past the typical limits of short-term memory. Techniques such as mnemonic devices and association will help you in the recollection process.
Mnemonics
Mnemonics give clues to help you remember information by associating information with a visual image, sentence or word, according to the Help Guide website. You may use visual images by associating names with pleasant images of things similar to the name of a person. For example, an image of a microphone for the name Mike or an image of a rose for the name Rosie will help you recall such names. Making the image colorful and vibrant improves recall.
Another common mnemonic technique associates the information you need to recall with the first letter or part of a word. For example, "Every Good Boy Does Fine" commonly refers to the musical notes E, G, B, D and F, which make up the lines of the treble clef. Acronyms also serve as mnemonic devices, which has common usage when reading the musical notes on the spaces of the treble clef F, A, C and E or FACE.
Use Your Senses
Incorporating the five senses in learning will help you recall information easier because involving your senses requires the usage of more areas of your brain, according to Harvard University. The more senses you can get involved in learning, the better. You may involve senses by making a visual representation of material you wish to remember or by playing music you intend to also play during recall. Use your creativity and figure out ways to get your senses involved in the learning process.
Association
According to Wheeling Jesuit University's Academic Resource Center, building your learning on pre-existing knowledge increases the chance of retaining information for later recall. Associate new information with things you already know by finding commonalities between new and old information. For example, you may remember the processes of human memory--reception, retention and recollection--by associating it with your pre-existing knowledge of a computer's memory processes--input, storage and output.
Schedule Studying
You should learn or relearn material close to when you need to recall it, according to Dartmouth College. Reviewing material helps you retain the information and spacing out study times increases the amount of knowledge retained. Reviewing material shortly before you need to use it maximizes recall ability by making the information fresh in your mind.
