Expert: Walter Hintz - 10/12/2007

Question
I'm 47 years old and I'm in my first year of college. I would like to know if there is a good way to improve my memory.

Answer
Good for you Jim. Unfortunately I am not an expert in this area.  There are quite a few tricks that can help you memorize something but I have been a teacher for over 55 years and I do not believe that memorization is necessary for learning. I tell my students to ask themselves a big question instead of memorizing isolated bits of information. When we study cell structure and function for example I tell them to ask themselves the big question; What does a cell  to do and how does it do it? Next look over the text and notes. Then put them aside and write a story answering the question. read it over and if anything is left out go over your  notes and do it all over again.  Keep doing it until the question is answered.