Why , when you learn a large number of questions on a subject , do you forget the previous ones when moving on to a new question ? And how to prepare for the exam effectively?

By Category :

2 Answers

  1. Because the ability of our brain to assimilate information is not infinite – short-term memory is very, very limited, and it takes a certain amount of time to form strong neural connections and memorize. If you try to cram more into it than it can assimilate, then the earlier information is simply lost and “flies out of your head”.�

    By the way, many other phenomena are also related to this: for example, at the end of a fairly long conversation with a person, even if the conversation was serious and important, you will almost not remember exactly where the conversation started or what you were talking about at the beginning, but the last phrase will surely be remembered.

  2. Perhaps this is due to the fact that you are trying to “memorize” some material, instead of understanding it. And in this case, you just have one array of information displaces another, and forgetting occurs.

    Now on how to prepare for the exam. As I said, the key is to understand, not memorize. Personally, I use this method: I take a list of questions, just quickly read the answers to each of them in a row (if there are no answers to the questions, read acc. tutorial). And, thus, I try to highlight the most basic features and key points of the subject.

    After you have learned the “essence” of the subject, you can already say something about it from yourself. Then, you read the questions again and try to answer each of them briefly (verbally) without looking at them yourself, highlighting the main point. If there are difficulties in the question, then read the answer and again try to highlight the most basic point.

    After that, try to answer each question again from the beginning, this time you can already answer in more detail, and so on as many times as you need.�

    In fact, at the beginning, you summarize and simplify all the knowledge about the subject to the very essence, and then detail it with each such iteration of answers to questions. As a result, you do not stupidly try to remember a piece of information, but gradually refine and deepen your knowledge.

    Using this method, I recently prepared for the state exams in one day (several subjects in the specialty in one exam), and answered everything without cheat sheets 😉

    HOWEVER, I want to warn you that the method is not applicable to subjects where you need to solve something: matan, physics, etc. More precisely, the general essence is applicable, but, in addition to understanding, you also need to memorize formulas and be able to solve basic problems, so do not push your luck with such subjects and prepare in advance. AND ALWAYS GIVE YOURSELF SPURS, even if you think you know everything. Anything can happen.

Leave a Reply

Categories