Memorization tricks

[onecrazykid108]

To memorize a new word I have been taking the approach of writing the word out like 50 times. It works very well to help me memorize, but the only problem is, it is time consuming and wastes a lot of paper. Do you have any other memorization tricks I can use to memorizing all kinds of new vocabulary?

Thanks

 

[Shishkabob]

I don't memorize, I learn.


I've found learning about something makes me remember it better than repetition.

 

[medichopeful]

To memorize a new word I have been taking the approach of writing the word out like 50 times. It works very well to help me memorize, but the only problem is, it is time consuming and wastes a lot of paper. Do you have any other memorization tricks I can use to memorizing all kinds of new vocabulary?

Thanks

You could try typing it out instead. Saves a little time and doesn't use paper.

I found flashcards to be useful when I was in the EMT course. I used a flashcard program, which made it very easy.

 

[onecrazykid108]

I agree with the learning answer. and typing is a good suggestion. =D

 

[Knightlite]

Memorizing is learning, it is just a technique.

Another thing you can try is to create a multiple choice question and have your word as the correct answer. This will help you learn the word and the very act of writing out the definition will help you learn/memorize it.

 

[Shishkabob]

No, memorization is not the same as learning.


You can probably tell me what cells are in the pancreas just by memorizing 3 words. But can you tell me what they do, how they do it, and what they are used for?




When you learn something, you understand it, and it gets so much simpler to recall the information.

 

[onecrazykid108]

Memorizing is an aid to learning. When someone speaks spanish they memorize words, but if they don't study grammer and practice speaking it they wont be able to.

Theres more to learning than memorizing. B)

 

[Knightlite]

No, memorization is not the same as learning. You can probably tell me what cells are in the pancreas just by memorizing 3 words. But can you tell me what they do, how they do it, and what they are used for?

For this level...sure it is.

For the purpose of taking an EMT test or being an EMT (for that matter), it is the same. What depth of learning are you concerned with? There are several levels. The level OneCrazyKid108 needs does not require a deep understanding of every metabolic process in the body.

For instance the EMT student may need to know that Platelets in the blood are the components that cause blood to clot. He can memorize it, and for the sake of his test, that is all he needs to know. Does he need to understand the 12 or so steps in the metabolic pathway that causes blood to clot? No, he does not. He just needs to know that platelets help blood to clot. So if he memorizes that, then he has in fact learned what he needs to know and has successfully accomplished what he set out to do. So here is the question on his test...

What component in the blood is needed to form blood clots?

A) Plasma.
B) Red blood cells.
C) White blood cells.
D) Platelets

Since he memorized the word he has LEARNED it. And for the sake of his test, that is all he needs.

If he wrote this question out himself, I guarantee he will never forget it.

Therefore, I rest my case. For the EMT student, memorizing words and definitions on this level is the equivalent of learning them, because their application on this level is relatively simplistic.

You are a paramedic and the level of understanding has a higher demand that requires you to have a deeper understanding of such metabolic processes. Yet, to a Physiologist, a paramedic's understanding of the pancreas may be simplistic to him, and that is why there are several levels of understanding and learning. It can be made simple or so complex that no one can understand it.

Just my two cents.

Cheers.

 

[abckidsmom]

I always learned better by taking good notes in class, recopying them later, and using the objectives to write myself a study guide. I learn by writing out the information too.

One thing that really helped me across the board was to actually LEARN the root words and use them when I came across unfamiliar words in any circumstance. When I'm teaching and introduce a new concept/word/thing, I always point out the root if it's common enough to be seen again.

 

[LucidResq]

One thing that really helped me across the board was to actually LEARN the root words and use them when I came across unfamiliar words in any circumstance. When I'm teaching and introduce a new concept/word/thing, I always point out the root if it's common enough to be seen again.

Yeah... a college Medical Terminology class is great because you learn the roots, prefixes, suffixes, etc. That way when someone tells you they recently had a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, you have a general idea of what that is even if you've never heard the term before.

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

Yeah... a college Medical Terminology class is great because you learn the roots, prefixes, suffixes, etc. That way when someone tells you they recently had a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, you have a general idea of what that is even if you've never heard the term before.

or if the patient tells you they have Salpingitis isthmica nodosa.

Or my favorite Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism.