Archive for the 'Memory Skills' Category

Having trouble focusing while studying?

If you’re trying to cram for an exam or otherwise trying to get a lot of studying done or reviewing a lot of notes in a short period of time and losing focus, you might want to stare out the window – or even better, take a walk outside.

Seriously, if there are trees out there, it might just help.

According to Attention Restoration Theory (ART) people can concentrate better after spending time in nature, or even looking at scenes of nature. Natural environments abound with “soft fascinations” which a person can reflect upon in “effortless attention”, such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves rustling in a breeze or water bubbling over rocks in a stream. The theory was developed by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in the 1980s in their book The experience of nature: A psychological perspective and has since been found by others to hold true in medical outcomes as well as intellectual task attention.

If you don’t have direct access to nature, researchers seem to agree that WATCHING VIDEOS might be the next best thing.

I did a quick YouTube search and found this video – I am sure some of you can find a better one that we can share… Please post the YouTube URL as a comment and I’ll publish the best ones!

The key is to envelop your visual sense in the experience…

You only need a few minutes of involuntary ‘effortless’ attention to then return to your task and have full concentration and focus.

Hard To Read = Easier To Remember!

A PARADOX of education is that presenting information in a way that looks easy to learn often has the opposite effect.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that when people are forced to think hard about what they are shown they remember it better, so it is worth looking at ways this can be done.

A piece of research about to be published in Cognition, by Daniel Oppenheimer, a psychologist at Princeton University and his colleagues, suggests a simple one: make the text conveying the information harder to read.

Speed Reading, Get Better GradesDr Oppenheimer recruited 28 volunteers aged between 18 and 40 and asked them to learn, from written descriptions, about three “species” of extraterrestrial alien, each of which had seven features. This task was meant to be similar to learning about animal species in a biology lesson. It used aliens in place of actual species to be certain that the participants could not draw on prior knowledge.

Half of the volunteers were presented with the information in difficult-to-read fonts (12-point Comic Sans MS 75% greyscale and 12-point Bodoni MT 75% greyscale). The other half saw it in 16-point Arial pure-black font, which tests have shown is one of the easiest to read.

Participants were given 90 seconds to memorise the information in the lists. They were then distracted with unrelated tasks for a quarter of an hour or so, before being asked questions about the aliens, such as “What is the diet of the Pangerish?” and “What colour eyes does the Norgletti have?” The upshot was that those reading the Arial font got the answers right 72.8% of the time, on average. Those forced to read the more difficult fonts answered correctly 86.5% of the time.

The question was, would this result translate from the controlled circumstances of the laboratory to the unruly environment of the classroom?

It did.

When the researchers asked teachers to use the technique in high-school lessons on chemistry, physics, English and history, they got similar results. The lesson, then, is to make text books harder to read, not easier.

Why my study tips work

I think you should watch this video, it’s only 3 minutes long and explains…

How and why my study techniques work

Learning Paradigms Video

This incredible video was sent to me by Ray Keefe of Successful Endeavours in Melbourne, Australia. What amazes me about it is how so much information can be captured in such a short period of time in such a compelling and dynamic way – its’ absolutely mesmerising don’t you think? It’s why my MindMapping course is so popular with students who want to cram for exams at the last minute.

Note Taking Examples

Peter sent me these… What do YOU think of them?

I’ll give my feedback once I get yours first

Give us your feedback by leaving a comment below.

Get Better Grades, Note Taking, Note Example

Note Taking - Sample #1 - Chapter 1 Summary

How do your class notes look compared to these?

Get Better Grades, Note Taking, Note Example

Note Taking - Sample #2 - MindMap Diagram

What suggestions do you have for Peter to improve his note taking?

Get Better Grades, Note Taking, Note Example

Note Taking - Sample #3 - Use Of Colour

Sleep Reading Take 2

I recently posted a funny blog post on sleep reading. This is a follow up to that… I couldn’t resist.

I don’t want this blog to just be serious, I want you to have fun improving your grades, otherwise what’s the point?!?!

Floatation Tank Helps Improve Grades

If you’re really keen to tap into the limitless potential of your unconscious mind, you’re going to want to have session in a floatation tank. In this day and age of constant interruptions, time slicing and multi-tasking, research reflects it’s having an effect on our ability for deep thinking.

The changing nature of work, study and leisure is rewiring the human brain in such a way that deep reading the concentrated pursuit of linear stories and thought – is being trained out of us.

A University Of California (San Diego) study found that the amount of information the average American processed in 2008 was triple what it was in 1960. This has turned many into pancake people – spread wide and thin.

A series of psychological studies over the past 20 years have shown that after spending time in a quiet rural setting, close to nature, people exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and improved cognition (learning). Their brains become calmer and sharper.

Underwater Reading

Floatation Tank Improves Your Grades

Now it may not be quick and easy to head out to the country, but a 1-hour session in a floatation tank can do you and your grades – real wonders.

It’s inexpensive and easy to do. The feelings of weightlessness have to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

You should test various approaches to using a floatation tank as a study aid:

  • Try to study before, using the floatation tank to resolve problems, or just do a mental review of what you just studied.
  • Try to start studying before, float and then attack your hardest assignments or problems, reverse the process and see which combination works best for you.

Using a floatation tank as a pattern interrupt will stimulate your creativity and innovative thinking by tapping into the subconscious part of your brain, unleashing the Exponential Potential™ that resides within in.

All you need to do is trust the process and “release yourself from the expectation of the outcome” as Dr Deepak Chopra extols. This is not something you can force. You need to ‘let it happen’ and then marvel in its quasi-magical powers as you become the genius you always knew you could be!

Why most students struggle in school

Simply stated, most students struggle in school because they don’t know how they learn, In Chapter 1 of my worldwide bestselling study book, I explain step-by-step how you can determine what learning style you have so you can stop wasting countless hours staring at your books, frustrated because nothing’s making sense and you can’t remember anything you tried to memorise the previous day.

If you don’t know HOW you learn, you’ll keep struggling in school. Knowing your learning style can be a life-changing revelation.

Let me put it this way – if you’re one of these styles and you don’t know it, chances are, if you’ve just started high school, you probably won’t make it to college.

If you do get to college, you’ll get kicked out within the first year.

Not because you’re dumb, but because you weren’t smart enough to learn HOW you learn.

I know how harsh this sounds, but it’s better that I tell you the truth NOW when you have a chance to fix the problem once and for all.

Being smart can make you stupid

A parent recently bought my study book for her 15 year old son. Despite his high IQ 120 (which actually could be as high as 143) he struggles with being “ADD non hyperactive”. She explains that it rears its head in the typical way, lack of focus, organisation, etc. His weakest areas are working memory, visual memory, sequencing and auditory processing. Skills like targeting sports, math and science CONCEPTS are learned easily. His superior reasoning skills are in the 95th percentile and work well for him except when the topic has many details, rules and/or he is not interested in learning them.

Because he learns concepts quickly, he is overly confident (wrongly) thinking that he has learned it all, so he takes few notes.

He also has a writing deficiency, which combined with poor working memory makes it difficult to take notes and keep up with what’s being presented. As a result, details fall to the wayside and no longer exist as something that he must know. So he is convinced that
he knows the material and does not need to study. He used to do OK in earlier grades that required less detail retention and recall,but now he is failing courses that intellectually he should have no problem with.

The question the mother asked was:

“How can he apply the 80/20 concept when he doesn’t think there is a 20 percent that he doesn’t know and thinks he has it 100 percent down?”

One word – MindMapping.

Click on the hyperlink above and have a look around at a new program that I created with Visual artist – Paul Telling.

MindMapping will help him:

  • Focus on concepts without being distracted with details.
  • Get around any writing deficiencies since the elements are all graphical.
  • Peak his interest because drawing is always a challenge – it never gets dull.
  • It’s easy to start with simple lines and arrows.
  • It’s progressive, meaning he’ll improve quickly as he masters the steps.
  • Because the information is visually stored, retention and recall should be greatly improved.
  • Since the process is FAST, that will deal with the short attention span associated with ADD.

Great Study Tips Site

Even though there are countless great sites on the Internet, often it’s hard to find them. That’s why, as an Exponential Growth Strategist, I come into contact with thousands of people every year and many of them forward interesting and useful links, sites and blogs that are valuable and worthy of bookmarking. The Khan Academy Site is one such example.

David Pitts, a participant at a recent corporate “Super Session” let me know that.

The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

The Khan Academy has 1000+ videos on YouTube covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, biology and finance that have been recorded by Salman Khan. Read a recent San Francisco Chronicle article about Salman Khan and the Khan Academy.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Interested, download the Khan Academy fact sheet. You can also read more about the Khan Academy vision in this document.

The Khan Academy and Salman Khan have received a 2009 Tech Award in Education. The Tech Awards is an international awards program that honors innovators from around the world who are applying technology to benefit humanity.

Sal has just launched the alpha software version of the old web app. Try it out if you’re interested in practicing some of the concepts in the videos.. It requires a Google account (not the login from the old app). The old, slower version is still available here.

To keep abreast of new videos as they add them, subscribe to the Khan Academy channel on YouTube.

Use Colours To Improve Memory Retention, Comprehension And Understanding

When we first learn something, information is processed by the brain to form a neural trace which first enters your sensory memory and then, if you’re paying attention, enters your Short Term Memory (STM). If you keep working to process the information and adapt it correctly, it then moves to your Long Term Memory (LTM).

The information which is processed into your LTM is more or less permanent and with occasional reviewing, you will not forget it.

The trick is to adapt the information that you really need into LTM as quickly as possible.

The ability to retain needed information in working memory is important to learning and exam taking performance. Drawings help to improve memory retention, comprehension and understanding. Continue reading ‘Use Colours To Improve Memory Retention, Comprehension And Understanding’

From Doodling To MindMapping

Today’s blog post contribution is from Paul Telling, a professional artist and MindMapping expert. I asked him to share his insights and ideas about MindMapping to help you get better grades in school. This is the first in a series we’ll be publishing on this blog it’s in support of a new program we just launched called How To MindMap To Get Better Grades. You can click on the hyperlink to access the program information page.

Hi, Paul Telling here – I thought I would share with you my story of how I caught onto MindMapping along my educational journey.

I have always been interested in school and learning. Although at school it can be hard when you think you have all the answers and the teachers are slowing you down. Or the reverse might be true – you struggle to learn as you just don’t get what the teacher’s on about.

Well I had both happen during my high school years. I was interested in art, computing studies and maths while I struggled in English and physics. I managed to get into university doing a degree in Industrial Design.

Studying at university was where I learned to doodle in my sketchbook – all day long. Of course during design classes but also in classes that I was meant to be taking notes. If I found the lectures boring, I would draw a caricature of the lecturer and this got a lot of laughs from my classmates.

Some of my classmates just thought I was weird because I tended to spend more time drawing things than taking linear notes verbatim. My pages of notes were eighty percent pictures and less than twenty percent text.

Little did I know that this was MindMapping!

We all have a tendency to doodle while on the phone, during lectures especially in maths or science class! Doodling is the sub conscious working in its own visual language to learn the content you’re grappling with to help you remember stuff more easily. Doodles are visual elements trying to get linked up in your brain.

The amazing thins is that I can still remember many of ,my lecture notes from when I was a design student. I can still picture most of them in my mind’s eye even though that was more than 6 years ago.

Back then I didn’t know what I was doing. Over time, I have learned the different skills required to MindMap more effectively. I value this skill as something that helps me learn quickly the first time, every time.

Luckily, I now have the chance to teach you this wonderful skill of MindMapping through the video course I created with Dr Marc Dussault.

When you take the How To MindMap To Get Better Grades Video Program, you will turn, in two hours, learn to turn your doodles into cool, colourful MindMaps that will help you remember and recall more than ever before. Your classmates will think you’re a genius.

I hope you get your hands on the course sooner rather than later so you can start to improve your grades as of the very next test, quiz or exam that’s coming up.

I look forward to sharing more insights with you in future blog posts.

Visually yours,

Paul Telling

How Observant Are You?

To get better grades in school, you need to be observant which means your power of focus and attention to detail need to be fined tuned. I came across these photos on the Internet and thought it a great way for you to test how many differences you can spot between the two photos. Leave me a comment with the total number you’ve found and we’ll see who is the most observant of all!

How Many Differences Can You Spot?

Struggling With Your English Course?

Chances are if you’re in high school, struggling with your English courses – it’s at least partially because you’re TEXTING and TWEETING too much. A recent study reported that British teens were using approximate 800 words a day, significantly less than the 40,000 words a typical 16-year-old should have at his or her command.

Here’s an exponential tip for you – try to learn ONE NEW WORD EVERY DAY… That will help replace the one you’re FORGETTING every day!

A great site you can bookmark is Visual Thesaurus. It’s also a great resource when you’re writing term papers and need to find just the right word!

MindMapping To Get Better Grades

David Fisher, bought my study book and is applying the study tips to get better grades. One of the questions he had was about MindMapping to take better notes. A friend of mine is a gifted artist who created a 2 minute 44 second long YouTube video that begins the explanation about MindMapping which you can view below.

How To Get Better Grades By MindMapping

MindMapping is one of the key speed learning skills I teach my business and professional clients who pay me tens of thousands of dollars per year to improve their results. If you want to access one of the most powerful skills – you can get my Exponential MasterMind Program by clicking on the hyperlink.

But I have to warn you – it’s potent and powerful. If you want to get the best grades possible without becoming a nerd or a geek, this is the fastest and easiest way to do it.

Get Better Grades Testimonial

You might have taken a look at my study book and considered buying it. If you haven’t bought it yet, listen to David’s experience and ask yourself – if it works for him, why wouldn’t it work for you?

Hello Marc

I have been reading your e book and have only once listened to your speed reading video. The extra emails are great as it keeps me on track otherwise I could wander a bit and lose focus on what I should be doing rather than just go through the motions.

I am working on a better format for my class notes with more drawings/mind maps as this is a better form of learning for me and audio recordings. (Now that I know this from your book that explained how to determine my own learning style).

Exams start end of the month so the next stage is to compile the notes into A3 mind maps layouts.

I am now in a study room not the office which had too many distractions that prevented me from getting into the right mind ‘zone’.

I don’t cold read my study guide and text any more so I pre-read first to get a general understanding then highlight and compose the notes and now I comprehend more. (I can’t believe the difference this makes!)

My assignment grades have increased from about 60-80% to the last one 88% and this was the highest grade. :-)

My studies are extramural so no lecturers only Webct and study guide/text books.

I am practicing your speed reading techniques and using it the first time I read something but need to work on this more.

Thanking you very much for you help.

David Fisher

Get Better Grades And Make $82,000 More

The Economist Magazine recently reported that a male university graduate will make $82,000 more in his working lifetime than his non-university graduate peer. This includes the cost of tuition, lost wages while studying as well as extra taxes paid. What this simply means is that it pays to get better grades.

But getting better grades is not just about winging it – you need to be systematic and discipline about it. My study book and this blog are great way to learn to get better grades with less effort. My study book comes with many bonus materials that will help you – go to the product page now and check it out.

How To Study Less

Today’s post is from Rodney Alexander, an undergraduate accounting student who has a 4.0 GPA which is OUTSTANDING and want to know how my e-book “Get The Best Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort” can help him have a life beyond the endless hours of study… Here are my suggestions:

_______________________________________________

Hello Dr. Dussault,

I am a junior in the undergraduate accounting program at my university.  I am planning to attend the graduate program to earn my MSA when I finish undergraduate next year.  I currently have a 4.0 GPA but spend a lot of my time studying and have trouble squeezing  social life, girlfriend, and work into my schedule.  In what ways will your product add value to my academic and social life?

Thank you,
Rodney Alexander

_______________________________________________

Study Tip #1: Learn To Speed Read

I chose the title of my book specifically to address this issue – it’s not about getting the best grades, it’s all about doing it WITH LESS EFFORT.

The first tip is to learn to Speed Read. If you can read 2, 3 or 4 times faster than you do now, you are going to gain FREE TIME to go out and have fun with your girlfriend or boyfriend. When I was studying for my Ph.D. – and this is all on my product information page…

I was speed reading 6 times FASTER than my colleagues, that meant that if I read for 3 hours on Friday night, my colleagues were spending 18 hours – that’s all day Saturday and all day Sunday reading the SAME MATERIAL.

Rodney, if you are NOT speed reading, you need to get my e-book PLUS get my Speed Reading Video Program.

Study Tip #2: Learn To Speed Learn

In my book I explain this and then supplement it with the FREE BONUS Speed Learning Video that is INCLUDED with my e-book. If you are getting As or High Distinctions, you know how to learn, you just need to do it FASTER.

Some people need to learn HOW TO LEARN, but if you’re getting TOP grades now, you just need BE QUICKER, more efficient.

In my e-book I explain how you currently do this and how you can SYSTEMISE what you do step-by-step to do it better and FASTER. Within 2-3 weeks, you will be able to get the SAME RESULT with a 5 to 10 hour reduction in TIME SPENT if you are an undergraduate student in Accounting.

Study Tip #3: Learn How YOU Learn

Rodney, I don’t know what your learning style is, but whatever it is – there are 3 or 4 things you MUST do to improve HOW you study to get better results FASTER. In my e-book, I show YOU how to find out WHICH STYLE YOU have and what to do to get better results, faster.

It’s NOT ‘one size fits all’ solution.

Every single person has their own style and patterns that THEY need to get the BEST RESULTS. The trick is to find YOUR SECRET COMBINATION so you can unlock the genius that’s within you.

Study Tip #4: How To Understand And Remember More

Most students waste 25 to as much as 50% of their study time memorising stuff for exams. That is ludicrous! In my e-book I teach you the SYSTEM to make sure you are never caught cramming at the last minute trying to learn and remember stuff.

This works in ALL SUBJECTS AT ALL LEVELS. I should know – I have degrees in Pure and Applied Science, Engineering, Business, Psychology, Law, Corporate Governance and Taxation.

The strategies are simple and easy – but they need practice.

Rodney, with a 4.0 GPA, you don’t need better grades, you need to STOP WASTING TIME and get the SAME GRADES with a lot less effort!

My e-book and video programs GUARANTEE you’ll be able to spend more time with your girlfriend and your firends within 8 weeks – or ClickBank will refund you 100%.

But honestly Rodney – think about it this way – you’re getting straight As. I have products that GUARANTEE RESULTS – why not give it a try?

Hundreds of students with WORSE GRADES than you are now getting the SAME GRADES as yours with less effort… Why not join them today/tonight?

I would love to hear you become one of my success stories – I can almost read it now…

“Dear Dr. Dussault,

I wrote to you 6 months ago. Struggling to reduce my study time. I was apprehensive, but decided with your blog post response it was worth a shot. WOW! What a difference your book and videos made! I can now read 3 times faster than I used to, I’ve retained my 4.0 GPA and study about 10 hours less a week – going out with my girlfriend every weekend (Psst! she is also using your strategies and went from a 3.2 to 3.8 GPA!) I, no make that WE, can’t thank you enough.

I wish I had learned these strategies at the BEGINNING of my Accounting degree! Now that I have this skill – I might decide to do a double-major for my Master’s Degree – I’ll keep you posted!

Sincerely Yours,

Rodney.”

Stop Subvocalising To Speed Read

If you aren’t reading more than 400 to 500 words per minute, I’ll tell you why…

First, you need to purchase my Speed Reading Video Program, because what I’m about to say isn’t going to make much sense unless you know the technique of SPEED READING…

Once you have purchased it, you’ll understand that the #1 reason you haven’t doubled or tripled your reading speed is because you are still sub-vocalising.

Continue reading ‘Stop Subvocalising To Speed Read’

What’s included in the eBook?

Today’s post is from Max Namgung who asked an excellent question – What’s included in the Get The Best Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort e-book?…

You get all of the following:

  • The powerful, grade-changing eBook electronically delivered to your inbox
  • Access to this blog so you can ask ANY QUESTION you have that I will personally answer, like your private tutor.
  • The Speed Learning Videos, which are valued at $47 – see the site that sells them – but YOU GET THEM FOR FREE with the e-book!

The Speed Learning Video Includes:

  • 4 keys to help you accomplish any goal faster (a new twist that will make this automatic for you)
  • How to meet deadlines with ease and without driving yourself crazy!
  • How to get into the peak performance ‘zone’ on command, that makes you feel unstoppable.
  • What an Olympian can teach you about how to tap into your own unique brain “programming” to MAXIMISE your grades or any performance in life.
  • Should you cram at the last minute or study one week in advance? – this will blow you away!
  • What to do if you’re a PROCRASTINATOR and how to use it to your advantage.
  • How to absorb and remember even banal and boring information that can be critical to achieving top grades.
  • 2 little-known questions you must ask yourself to help you read faster and with better comprehension.
  • Should you use a highlighter when reading? – most people do this wrong!
  • The #1 reason why many students fail and what you must know to master any subject or any skill faster than most people!
  • The Rubik’s cube strategy to solve complex problems quickly and without effort.
  • How to immediately tell information that’s true from information that’s inaccurate so you can make the right decisions at school and in life.
  • How to speed-read ON SCREEN 200% faster than even quick readers and master the skill in 60 seconds or less!
  • Why people stop half way and don’t finish what they start and what to do so that it doesn’t happen to you.
  • How can the clothes you wear wreck or improve your grades – something your Maths teacher never told you!
  • The reason why you keep forgetting important things when under pressure and how to recall important details when you need them most.
  • The #1 study technique to instantly improve your grades using only a pen and paper
  • One 9-letter word to turbo-charge your memory and help you remember things like calculus, physics, maths, geography or history without breaking a sweat!
  • Should you study early or late at night?
  • Should you do the easiest or the hardest exam questions first?
  • How to do multiple exams one after the other and get top grades without freaking out.
  • A system to help you remember and recall quickly tons of information on demand.
  • The Case Method used by Harvard Business School and how it can help you to develop analytical skills, sound judgment, and leadership potential.
  • In this 61-minute recording, I reveal my personal strategies to help you get the best grades with the least amount of effort. These are strategies that are difficult to explain on paper but are an absolute MUST to help you unleash your full potential.

    You’ll learn how to tailor the techniques contained in Get the Best Grades With the Least Amount Of Effort to your own unique style and personality.

    The strategies you learn in this video will radically change your results at school and in any area of your life:

    Because I KNOW this video has the potential to supercharge your results and grades the moment you watch it, I’m including it with How To Get The Best Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort.

    Get your copy of the book now, BEFORE this $47 bonus video is taken away