By Nshimirimana Ezechiele
Introduction:
When you first enter college life becomes a whirlpool of lectures, assignments, quizzes, and exams. In the midst of all of that chaos you have to continuously attempt to retain large amounts of information for things such as a quiz, an essay, or an exam. Although there are many ways to go about remembering one of the techniques that can be used is Maintenance Rehearsal.
What is Maintenance rehearsal?
Maintenance rehearsal is pretty much as its name suggests. It is the process of repeatedly rehearsing information in a short-term memory without any meaningful processing or connections to existing knowledge” [1] The Atkinson and Shiffrin memory model describes it best as something that simply roams in your head till it is time to use it. An example of this includes things like remembering a phone number regardless of how bad you want to keep it in your head most likely after it’s served its purpose you won’t remember it much after [2]. This is part of the phonological loop and is seen as the first step which is taking verbal information in and keeping it in your head temporarily before it gets lost or is stored [3]. Along with that while preparing for a test normally one will repeat the information to retain it just long enough to pass the test, after that the knowledge is like it never existed.This skill is used by pretty much everyone at some point in their life but now more than ever you may find yourself needing it.
Why/when is it useful? Your own mental cheat sheet.
There are many instances where maintenance rehearsal is used. Imagine you have a math test coming up in your next class and you’re stressed because you didn’t have enough time to study anything in depth? The natural reaction would be to repeatedly go over your notes and repeat things you think may be of importance such as (parentheses before multiplication). It is able to help with quick recalls before tasks such as a test, quiz [4] (it is like having your own mental cheat sheet). Another instance where it is used is when lists are being studied with things such as dates. Many students who are forced to remember these would most likely use flashcards or a study guide for rapid repetition so that they may quickly install this information into their mind.Once entering college it’s best to hope you don;t have stage fright because there are presentations( A lot of them and you won’t be able to look at cards in some of them) luckily for you however practicing memory rehearsal by repeating key points in your presentation to get them in your memory helps with fluency and boosts your confidence.
Ways to practice maintenance rehearsal:
- Basic repetition
1.
As stated before the name suggests you would have to repeat something to save it in your memory just long enough to be able to use it. There are specific ways to go about repeating. Some of these include reading the information out loud after reading it in your head.Reading out loud allows you to focus more on what youre reading and cancels out chances of distractions so getting that information in your head becomes light work.
Writing repetition
Another way that this is practiced is through writing stuff down. When you write stuff down it improves your memory and your ability to recall information that in return can be used when you need it (Even if it is a lecture heavy class and the information is in a slideshow. Write the information as you learn it you’ll remember better ). Writing the information improves neural pathways which will make it easy for you to retrieve that specific information later on. Like a mental map that can easily be navigated when you need access to the information. One of the most remarkable aspects of writing is its ability to improve our memory and recall [5] .When you write it’s like you’re taking in two things at once.
Timed rehearsal
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Whenever you’re attempting to remember information it’s important that you give yourself at least a little bit of time to attempt to forget that way you’re able to see what information you may need to repeat a little more to make sure that it sticks in your head and what information you already have memorized enough to use on things like upcoming tests.
Conclusion:
After the information learned on maintenance rehearsal you should be able to ace or atleast simply pass all of your assignments that require you to have nothing but a pencil and your memory. If you are waiting till the last minute to study, no worries, simply repeat the information in your head because technically it is your own mental cheat sheet. Other ways to ensure success that were mentioned was writing the information down (it’s literally like taking in the information twice at the same time). Although it may seem like this is stressful which at time it may be, it may also be the deciding factor between success and failure because let’s face it no one can memorize every single lecture and remember everything for a long period of time so why not just get it in your head for a short period of time and release it after.
References
[1] team, N. editorial. (2024, September 14). Maintenance Rehearsal in Psychology: Definition, Processes, and Applications. NeuroLaunch.com. https://neurolaunch.com/maintenance-rehearsal-psychology-definition/
[2] Atkinson, R., Shiflrin, R., & Stanford. (n.d.). HUMAN MEMORY: A PROPOSED SYSTEM AND ITS CONTROL PROCESSES’. http://rca.ucsd.edu/reprints/Human-Memory-a-Proposed-System-and-its-Control-Processes_1968.pdf
[3] Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01538-2
[4] Naveh-Benjamin, M., & Jonides, J. (1984). Cognitive load and maintenance rehearsal. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23(4), 494–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-5371(84)90318-9
[5] team, N. editorial. (2024b, September 30). Writing and Brain Health: Exploring the Cognitive Benefits of Putting Pen to Paper. NeuroLaunch.com. https://neurolaunch.com/is-writing-good-for-the-brain/