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Study Guide & Strategies
Adaptive Decision Making
- Acronyms and Acrostics: (for
information involving key words)
An acronym is an invented combination of letters. Each letter
is a cue to an idea you need to remember. Example: BRASS is an
acronym for how to shoot a rifle--Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight,
Squeeze.
An acrostic is an invented sentence where the
first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to
remember. Example: EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUN is an acrostic to
remember the order of G-clef notes on sheet music--E, G, B, D, F.
- Rhyme-Keys: (for ordered or
unordered lists)
First, memorize key words that can be associated with numbers.
For instance, bun with one; shoe with two, tree with three, door
with four, hive with five, etc.
Next create an image of the items you need to remember with key
words. For example, if you had to remember the four basic food
groups-- diary products; meat, fish, and poultry; grains; and
fruit and vegetables--imagine cheese on a bun, livestock with
shoes on, a sack of grain suspended in a tree, and opening a door
to a room stocked with fruits and vegetables.
- The Method of Loci: (for
approximately twenty items)
Select any location that you have spent a lot of time in and
have easily memorized. Imagine yourself walking through the
location, selecting clearly defined places--the door, sofa,
refrigerator, shelf, etc. Imagine yourself putting objects that
you need to remember into each of these places by walking through
this location in a direct path. Again, you need a standard direct
path and clearly defined locations for objects to facilitate the
retrieval of these objects. For example if you had to remember
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Nixon, you could
imagine walking up to the door of your location and seeing a
dollar bill stuck in the door; when you open the door Jefferson is
reclining on the sofa and Nixon is eating out of the refrigerator.
- The Keyword Method: (for
foreign language vocabulary)
First, after considering the foreign word you need to
remember, select a key word in English that sounds like the
foreign word.
Next, imagine an image which involves the key word with the
English meaning of the foreign word.
For example, consider the Spanish word "cabina" which
means "phone booth." For the English keyword, you might think of
"cab in a ... ." You could then invent an image of a cab trying to
fit in a phone booth. When you see the word "cabina" on the test,
you should be able to recall the image of the cab and you should
be able to retrieve the definition "phone booth."
- The Image-Name Technique: (for
remembering names)
Simply invent any relationship between the name and the physical
characteristics of the person. For example, if you had to remember
Shirley Temple's name, you might ingrain the name in memory by
noticing that she has "curly" (rhymes with Shirley) hair around
her temples.
- Chaining: (for ordered or
unordered lists)
Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember
cues the next idea you need to recall. If you had to remember the
words Napoleon, ear, door, and Germany, you could invent a story
of Napoleon with his ear to a door listening to people speak in
German.
Adapted by Bob Nelson from The
Complete Problem Solver by J.R. Hayes, 1989.
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