how to quickly memorize lessons with mnemonic techniques in the style of ITB alumni

Mnemonic Techniques: Solutions for Memorizing Complex Materials

Memorizing the content of lessons at school or lectures is quite difficult for some students and college students. However, the mnemonic technique can be an effective solution. One example is Vincent Setiawan, an alumnus of the Geological Engineering Study Program ITB who graduated with cum laude predicate in 2019. He admitted that he always uses this technique when he has to memorize something complicated.

“This technique is a memorization trick where we turn complex information into something easy to remember,” explained Vincent via video on his Instagram account @vincdels.

Vincent revealed that he began to know this technique from the age of 10 years from a special tutoring that teaches how to think and learn tricks. According to him, the benefits of this technique are felt during the school period. He managed to get an average score of 9.4 during the National Examination (UN) at the high school level, and was accepted at ITB and UGM through written channels.

Prevent errors in memorization

Due to the large amount of knowledge that must be memorized, often the details of the “story” that are made are prone to being confused. Especially if you only rely on the first letter of a term. To prevent this, Vincent shared two ways to prevent real theories from being tucked away.

• The first is to associate the first information with a familiar location layout, such as the Mind Palace.
• Another way, linking the information with a personal understanding of the material.

For example, you want to memorize the order of taxonomy in biology: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Family, Order, Genus, and Species. He suggested for the visualization of the kingdom (kingdom) which contained monkeys, because they had watched the film Planet of Apes or Kera Sakti. By linking the prefix of the story to something, we can know that the memorized kingdom is related to animals.

Advantages of the Mnemonic technique

According to Vincent, the concept of mnemonic is very broad. “People in the past may call it a donkey bridge. The application also depends on the creativity of each person,” he said.

He explained that this technique is most suitable to be applied in lessons that do not have many numbers or are suitable for memorization. “In exact sciences such as mathematics, chemistry, physics, the application of mnemonics is limited. Maybe in chemistry I still use it. But when it comes to math and physics, I’m more trying to understand the concept and avoid memorizing,” he said.

Vincent now works in the Netherlands as a cost engineer. Even so, he still admits that the mnemonic technique has helped him during his studies. With creativity and the right strategy, anyone can use this technique to improve the ability to memorize and understand the subject matter.

Effective Tips for Using Mnemonic Techniques

Here are some tips that you can try to use the mnemonic technique effectively:

• Create a simple story that is memorable.
• Use visualization or mental images to strengthen memory.
• Connect information that is memorized with familiar things.
• Train regularly so that this technique becomes a habit.

With diligent and consistent, the mnemonic technique can be a very useful tool in the learning process. Start with the little things, and slowly increase the complexity. Who knows, this technique can be the key to success in pursuing science.