Mind Mapping - a Life-Changing Memory Technique - Literature review Example

THE ART OF MEMORY Introduction According to Foer, the art of memory is comprises of a variety of methods used to retain knowledge that has been recently acquired (Foer, Pg. 5). Students who study for examinations face challenges in memorizing information that they subjected to repeat it inform of a written description. Since early periods of time, scholars have experienced similar challenges while attempting to discover ways to improve their level of intelligence. The truth is that different methods may appear significant but hold little significance when put to practice. Francis Bacon states, “I make no more estimation of repeating a great number of names or words upon once hearing…” However this did not stop many ambitious individuals from attempting to engage in mental training for memory competitions. According to O'Brien, Raemon Matthews had the notion of improving the art of memory despite popular belief (Page 37). Matthews established of a group of African Americans known as the “Talented Ten” to participate U.S Memory Championship. He made his students write an essay with more than to memorized quotations to while in class. This technique proved to improve the memory bank of the African American students at the time. Rote memorization was technique where students were expected to memorize geography and history of America. The basis of the technique was to add more information to the present memory of a student. John Dewey introduced the method of practicing of acquired knowledge rather than building on memory banks. The concept was referred to as experimental learning and replaced the previous rote memorization. Matthew argues that education is the simplest method of improving memorization. He says. “You make monkeys memorize, whereas education is the ability to retrieve information at will and analyze it.” Mind Mapping is memorization techniques created by Tony Buzan and borrows its concepts from old memory technique. Matthews provides an informative insight into how students can perform better in exams given that they education is significant factor. He argues that it enables the student to memorize information that will be memorized and can be accessed at any time. Tony Buzan is an example of student who began to read up on ways of improving his memory. Reading Greek and Roman reminders gave him the ability to remember information about previous studies. Buzan began to apply the technique when studying for exams. He began to use old memory techniques to teach student while operating as substitute teacher. The technique proved to be resourceful since students who were previously unable to perform well in their exams had begun to achieve perfect scores on their tests. Buzan states, “For some of the students who had never gotten a perfect score on an exam, this was quite a revelation (Monchinski, p.107).” He was referring to the improvement the students have achieved after teaching them the art of memory. Note taking was taught using updated old techniques, drawing past techniques that had been modified to benefit the student. Buzan developed a new structure known as Mind Mapping. The technique describes how information is summarized into little words and use of images to create an association of information that repeats itself when retrieved by the student. Buzan claims that memorization involved the process of imagination rather than the idea of rote. He says that, “The art and science of memory is about developing the capacity to quickly create images that link disparate ideas (Gosney and Dawn, p.59).” Using this technique, students can acquire more ideas and information that allows them to create new ideas with ease. This is applicable when studying for exams. Buzan teaches students that perform better in exams if they can use old ideas to develop new ones. The process is based on the idea that remembering old ideas allows the memory bank to establish creativity that improves performance. The art of memory was used recording, intermediation and arrangement. Q2 Students who utilize the process of memorizing information can become more creative. This is because their brains are trained to be able to recall old ideas to make new ones by reflecting on previous knowledge. Mary Carruthers argues, “As an art, memory was most importantly associated in the Middle Ages with composition, not simply with retention (Foer, p.9).” Students are able to develop memory enhancement through reading and understanding of information that becomes attached to their brains. Later the student can use mind mapping to retrace information in the form of images and establish a way of developing creativity. The art of memory is a way of disrupting previous attitude of memorization to reform the process of memory training. Buzan explains that as a person grows older their ability to retain information decreases. However the art of memory provides students with the opportunity to become more creative while improving their ability to memorize information. According to Gosney and Dawn, this can be proven from by researchers who offered students with massive content to read (Page 76). Earlier, they were taught on about Mind Mapping as a method of creating notes. A separate category of students was taught using normal means of learning. The test proved that students who were taught Mind Mapping were able to retain more information than the rest. Mind Map is allows a student to develop new ideas by rearranging information gathered from a previous period. Organizing the information is crucial for the student because they reimagine the information while establishing new methods of improving their ability to perform. Matthews practices this idea by providing his students with images of history of America before an exam. The topic being covered will provide a selection of information that the student can recall using the images. Students can convert information into images and restructure a way of describing them on paper. Mnemonics ensures the student can retrieve the information without having utilized a lot of brain activity. In addition, the student is able to recall full content rather than small pieces of information to build on the immediate future as required. However, Matthew believes that the students can benefit from the process given that they learn information that is less likely to be forgotten. This is because the student can learn but not understand the information (O'Brien, p.46). Matthews states that providing students with basic facts allows their memory to build as it establishes familiar conceptualization of information. Students are able to become more creative from adding information to previous knowledge. This is because it forms a pattern that they can relate as they imagine the facts. Q3 According to Monchinski, when people establish important facts about a situation Mind Mapping becomes an easy experience (Monchinski, Pg. 122). People who find themselves in problems in the future usually recall past experiences to learn solutions. This is because they attempt to remember what is significant and build on that information to solve their present problem. Using Mind Mapping, a person can draw ides they have repeated before to establish solutions. When recalling information, the imagery of the scenario creates a process of brainstorming that allows the person to connect distant ideas that form a comprehensive framework of how to tackle an issue. Using education, the person learns how remember basic information that transmits an understanding of how information applies to one’s culture from a unique perspective. When the facts are understood, the information can be memorized with ease and more accuracy. This creates a network of larger facts that allows a person to think different. The person is able to retrieve detailed parts of information using Mind Mapping and establish a new way of thinking. From this process, the person can create a solution to their present problem. Conclusion Through Buzan we have learned that a person can expand his memory by creating an image of the information being taught. Buzan was able to establish this notion of Mind Mapping that borrows its concept from old memory system. Instead of filling the mind with facts, Buzan illustrates a method of memorizing information efficiently and can be retrieved at will. The technique proves to be a success since the number of students in his class excels in a test after being declared illiterate. Matthews argues with the idea but adds that establishing basic knowledge during the process of learning provides an efficient method of improving the ability of memorization and retrieving information. The compelling arguments are able to assist students perform better in their exams because it builds on the aspect of individual conception of information while discovering a method of creating new strategies. The scholars present students and researchers with an opportunity to build on the current information. In addition, they can recall previous information to establish methods of solving problems in the future. Works Cited Monchinski, Tony. Critical Pedagogy and the Everyday Classroom. Dordrecht: Springer, 2008. Print. O'Brien, Dominic. You Can Have an Amazing Memory: Learn Life-Changing Techniques and Tips from the Memory Maestro. London: Watkins, 2011. Internet resource. Gosney, John, and Dawn R. McKay. Master the Postal Exams. Lawrenceville, NJ: Peterson's, 2008. Print. Foer, Joshua. MOONWALKING WITH EISTEIN. Penguin Books, 2011. 1-13, E-book. Read More