Encoding and The Study Cycle

Encoding is the process of getting information into the memory system in your brain. You are constantly encoding information every second, with billions of neurons firing in your brain to make this happen. The question of if you remember that information though, is dependent on many things. Were you paying close attention? Were you actively thinking about what you were perceiving? Did the situation remind you of anything you previously remembered? All these questions and more will play into if you remember that moment in time distinctly. This can be related directly to studying and the usefulness of the study cycle. Before coming to college, I never had much of a reason to study as I miraculously did well in all of my classes. Coming to college and having to straight up learn how to study is tough, and there are many things that factor in to if you are studying correctly and in a way that will prove useful to you. I’m in the drumline for the Penn State Blue Band, and there’s a lot of music I have to learn and memorize for every show we do. When it comes down to it, memorizing music isn’t much different than studying. If I sit down with the goal of memorizing the music, it simply will not happen. However, if my goal is to learn to play each rhythm perfectly, to get the right tone out of the drum, or to improve my technique, then memorizing is no problem. Think about how that kind of thing can apply to studying. Sitting down and only trying to memorize your notes is just not effective. In order to get good results from studying, you have to put active thought into the information you want to learn. Just like learning music, repetition is key. You have to study consistently over the course of the week in order to really be on top of your classes. It’s short and to the point, but studying effectively really isn’t that complicated. You just have to have a goal to reach, and actively try and reach it.