Neuroscience secrets to supercharge your study sessions

By Manusrii Sundhar and Teo Kai Ern

It’s pretty safe to say that if there was EVER a time where we needed our brains to function like the flash, it would be now.

With SPM now preponed, there is no doubt that the Class of 2024 are now in shackles with the thought of covering over a hundred chapters across 9-11 subjects in the span of 9 months.

Not to worry! Shackled or not, here’s some rapid fire ways to help you cover your topics right there and then.

Active Engagement

Don’t worry about being a nuisance in class. This is your time to ask questions, discuss answers and learn from your peers on topics you’re not too sure about.

Frankly, there’s no more time for you to “set it aside for later”. Focus and act now to improve your brain’s retention of information.

Mnemonics

Mnemonics are memory aids such as acronyms, rhymes or even simple tunes that can help you remember information effectively. Mnemonics function by engaging the region of your brain responsible for pattern recognition. Some examples of mnemonics are “ROYGBIV” to remember the colours of the rainbow, or “My Very Exciting Mother Just Served Us Noodles” which helps us recall the order of planets in our Solar System.

Some examples that we can refer to would be “ROYGBIV” – a mnemonic in relation to the colours of the rainbow, and “My Very Exciting Mother Just Served Us Noodles” – a mnemonic of the order of the planets in the Solar System.

Multisensory Learning

Optimising the use of each of your senses can have a long term effect on your memory. By depending on more than just one sensory organ, you’d be able to retain your memory much easier by associating it with the sense itself.

You can read, write, and listen to a piece of information which will tap into different parts of your brain and help you remember better.

Being scared of how soon the scariest phase of a secondary student’s life is about to arrive is ultimately a trait shared by all form 5s in Malaysia right now. But take a deep breath, and let these methods supercharge your rapid fire study sessions.