Bangalore :

Ashraff, 15, can rattle off the atomic weight of the first 15 elements in the periodic table in one breath. Vaibhav, a Class 11 student, says he reads 25,000 words per minute.

Geniuses in the making? But both these kids introduce themselves as average students. The magic mantra, they say, are memory enhancing workshops.

It’s the season to charge those grey cells, and what better way than a workshop. From pills and tonics to tips and techniques, memory enhancers are the in thing. And these workshops have much on offer to help students fare well.

One common technique is the pegging model, where subjects difficult to memorize are pegged to something else. “We train them in the law of imagination. Students are taught to visualize. Next, they connect the visuals to themselves. The link could be ridiculous but helps easy recall,” says Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury, a memory trainer, Dynamic Memory, Faridabad. Biswaroop visits Karnataka often to conduct workshops.

D Krishnamurthy, a memory technologist in Hanumanthnagar, works on similar lines. “Rote memory is constant repetition. If you forget one key word, you tend to forget everything. Here, you aren’t losing anything because it’s systematic. There are visual and imaginary elements to it,” he says. Predictably, January is a busy time for him. “There are more students during January and February, when the knowledge gathered through the year is cluttered and needs organization,” he says.

There are others who promise more. Life strategist Md A A Ahmed conducts exam maximizer programmes which comes in beginners and advanced capsules. Level 1 gives tips on learning long answers in a single reading, memorizing key words in 120 seconds, and helps concentrate on boring subjects. Ahmed wants to patent a technique called flash reading, which he has developed. Here, a student can read 30,000 words in a minute. According to him, the student actually comprehends what he reads, and it’s not merely rote learning.

Midbrain Masters, a training centre headquartered in Malaysia, says it can help children activate their ‘midbrain’. “An activated midbrain helps improve concentration, enhance memory and speed up the learning process,” says Rajeev Ahuja, trainer.

Experts, however, feel sheer rote learning is promoted in such cases. “Many of these techniques look at rote or associative memory. Since our academic system is based on rote learning, and not much on analytical skills, it helps score marks. The methods assist them retain more facts but doesn’t do much to improve cognitive ability,” points out Sulatha Shenoy, director, Turning Point Psychological Centre.

“There are some simple facts where there’s nothing to understand; like Gandhiji’s date of birth, or the boiling point of a liquid. One has to have an imaginary understanding of it,” says Biswaroop.

Memory apart, these workshops also focus on concerns like confidence levels, stress, emotional baggage, etc. “Students complain about issues like the mood to study and short attention span. We train them to overcome such obstacles,” says Ahmed.

POINTS TO BE NOTED

Workshops should look at emotional, social abilities, leadership skills and teamwork. Most students I get are looking to improve memory. What they really need is an interest in the subject, some motivation, and better teachers.

Sulatha Shenoy | director, turning point psychological centre

Several factors lead to poor memory. Most kids multi-task while studying; some fiddle with their phones, some listen to music. Many suffer from low self-esteem and become anxious. All workshops address these problems. However, the techniques they learn don’t help in the long run. Boards like CBSE have started insisting on analytical learning. When Narayana Murthy says our engineering graduates are not employable, it is not surprising. Marks are important, but there’s more to life.

Vikram Prabhu | psychiatrist, sagar hospital

There’s no quick-fix to enhance memory. The techniques cannot be universally applicable. Factors like emotional stress, motivation level and interest affect memory. Feedback and follow-up is important to see if the techniques are working.

Meera Ravi | psychologist, prerana academy

Such workshops stem from the idea of rote learning. If a teacher deals with a subject engagingly, kids will learn. If not, they will have to look at mechanical ways of doing it. It boils down to good teaching approaches and pedagogy.

Maya Menon | teacher foundation

I feel like I have textbooks in my head. I know what’s on which page. When we have to look at tabular columns during exams, things are much easier for me because I know them by heart.

Vaibhav | class 11 student who attended Ahmed’s workshop

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Rote / by Sruthy Susan Ullas, TNN / January 10th, 2014