Information Organization and Memory Strategies

Information Organization

Geology information may be organized using flash cards, running concept lists, matrices, hierarchies, and compare-contrast organizers (D. Applegate, C. Smith, CAL).

Flash Cards

The flash card format of information organization is amenable to geology terms and definitions, people and their contributions, symbols and formulas, and illustrations. Examples of each of these follow.

Running Concept Lists

The types of information organized on flash cards may also be recorded as running concept lists: terms, people, symbols and formulas, and illustrations. Examples are provided below.

Matrices

A lot of geology information lends itself to organization by matrices. Several examples are provided here. Always include a column or row in your matrix for examples and/or illustrations when you can.

Show Me An Example Of Geology Matrices

Hierarchical Organizers

Superordinate and subordinate information, such as the rock classification shown below, may be organized into hierarchies.

Compare-Contrast Organizers

To organize the similarities and differences among geology concepts, use compare-contrast organizers such as the one illustrated below.

Memory Strategies

Visual elaboration, mnemonics, mental manipulations, and novelty are among the memory strategies that work well for many geology students. These approaches are illustrated here (D. Applegate, C. Smith, CAL).

Visual Elaboration

Visual elaboration works well for remembering geology terms and definitions. The key words in each definition are linked with visual images. Several examples are provided below.

Batholith

A large body of igneous rock that forms under the earth's surface

Picture a bathtub full of rocks under the earth's surface

Phaneritic

A coarse-grained igneous rock

Picture a fan of a golf course

Mneumonics

Lists are common in most geology courses, and mnemonics are a good way to remember them. If the items in the list are lengthy, reduce them to key words before developing a mnemonic. Use the first letter of each item in the list to form a cue word or cue phrase. Examples are given below.

To remember the four types of mountains, form a cue phrase:

fault block, erosional, volcanic, folded

Fred Eats Very Fast

Number Elaboration

Use common numerical configurations (phone numbers, money, years, zip codes, etc.) to remember numbers. For example, to remember the percentages of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere, 78% and 22%, write them as money $78.22.

Organization Manipulations: Diagrams

Use flow charts, intersecting circles, and other diagrams to sketch the relationship of items to be remembered. For example, to remember that quartz, mica and feldspar are silicate minerals, that pyrite and galena are sulfide minerals, and that hematite and limonite are oxide minerals, group them into the three categories and draw shapes around each group. Use a square for the sulfides since the examples have cubic cleavage, use a circle for the silicates because the examples are equidimensional, and use an amorphous shape for the oxide examples. Add colors to enhance the memory device.

Attribute Manipulations

Description

Use sensory-stimulating words to verbally describe what you plan to learn. Study your description repeatedly. For example, the rock is very dense and heavy, it has black, white, and pink minerals, and it is coarse grained.

Phonetic Analysis

Repeat the sounds of the information or of the related words. For example, to remember that granite is an igneous rock, sound out the syllables "ig-ne-es" and repeat them.

Visual Analysis

Focus on the visual characteristics of the information to be learned, linking the letters of the information to a visual image of the information or some related information. For example, to remember that basalt is an igneous rock, picture the "i" as an erupting volcano, the "eou" as a series of volcanic islands like Hawaii, etc.

Novelty

Memory is enhanced when one approaches the information in interesting and novel ways. Two examples are given below. Be creative! Develop your own novel approaches to geology material.

Do an activity backwards. For instance, you may need to remember how to draw a contour map when given elevation points. Practice the task in reverse order. Draw and label contour lines on a map. Then go back and fill in appropriate elevation points all over the map.

Add dialog to the new information. For example, to remember rock names and characteristics, work with other student(s) to role-play and develop a rock dialog. One student holding the granite rock might say to another: "Hello Bonnie Basalt! You are very dark in color and have small minerals." The student with the basalt might answer: "That's true Granny Granite! You are much lighter in color than me and you have larger minerals. I really like the pink feldspar in you."