Use the “chunking” Method to Better Remember What You’ve Learned
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Studying can be as simple as sitting down and reading a chapter, but it shouldn’t be. I’m sorry to break it to you, but I’m actually doing you a favor. Simply absorbing large volumes of material doesn’t necessarily lead to retention. Before you begin studying, you need to organize the material by sorting it. Even simple organization, especially using the “chunking” method, will help you begin to understand and retain the material, so by the time you’re done studying, you’ll be in the perfect position to commit all the information to memory. Chunking is a psychological technique that experts swear by. Here’s how to master it yourself.
What is fragmentation?
Here’s what the American Psychological Association says : “Chunking is the process by which the mind divides large pieces of information into smaller units (chunks) that are easier to retain in short-term memory. Through this recoding, one memory item (such as a key word or key idea) can stand in for several other items (such as a short list of related items).”
Essentially, your working memory has a certain capacity, which determines the number of units it can store. This capacity is quite small—between five and nine—but the units themselves can be arbitrarily complex. The American Psychological Association (APA) states, “The exact number of chunks you can remember depends on the size of each chunk or the subunits contained within each chunk.”
Each chunk is a set of related pieces of information, such as words, numbers, or phrases. The key is that they should be related to each other, but not too closely related to other chunks. Chunking involves grouping related pieces of information to keep them within five to nine units.
You probably already use chunking in real life to remember information. Think of your phone number. You’ve probably already broken it down into the area code, the first three digits, and the last four. Memorizing a 10-digit string is difficult; remembering three “chunks” of smaller digits is easier.
So how do you learn in parts?
Look at what you need to remember and start grouping it into categories based on their relationships. Content isn’t essential here. If you need to remember 20 words or concepts, you don’t necessarily need to group them by meaning; you can group them by sound, by starting with the same letter, or any other characteristic. If you’ve ever used a mnemonic device to remember something like the order of the planets, you’ve already created a “chunk” for learning.
You can create chunks using something as simple as a pencil and paper, writing words or concepts together with a few spaces between chunks. From there, you can create sets of cards for each chunk or use the first letters of each phrase to create a mnemonic device. Try an acrostic—a phrase in which the first letter of each word corresponds to the first letter of one of the elements you need to remember. If you’re a numerical thinker, try grouping words or concepts by the number of letters they contain.
The pencil and paper technique is useful for committing words to memory, as you remember what you write down a little better than what you type, but otherwise, it’s not as convenient or functional. I recommend using apps and digital programs to make this process easier. For example, use a mind mapping app to sort your fragments and make them easier to visualize. I always find that even seeing words grouped together and organized can help me better remember them and how they relate to each other. Xmind is my favorite app for this , but you can also use something like Canva, which I’ve definitely used in a pinch. Then you can even use the app to create your own flashcards. Flashcards are one of the best and most time-tested study methods, but it’s completely unrealistic to carry a bunch of flashcards with you. Here are five of my favorite flashcard apps that will allow you to keep all your study materials accessible on your phone, wherever you are.
I recommend creating a new deck for each fragment you create so you can mentally separate the groups. Once you’ve mastered all the content of the various fragments, try mixing up some decks and reviewing them in large batches. This technique, known as interleaving , will gradually help you make connections between different concepts, improving not only their memorization but also your actual understanding.
Just remember to start by studying each set (or block) separately. While this doesn’t break the material down, grouping them together based on similar characteristics will help you remember everything together, and you’ll be surprised at how much you retain.