Problem Memorization is a mentitation[1] technique I use often.
If you are studying for an exam, you can memorize problems from your homework, and then practice working through the key solution steps in your head, away from pencil and paper.
Since calculation is too cognitively burdensome in most cases, and is usually not the most important bottleneck for learning, you can focus instead on identifying the key conceptual steps.
The point of Problem Memorization is to create a structure in your mind (in this case, the memorized problem) that provokes repeated thought, not just repeated rote recall. Where flashcards might be used to remember the list of equations relevant to the subject matter while you’re at your desk, recall cycling means being able to remember and solve problems while you’re in the shower or driving in the car.
Problem Memorization can also entail imagining how your approach would change if the problem were modified. You can explore this more easily when the problem itself is in your head.
Personally, I find that memorizing problems in this way is also useful when actually solving homework and exam problems. This seems to free up cognitive space for thinking about the solution, since you’re not juggling the solution steps and problem description at the same time.
Problem Memorization can also be used for practical purposes. Having a detailed description of the problem you need to solve memorized and clear in your head allows you to work on the conceptual steps anytime.
In my experience with doing something similar, this practice also helps memorize adjacent concepts.
For example, I was recently explaining to myself Hubbard’s technique that uses Student’s t-stat to figure out the 90% CI of a range of possible values of a population using a small sample.
Having little memory of statistics from school, I had to refresh my understanding of variance and the standard deviation, which are required to use the t-stat table. So now, whenever I need to “access” variance or stdev, I mentally “reach” for the t-stat table and pick up variance and stdev.
Problem Memorization
Problem Memorization is a mentitation[1] technique I use often.
If you are studying for an exam, you can memorize problems from your homework, and then practice working through the key solution steps in your head, away from pencil and paper.
Since calculation is too cognitively burdensome in most cases, and is usually not the most important bottleneck for learning, you can focus instead on identifying the key conceptual steps.
The point of Problem Memorization is to create a structure in your mind (in this case, the memorized problem) that provokes repeated thought, not just repeated rote recall. Where flashcards might be used to remember the list of equations relevant to the subject matter while you’re at your desk, recall cycling means being able to remember and solve problems while you’re in the shower or driving in the car.
Problem Memorization can also entail imagining how your approach would change if the problem were modified. You can explore this more easily when the problem itself is in your head.
Personally, I find that memorizing problems in this way is also useful when actually solving homework and exam problems. This seems to free up cognitive space for thinking about the solution, since you’re not juggling the solution steps and problem description at the same time.
Problem Memorization can also be used for practical purposes. Having a detailed description of the problem you need to solve memorized and clear in your head allows you to work on the conceptual steps anytime.
Mentitation is my tentative word for exploratory techniques that expand our ability to monitor and control intellectual cognition.
In my experience with doing something similar, this practice also helps memorize adjacent concepts.
For example, I was recently explaining to myself Hubbard’s technique that uses Student’s t-stat to figure out the 90% CI of a range of possible values of a population using a small sample.
Having little memory of statistics from school, I had to refresh my understanding of variance and the standard deviation, which are required to use the t-stat table. So now, whenever I need to “access” variance or stdev, I mentally “reach” for the t-stat table and pick up variance and stdev.