Hey , everyone from licensureexamscom . Welcome to another great episode of our podcast . I'm your host , stacy , and I'm excited to be here with my co-host , dr Linton Hutchinson . What's up , linton ?
Hey everybody , today's episode will cover a study strategy you absolutely have to use to remember those golden nuggets , those precious tidbits and priceless crumbs of knowledge , so that they will be on the tip of your tongue when you sit down to take your exam .
Okay , so the million dollar question we often hear from students is something like this is insane . There's just too much to learn for the exam . How on earth am I going to remember it all ? Does it sound familiar ?
Yep , it sounds familiar , but you nailed it , stacy . The exam is like a bottomless pit of information , but guess what ? There's a way to keep it all straight in your head . Okay , let's talk about chunking , which is the handy tool that you need to use when you study for this exam .
The underlying principle is that your working memory can only hold a limited amount of information . Essentially , chunking is a way of breaking down huge amounts of information into smaller , manageable parts or chunks . This makes it possible for your brain to encode and finally retrieve the information that you're going to need for the exam .
Exactly , and the idea of chunking might sound new to you , but I bet that you already use it . So , like , when I'm racing out the door , my brain is all over the place . I need to turn off the lights , put on my shoes , grab my phone , my wallet , my keys , maybe a jacket because hello , Michigan , weather is unpredictable and finally lock up .
So , instead of freaking out , i mentally group these tasks into two piles . There's the house lockdown pile and the grab and go pile , and I just need to remember one thing from each group , and then the rest follows .
Well , if you stayed in Florida , that wouldn't have been a problem .
No , but the hurricanes Linton Okay all right Okay .
But I'm you know I did the same thing , but my two categories are what do I want and what do I need ? Try it next time you leave your house to go out on your arduous day doing therapy . Although , Stacy , you could eliminate some of the hassle by ditching that massive purse you lug around and your credit cards and crypto could go on your phone .
Hey , hey , hey . I like my purse . There's no way I'm parting with it . It's like my Mary Poppins bag . I fit everything into that baby .
Oh my gosh , i'll bet . But seriously , chunking is sort of like mental superpower . It's something you have to really use for the exam .
It's important to remember working memory the part of our short term memory which processes immediate , conscious , perceptual and linguistic parts can only handle how many seven items at a time You actually trick your brain into handling more information than it typically is really designed to do . It's sort of like remembering phone numbers , right Stacy .
Hmm , phone numbers . You say Yeah , really , oh , yeah , okay , i forgot when you were in graduate school the MI 1856 kind of phone numbers that only had seven digits , okay sure Linton phone numbers . Well , chunking is definitely a mental hack you need to start using while studying . The exam covers a broad spectrum of knowledge areas .
I mean it's this thing is loaded , so you've got anything from human development and diagnostic criteria To ethical guidelines and intervention strategies , and it's pretty daunting all that information . So if you try to cram all of that into your brain without chunking , something has to give .
Right , no kidding . It's sort of like when I go out and try to eat a dozen doughnuts from Duncan one sitting . It just doesn't happen . You won't be able to Remember the information that you just studied unless you use chunking . That's why it's so essential .
So , in start of trying to stuff all that exam information into your brain at the same time , you'll be better off if you spend your time organizing the information into groups . Chunking is the only way you're going to find also the logical patterns that connect everything And you'll remember the information that you need for the exam . The key is to study smarter .
Got an example of space .
Well , that is pure gold there , linton , pure gold . So here's where chunking can come in handy . Let's say you're studying counseling theories , so you could divide those theories into three broad categories and you've got the cognitive behavioral models . Mm-hmm , you have psychodynamic approaches right and humanistic therapies , right ?
Okay , so three broad categories , and Under each category you're gonna list the specific theories that fall under that umbrella . So , for example , under cognitive behavioral . So cognitive behavioral is not just CBT , like we all know and love . It's actually got several models that relate to it .
So you might list mindfulness based cognitive therapy , rational emotive behavior therapy , acceptance and commitment therapy On and on the list goes and those approaches all rely on a cognitive model for understanding emotional responses . That's what they all have in common .
So by categorizing theories this way , you're not just dealing with a smaller set of information at a single time , but you're also creating a sort of organizational structure that's gonna help with recall .
They say you're a genius .
Thank you , thank you .
It's just like where you were last week . It's like turning studying into a family reunion . Chunking is also the best friend when it comes to memorizing Specific details like diagnostic criteria .
Instead of overwhelming yourself with a gazillion symptoms , group them into categories and suddenly they become more like a friend than the enemy that you have to sit down and try to conquer .
Yeah , we're maybe a frenemy , i don't know a friend enemy .
Yeah , I like networks .
Well , chunking is like the ultimate study buddy , and it reduces cognitive overload and makes the information more digestible and increases retention and , as a bogo , you know those publics , bogos that you love . It's also helps with problem-solving and comprehension , helping you recognize patterns , which are crucial when you're dissecting a case on the exam .
Well there . So you have it notice , we took this and chunked it into seven different areas , but by using the chunking strategy in your setting routine , you're gonna set yourself up to pass and be successful with this exam . So thanks for joining us today and until next time , remember It's in there , it's in there .