Clustering Strategies

Clustering strategies involve categorizing items to be remembered according to common characteristics or listing random items in a more logical, easy-to-remember order. Clustering strategies are easily combined to aid memory.

Several clustering strategies are described below: outlining, color coding, categories, grouping, alphabetizing, and key point.

• Outlining
• Color Coding
• Categories
• Grouping
• Alphabetizing
• Key Point

Outlining

The outlining strategy involves organizing information by main points and supporting details. It is a useful tool when large bodies of information must be arranged for easier memorization. Outlining is particularly useful if the material does not follow a logical pattern. Remember that understanding is a key step in the memorization process, and for this reason it is important that material to be remembered is arranged logically.

For complete details on the outlining strategy, refer to Outlining in the Note taking stack.

Color Coding

The color-coding strategy involves clustering information by using the visual stimulus of color. Color, rather than number or letters as with outlining, is used to indicate information organization. It is a useful strategy when materials can be marked on by the student.

Color coding is similar to outlining except that main ideas are coded with a certain color, supporting details in another, other subtopics in a third color, etc. Or, ideas related to one main topic may be represented by one color, ideas related to another topic in another color, etc.

In addition a memory aid, color coding may be used in a variety of other ways. For more ideas on color coding, refer to the Note taking, Organization, and Time Management pages in the General-Purpose Learning Strategies main stack.

One way to use color coding to aid memory through organization is outlined and illustrated below. This example helps to distinguish main points from supporting details and facts.

• Gather together the material to be organized: lecture notes, chapter summaries, etc.
• Pick out the main points of the material. If you have trouble with this, try looking at the text book for major headings in each chapter. These may give you ideas for breaking the material into main points. Highlight all main points in one color.
• Pick out the supporting details for each of the main points. Highlight all supporting details in another color.
• Pick out the most exclusive facts for each of the supporting details. Highlight all the facts in a third color.
• Reorganize or rewrite the material according to the color scheme using colored ink pens. Each main point should be followed by its supporting details, and each supporting detail by its facts.
• The resulting outline will look like this:
• RED MAIN POINT
• Green Supporting Detail
• Blue fact
• Blue fact
• Green Supporting Detail
• Blue fact
• RED MAIN POINT
• Green Supporting Detail
• Blue fact
• Green Supporting Detail
• Blue fact
• Blue fact
• Blue fact

Another use of color coding to aid memory through organization is outlined and illustrated below. This example helps to associate related material.

• Gather together the material to be organized: lecture notes, chapter summaries, etc.
• Pick out the main points of the material. If you have trouble with this, try looking at the text book for major headings in each chapter. These may give you ideas for breaking the material into main points. Highlight each main point in a different color.
• Pick out the supporting details for each of the main points. Highlight all supporting details for one main point in the corresponding color.
• Pick out the most exclusive facts for each main point. Highlight all the facts in the corresponding color.
• Reorganize or rewrite the material according to the color scheme using colored ink pens. Each main point should be followed by its supporting details, and each supporting detail by its facts, all in the same color.
• The resulting outline will look like this:
• RED MAIN POINT
• Red Supporting Detail
• red fact
• red fact
• Red Supporting Detail
• BLUE MAIN POINT
• Blue Supporting Detail
• blue fact
• Blue Supporting Detail
• blue fact
• blue fact

Categories

With the categories strategy, words or terms are broken down and categorized according to any generic qualities that can be identified. The strategy is most commonly used when memorizing lists of information. The goal is to use whatever common factors that can be identified to make shorter, easier-to-remember lists from longer, more difficult ones. The categorization strategy may be combined with other clustering strategies like color coding and alphabetizing.

Directions for the categorization strategy are as follows.

• Assemble the list of terms, people or concepts to be remembered.
• Study the list and look for any similarities in the items. Similarities may exist in the type of term (people, things, places, dates) or the terms themselves (start with consonant or vowel, proper or improper, number of syllables).
• Break the master list into smaller lists according to the similarities noted.

• There are ten terms to know for a history exam on the Civil War:
• Monitor
• slave
• Grant
• plantation
• cities
• Lincoln
• Jackson
• cotton
• factories
• Lee

• The terms may be grouped according to the type of term:
• PEOPLE: slave, Grant, Lincoln, Jackson, Lee
• THINGS: Monitor, plantation, cities, cotton, factories

• The terms also may be grouped according to the side with which they are associated:
• NORTH: Monitor, Grant, cities, Lincoln, factories
• SOUTH: slave, plantation, Jackson, cotton, Lee

 

Grouping

The grouping strategy is used to combat the tendency to forget the middle items in a list of information. When a list is being memorized, the first two items and the last two items in the list are usually the easiest to remember. The items between the first and last pairs of items are more easily forgotten. For example, in a list of ten items, four items will be easily remembered and six items will be easily forgotten.

Grouping involves breaking a long list of items into two (or more) smaller lists. This reduces the number of "middle" items that will most likely be forgotten. Grouping is similar to the categories strategy, but the items are randomly grouped in the former. This strategy may be combined with other clustering strategies, like color coding or alphabetizing, if necessary.

Directions for the grouping strategy are simple and straightforward.

• Identify the list of information to be remembered.
• Break the list into two or more smaller lists.
• Memorize each new sub list individually. Use other memory strategies to remember each list if necessary.

Alphabetizing

One of the simplest strategies for clustering information is alphabetizing. Used primarily for memorizing randomly organized lists of information, the alphabetizing strategy relies on rearranging items in a list so they are in alphabetical order. Alphabetizing may also be used with the grouping and categories strategies once the items have been clustered.

Directions for alphabetizing are as follows.

• Identify the list of items to be remembered.
• If the list items are more than one word long, pick out a key word for each item in the list.
• Rearrange the items or key words in alphabetical order.
• If simple alphabetization isn't sufficient for remembering the list, try combining it with other memorization strategies like visual imagery or mnemonics.

An application of the alphabetizing strategy is memorizing the nine major systems of the human body: circulatory, musculoskeletal, endocrine, reproductive, digestive, lymphatic, respiratory, excretory, and nervous. Arranging these items in alphabetical order yields a list with two consecutive letter combinations, "c-d-e" and "l-m-n," plus the letter "r." These groups help to break up the alphabetized list and reduce the number of items that might be forgotten.

• circulatory
• digestive
• endocrine
• excretory
• lymphatic
• musculoskeletal
• nervous
• reproductive
• respiratory

The next example alphabetizes key words in a list of long-phrase items. For an education class, students must memorize a list of twelve memory techniques (Ellis 1994).

• Move from general to specific ideas.
• Make the information meaningful.
• Create associations between new and old information.
• Learn actively and learn it once.
• Visualize relationships among ideas.
• Recite and repeat new information.
• Reduce interference when learning.
• Overlearn the new information.
• Be aware of attitudes.
• Distribute learning among tasks.
• Remember something else.
• Combine techniques for remembering.

The resulting alphabetized list is given below. The list is grouped further and associated with visual images to improve the chances of remembering all twelve items. There is a group of items starting with "a," a group of items that can be associated with a CD, a group that spells out "gim" that may be associated with someone called Jim, and a group that spells out "orrs" that can be associated with a boat paddle.

• active
• associations
• attitudes
• combine
• distribute
• general
• interference
• meaningful
• overlearn
• relationships
• repeat
• something else

Key Points

Key point clustering is used to simplify complex information, making it easier to remember. The strategy takes long or complex ideas imbedded in the text of a book and condenses or simplifies and groups them according to main ideas and supporting details.

Key point clustering is best used with large units of information. It reduces the amount of information that must be remembered, making the process more efficient. It is particularly useful for remembering text book information when key words or ideas can be located through section headings, italics, or boldface type.

Directions for the key point strategy are as follows.

• Identify the terms to be remembered.
• Examine the definitions or explanations for each term. Pick out the key point, or the information that is essential for understanding the term, in each of the definitions.
• Organize the key points by grouping them according to main ideas and supporting details. Refer to the outlining and color coding sections of this page for more information on this type of grouping.

• "Cells are divided into two major groups, chiefly on the basis of structure. Eukaryotic cells have a true nucleus, a membrane-bounded compartment that houses DNA within chromosomes, which are complex threadlike structures. The rest of the cell is also divided by membranes into compartments that perform various functions. Some of these are organelles, small membranous bodies whose structure suits their function. The other type of cell is called a prokaryotic cell because the cell lacks a true nucleus. The DNA is in a single chromosome located within a distinguishable region called the nucleoid. An internal membrane does not divide the cell into compartments, and there are a few organelles" (Mader, Biology , 1993, p. 64).

• TYPES OF CELLS
• Eukaryotic Cells - cells with a true nucleus
• nucleus - membrane-bounded compartment that houses chromosomes
• chromosomes - complex, threadlike structures holding DNA
• membranous compartments with certain functions
• organelles - small membranous bodies with certain structures and functions
• Prokaryotic Cells - cells with a nucleoid instead of a true nucleus
• nucleoid - distinguishable region with a single chromosome
• no membranous compartments
• few organelles