Chunked Deep Processing

Vocabulary · 6

Three memories

The published model. Sensory memory catches what crosses the senses (most of it discarded). Working memory, the short-term layer, is the conscious filter that decides what to keep. Long-term memory is the destination Ragain wants Masonic ritual to reach.

Chunking, March style

Ragain reports March's published rule: bookmark-sized chunks of four to seven lines of plain text per chunk. Short enough that the eye does not have to move far; long enough that the chunk is a meaningful unit (a sentence or two of the lecture).

First-letter reduction

After about six readings of the plain text, switch to a version of the chunk where every word is reduced to its first letter. Ragain's published example: "Behold, how good and how pleasant / it is for brethren / to dwell together in unity" becomes "Bh gahp / iIfb / t dti u". The shape of the line is preserved; the bulk of recall now comes from memory, not the page.

Blue-bordered bookmark

March's published visual detail, faithfully recorded by Ragain: a small card with a blue border, because the color blue is reported to support focus. Any size of card works; the point is that the visual field is small and the same every time.

Then the next chunk

Once a chunk has been internalized (plain text six times, first-letter version several more), Ragain's published rule is to move on, but never beyond four to seven lines at a time. Bite-size is the point. The whole passage will take many chunks; the brain wins one round at a time.

Workbook style

March's published material, as Ragain notes, comes as a workbook with downloadable content and dry-erase pages for visualising the Lodge room. The published source is www.lewismasonic.co.uk; the technique itself is independent of that material and can be applied to any passage.

Practice questions · 5

1. The 5 Minute Ritualist method names three kinds of memory. Which is the destination for Masonic ritual?

   • a. Sensory memory
   • b. Working (short-term) memory
   • c. Long-term memory ✓
   • d. Procedural memory

2. What chunk size does Ragain report from March?

   • a. One word at a time
   • b. Four to seven lines, bookmark-sized ✓
   • c. One full page at a time
   • d. Whatever fits on screen

3. After roughly six readings of the plain text, what does the method have you switch to?

   • a. Reciting from memory only, no card
   • b. A version where every word is reduced to its first letter ✓
   • c. A version with every other word blanked
   • d. A different chunk

4. What color border does March specify for the bookmark, and why?

   • a. Red, because it draws attention
   • b. Blue, because it is reported to support focus ✓
   • c. Gold, to honor the Craft
   • d. Black, to minimize distraction

5. What is the published rule about advancing past a chunk?

   • a. Move on after the first reading
   • b. Move on once the chunk reads cleanly from the first-letter version, but never beyond 4-7 lines at a time ✓
   • c. Skip a chunk if it feels difficult
   • d. Memorize the whole passage before moving on