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·
Scenarios
--Located at the end of most chapters, as well as in Chapter 9, the scenarios allow a much
more in-depth examination of a network implementation. Rather than posing a simple question
asking for a single fact, the scenarios let you design and build networks (at least on paper) without
the clues inherent in a multiple-choice quiz format.
· CD-based practice exam--The companion CD contains a large number of questions not included
in the text of the book. You can answer these questions by using the simulated exam feature, or by
using the topical review feature. This is the best tool for helping you prepare for the test-taking
process.
Approach
Retention and recall are the two features of human memory most closely related to performance on tests.
This exam preparation guide focuses on increasing both retention and recall of the topics on the exam. The
other human characteristic involved in successfully passing the exam is intelligence; this book does not
address that issue!
Adult retention is typically less than that of children. For example, it is common for 4-year-olds to pick up
basic language skills in a new country faster than their parents. Children retain facts as an end unto itself;
adults typically either need a stronger reason to remember a fact or must have a reason to think about that
fact several times to retain it in memory. For these reasons, a student who attends a typical Cisco course and
retains 50 percent of the material is actually quite an amazing student.
Memory recall is based on connectors to the information that needs to be recalled--the greater the number
of connectors to a piece of information, the better chance and better speed of recall. For example, if the
exam asks what ARP stands for, you automatically add information to the question. You know the topic is
networking because of the nature of the test. You might recall the term "ARP broadcast," which implies that
ARP is the name of something that flows in a network. Maybe you do not recall all three words in the acro-
nym, but you recall that it has something to do with addressing. Of course, because the test is multiple-
choice, if only one answer begins with "address," you have a pretty good guess. Having read the answer
"Address Resolution Protocol," then you might even have the infamous "aha" experience, in which you are
then sure that your answer is correct (and possibly a brightly lit light bulb is hovering over your head). All
these added facts and assumptions are the connectors that eventually lead your brain to the fact that needs to
be recalled. Of course, recall and retention work together. If you do not retain the knowledge, it will be dif-
ficult to recall it.
This book is designed with features to help you increase retention and recall. It does this in the following
ways:
· By providing succinct and complete methods of helping you decide what you recall easily and what
you do not recall at all.
· By giving references to the exact passages in this book that review those concepts you did not recall
so that you can quickly be reminded about a fact or concept. Repeating information that connects to
another concept helps retention, and describing the same concept in several ways throughout a
chapter increases the number of connectors to the same piece of information.
fm.fm Page xxiii Monday, March 20, 2000 4:55 PM