Short answers, pulled from the story.
Memorization is the process of committing something to memory, storing visual, auditory, or tactile information for later recall. It draws on multiple memory systems including short-term, long-term, working, and autobiographical memory, and is studied within the field of cognitive neuroscience.
Rote learning focuses on memorization through repetition without emphasis on understanding, such as repeatedly writing or speaking words aloud. Spaced repetition improves on this by increasing the time intervals between each review session, exploiting the psychological spacing effect to transfer information into long-term memory more efficiently. Software such as SuperMemo, Anki, and Mnemosyne use spaced repetition combined with active recall.
The method of loci, also known as the mind palace, is a mnemonic technique practiced since classical antiquity that associates items to be remembered with specific physical locations. It was taught for many centuries as part of the formal school curriculum, particularly to help orators remember speeches.
The major system, also called the phonetic number system, converts numbers into consonant sounds and then into words by adding vowels. Those words are easier to retain than raw digits, especially when the words are chosen to be visual and emotionally resonant.
Elaborative rehearsal is a method of relating new material to information already known in order to reach a deeper understanding. Studies show it produces more efficient long-term memory than maintenance rehearsal, which simply repeats material without connecting it to existing knowledge. The levels-of-processing model of memory explains this: deeper encoding creates stronger and more lasting memory traces.
The testing effect is the finding that memorization is more efficient when time is devoted to actively retrieving information through testing with proper feedback, rather than passively re-reading. Flashcards are a practical application of active recall, and the SURF method uses cyclic forms of active recall specifically for memorizing poems for public performance.