Active Recall and Spaced Repetition
Proven Techniques to Boost Learning Efficiency and Retention
Active Recall: A Powerful Way to Learn
What is Active Recall?
Active recall is a way of studying that helps us remember things better. Instead of just reading or recognizing the correct answer, we try to remember the information without help. Dr. William Klemm from Texas A&M University says that most students don’t realize how important it is to make themselves recall information. This method is better than just recognizing the correct answer in multiple-choice tests.
Why is Active Recall Important?
When we try to remember something, our brains work hard to bring up the information. This process makes our memory stronger. Studies show that the best learning happens when we repeat studying and recalling the information several times.
Peter C. Brown, in his book Make It Stick, explains that active recall has two significant benefits:
It helps us know what we don’t understand, allowing us to focus on what we need to study more.
It strengthens our memory connections, making remembering things in the future easier.
Minimum Effective Dose (MED)
The Minimum Effective Dose (MED) is the smallest amount of work needed to get the desired result.
Think about boiling water. We only need a certain amount of heat to make it boil, and adding more heat doesn’t make the water boil more. While studying, using the MED means finding the most efficient way to learn without wasting time or energy.
The MED can be applied to many other things besides studying and academics.
How to Use Active Recall
Here are some ways to practice active recall:
Practice Problems: Doing practice problems helps us understand and remember information. The harder the problem, the better it helps us remember.
Free Response Questions: These are the best because they don’t give us any hints. We have to remember everything on our own.
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions: These are also good, but they provide some context, which can help you remember.
Multiple-choice Questions: These are the least effective because they give us hints, but we can improve them by asking more questions about the topic.
Running Through Information in Our Minds: This is quick and easy. We can ask ourselves questions and try to answer them in our head.
Creative Projects: Use what we’ve learned in a project. This helps make strong connections in our brains.
Explaining to Someone Else: If we can explain something to a five-year-old, we understand it well.
Flashcards: These are great for active recall. Write a question on one side and the answer on the other. This is a great way to test ourselves regularly.
Connecting to Our Lives: Relate what we’re learning to our experiences. This makes it easier to remember.
Review Questions: At the beginning and end of our study session, review questions to reinforce what we’ve learned.
Active Recall and Spaced Repetition
Active recall works best with spaced repetition, which means reviewing the information at different times. This tells our brains that the information is important, which helps us remember it longer.
Spaced Repetition: The Smart Way to Study
What is Spaced Repetition?
To understand spaced repetition, we must understand Ebbinghaus' forgetting curve. The Forgetting Curve is a concept from the 19th century by a German psychologist named Hermann Ebbinghaus. It shows that we forget information over time if we don't use it. When we first learn something, we slowly forget it unless we recall it again. Each time we recall information, we slow the forgetting rate, and the information sticks better in our memory.
Spaced repetition takes advantage of the forgetting curve and is a particular way of studying that helps you remember things for a long time. Instead of cramming all your studying into one session, you spread it over time. This method helps your brain remember better because it works harder to recall the information each time.
Why is Spaced Repetition Important?
When you practice something repeatedly, but with breaks in between, your brain strengthens its memory connections. This means you will remember the information longer and understand it better. It might feel harder because it takes more effort, but the benefits are worth it.
How Does Spaced Repetition Work?
I like to think of learning like building a brick wall. Each brick is a piece of information. We must put down a layer of bricks, wait for the mortar to dry, and then add the next layer.
If we rush and add too many layers too quickly, the wall will be weak and might fall over. Our brains work the same way. We need to give it time to strengthen connections between pieces of information.
The best time to review information is right before we forget it. Although this makes recalling it harder, it significantly strengthens our memory with fewer study sessions. The harder it is to remember the information, the stickier it will become once we recall it.
Techniques for Spaced Repetition
1. Leitner System: This method uses flashcards. We sort our flashcards into groups and review them at different times. If we get a question right, the card moves to the next group, which we review less often. If we get it wrong, it returns to the first group, which we review more frequently.
We can do variations of the Leitner System as well. Instead of returning the incorrect answer to Box 1, we can return the question to the previous box.
The first variation is more efficient, but the second variation can work well too.
How often we review each box depends on our study schedule. The earlier we start studying, the better our retention. For example, let’s say we have an exam in a month. Maybe we review Box 1 daily, Box 2 every other day, Box 3 every three days, Box 4 once a week, and Box 5 every two weeks. Maybe the last few days before the exam, we review all of the information regardless of what box they are in.
2. Anki: Anki is a study app that uses the Leitner System but with added features. When we answer a question, we tell the app how hard it was to recall the information. Depending on our answers, the app decides when to show us that question again. This way, we focus on the most challenging questions more often and review easier ones less frequently. We can also customize the app's time intervals and other settings to fit our studying needs best.
Why Spaced Repetition is Efficient
Spaced repetition makes studying more efficient because it helps us get better results with less work. Just like we wouldn’t do too many bicep curls every day to avoid injury, we shouldn’t overload our brains with too much information at once. Our brain needs time to rest and build strong connections.
Spaced repetition is a powerful method for improving learning. By spreading out our study sessions and practicing active recall, we can remember information longer and understand it better. Studying doesn't have to take a long time. The quality of our study time matters way more than how long we studied, and using active recall with spaced repetition is great for that.