How to study with flashcards the right way
Using flashcards properly for better students.
For college students it doesn’t get much worse than spending several hours studying only to completely flunk a test anyways.
I know, I was one one of those students. Basically for my whole academic life.
You know how it goes, right?
You show up to class on time. You then diligently take notes, often frantically to keep up with your professor, and finally, you review these notes before your exam.
The outcome is normally one of the following:
You still miserably fail the test despite the long hours of arduous reviewing…
Or, You manage a passing grade but almost immediately lose all the knowledge you worked so hard to acquire.
I don’t know about you, but it used to make me feel real stupid.
The thing is though, I am not stupid, and you most certainly aren’t either. The issue comes from the study method, not the person.
If you are anything like a normal person study time means “going over notes” or reviewing (which is the same thing).
Going over notes is not an effective study method. Rereading material over and over again only increases your familiarity with it. It does not improve your understanding or ability to apply it though.
You know what does though?
Retrieval practice.
Retrieval practice is a fancy term for a simple, far more effective method. Instead of rereading the material, you attempt to retrieve it from memory.
Many people argue about the role of memorization in learning (you can read a whole case for it here.) The short of it is though, part of learning something properly is being able to do it from memory. Would you trust a doctor who has to look up the name of your bones or organs on google before he diagnoses you? Would you trust a pilot who has to watch a YouTube video on how to land the airplane every time he flies?
Doing something from memory and mindlessly memorizing facts are two different things. I am talking about the former.
When you try to learn something new, the information you are given is stored in your short-term memory. After some time goes by, your brain transfers the memory into long-term memory.
That does not mean that the memory is now available to you freely though. Psychologist Robert Bjork of UCLA developed a theory which argues that memories have two strengths. Storage and retrieval.
Storage strength is simple to explain, this is simply how familiar you are with a subject. Once a memory is in your brain, it is there forever.
Retrieval strength is not so simple to explain. Your mind needs a way to organize information for you to better understand the world. Which is why it forgets things.
Forgetting acts like a filter which lets relevant information in, and keeps irrelevant information out. Addition and subtraction are two things you will need for your entire life, you don’t want to forget how to do either thing. Where you parked last time you went to the doctor however can safely be discarded once you leave the hospital.
Forgetting something does not mean it is gone forever, it simply means that the retrieval strength of that specific memory is low. Storage strength is more or less permanent. Retrieval strength ebbs and flows.
How can you keep retrieval strength high, though? By practicing retrieval. How do you practice retrieval?
With Flashcards!
This is one of the oldest study methods around. It is also one of the most popular (rereading is still massively more popular though).
To ensure that you are getting the most out of flashcards though, there are a few rules to follow. Nothing complicated. Let’s start with the first rule, which applies during the creation of the cards themselves.
Rule #1: Only one question and answer per card
To explain this, let me use an example.
In chemistry there are several families of elements. You will need to learn not only the properties of these families but also the members of the families.
It is very common for people to write “members of the alkali metals family” as the question on their flashcards and list: lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium as the answer.
This is not very effective because your brain is highly susceptible to illusions of knowledge. If you come across this flashcard and only get lithium, sodium, potassium and rubidium you will then turn the card and see cesium and francium. The familiarity of these terms will make you think: “Of course! I knew that!” or something similar.
Being familiar with something is very different from knowing something.
So instead of having a card which reads “Elements of the alkali family” have cards that read “first element of the alkali family” followed by second, third and so forth…
This will ensure that you know all elements, and that your retrieval strength is high in all of them.
Rule #2: produce an answer
Let’s stay on the topic of illusions and how to avoid them for a second.
It is easy to believe you do not know the answer to a question when you do not immediately come up with the answer after reading the question.
This is not necessarily true. You might not know the answer well enough to remember it immediately but that doesn’t mean a bit of effort won’t get you there.
When it comes to learning and getting better at new things we are all scared of looking dumb or ignorant. Which is why we avoid the feeling at all costs. It is a lot easier to just look at the answer on the back and think “Right! Now I know!.”
What you might now know is that effort and mistakes are exactly where the biggest gains are made. Simply looking at the back of the card and reading a term you are familiar with creates an illusion. Whereas putting in the effort to retrieve the answer strengthens the memory. This happens even if you make a mistake.
Mistakes are only bad when you are unaware you are making one. As long as you receive corrective feedback you will learn better than if you simply look at the answer.
Put in the effort to retrieve the answer and see how much better you do.
Rule #3: Have a study schedule
“I’ll get to it later, I have plenty of time!” can easily translate to “I will just pull an all nighter before the exam…” in other words, academic suicide.
Retrieval strength is built over time, not overnight. If you want to truly learn something you must continually study it to maintain your retrieval strength high. The amount of time between sessions will increase, but to stay sharp you never truly stop studying.
To avoid procrastination, you need to set aside time for studying. To avoid skipping on this time, you need to have it physically written down somewhere.
“I’ll study tomorrow around noon” is not enough. Put it in your calendar. If it can be on your computer or phone with a reminder, even better. Know when you will study ahead of time. A simple reminder on your phone will do.
To take this step even further, try studying at different times on different days. Rather than always studying biology at 5:00 P.M. every Tuesday and Thursday, try doing Tuesdays at 5 and Thursdays at 7, maybe even add Saturdays at 12 for an extra session.
When it comes to studying, the brain creates cues to make it easier to retrieve the memories when it needs it. You want to avoid time being one of the cues. Little is known about how exactly the brain builds cues, but what is known is that a varied schedule helps develop more of them making it easier to retrieve the memories in the “real world” when they are needed.
This leads us to the fourth rule:
Rule #4: Vary the locations where you study.
Try to avoid creating a “study sanctuary.” Yes, it is a lovely idea on paper. Yes, it makes it a lot easier to know where you will be studying and avoid distractions, and Yes, it can feel like a real accomplishment simply to create one. Hear me out though.
In the last rule I mentioned retrieval cues. Just like a varied time helps develop more cues, varied locations will help it even further. You can read about varied practice in detail here.
The easiest way to vary your locations of study is to choose 4 or 5 different places around where you live and go to school to use as study spots and rotate them. This does not have to be complicated. In fact, the same building can work wonderfully for this.
If the library at your school has more than one floor, each floor can be a location. Heck if it has windows facing out to different directions each wall of the building can be a different location. As long as your general environment changes (like the view outside the window), you are on the right track.
If at all possible, avoid your bedroom. You do not want your brain associating sleep with the hard work that is studying.
Finally, staying on the topic of retrieval cues, let me talk about the final rule.
Rule #5: Shuffle your flashcards
After each study session, shuffle your deck of flashcards.
Just like your location and time of study create cues, the order in which you study the topic can create cues too. And the last thing you want is for a question to become the cue for another.
If you are studying biology and you always have a question about arteries right before one for the veins, you might associate the veins question with the arteries one and be at a complete loss when the artery question does not come before the vein question.
Shuffling your cards will help you avoid this. The retrieval strength of each memory will be independent of all others. Just like a varied schedule and location will avoid creating cues specific to the environment you study in.
All of these rules will help you gain a deeper understanding and retention of the material. They will also add challenge to your study sessions. If you find yourself struggling a little more than you are used to do not worry. It is a sign that you are doing things right. Powering through that struggle is where the gains are.
This is just one of many different skills, techniques, habits, and strategies that you can use to become a better learner
To learn more about how you can get better grades, have more free time and less stress too, head on over to permanentlearning.com to get started.
Happy learning!
Originally published at https://permanentlearning.com on November 14, 2019.
