Flashcards the right way
Flashcards are one of the best study tools there is, because they make you test yourself. They're also one of the easiest to use badly: flip, nod, "yes I knew that", next card.
1. Think before you flip
A card only works if you pull the answer out of your head before you see it. Say it out loud or write it, even in two words. Flipping and nodding is re-reading in disguise, and re-reading is weak (see the blank page article).
2. Say how sure you are
Before you flip, decide: sure, not sure or guessing. Two reasons:
- We judge ourselves too kindly. "I knew it" after seeing the answer is often not true. Deciding first keeps you honest.
- Being sure but wrong is a gift. Research on the "hypercorrection effect" (Butterfield & Metcalfe, 2001) found that mistakes made with high confidence, once corrected, are remembered especially well. The surprise helps it stick.
3. Write your own cards
Putting an idea in your own words is part of learning it. Psychologists call it the generation effect (Slamecka & Graf, 1978): what you produce yourself is remembered better than what you only read. Ready-made cards are a fine start; then rewrite the back in your words.
Small rules that help
- One idea per card. A card with ten lines is a page, not a card.
- Be honest with "not yet". It brings the card back tomorrow; that's how the review rhythm works (see tomorrow, 3 days, 7 days).
- Mastered = right on 2 different days, not twice in the same evening.
Try it tonight
Take 5 cards. Before each flip, say the answer out loud and say "sure" or "not sure". Count your "sure but wrong" cards: those are the ones to rewrite in your own words.
MajorMind does this for you: before each flip, the app asks how sure you are, then brings each card back at the right time. You can write your own cards too. Free.
Join the betaSources
- Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
- Butterfield, B., & Metcalfe, J. (2001). Errors committed with high confidence are hypercorrected. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 27(6), 1491–1494.
- Slamecka, N. J., & Graf, P. (1978). The generation effect: Delineation of a phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(6), 592–604.