Introduction
🌎 In the past two years, the active recall method has gained popularity across the globe. Students from all over the world have begun to explore and practice this innovative method offered by science. With YouTubers and influencers promoting the effectiveness of this method online, it is no wonder that it has become the most popular study technique during the COVID-19 pandemic 🖥
📌 Within this blog, we are going to explore, discover and learn how to practice active recall in our daily life! So, keep reading!
The Science
🧠 The science behind active recall—and its great success—revolves around the forgetting curve. The forgetting curve describes the rate at which we retain and forget material learned over periods of time. The following image specifically depicts the forgetting curve in relation to active recall:
The above image is sourced from Research Gate.
🗓 Essentially, active recall invites you to review the material multiple times with additional time in between each review. The idea is that you learn the material, then give yourself time to forget it so that your brain has to work hard to recall the material when you review it again. The harder your brain has to work to recall the information, the more information you will retain!
And that is a quick summary of the science behind active recall! If you’d like to read more about the science, here are some quick links:
But for now, let’s get onto how it works!
How It Works
So, how can we integrate this incredible technique into our daily study routine?🌟
🧸 It is pretty simple! First off, let us determine what’d you like to use to keep track of your revision. Do you prefer something like google sheets or something like notion?
Here are pictures of my notion and google sheet revision tracker for active recall:
📘 Once you’ve determined the software, think about how you’d like to set it up! With my google sheet tracker, I used colours! I would colour the box once I’ve revised the information and the colour would represent how confident I am with the material. If colour isn’t your thing, you can also use symbols or ratings! In my notion tracker, I characterize everything with “Stars.” It is completely up to you :) Next, I’m going to show you the schedule I review by:
1st revision: Day material was given
2nd revision: after 1 day
3rd revision: after 3 days
4th revision: after 1 week
5th revision: after 2 weeks
Note: if you feel like you’ve mastered the material by the third revision, you can stop revising then or give yourself even more time to forget before the next revision! However, be careful with this because the more times you revise the material and let your brain forget it, the more it is integrated into your long-term memory! Feel free to play with schedule 🔖
📖 Now that we have a good idea of our setup, let’s consider how you will be reviewing! Personally, I use the Feynman technique where I review by teaching a wall or some other object. Another recommendation is to use flashcards! It is really up to you, but make sure that you are recalling material and not just reading it out from a piece of paper.
🗂 Finally, to organize the days that you review, I recommend using some sort of calendar! This is always very helpful because calendars typically allow you to set up repeating systems too!
And that is how you set up active recall into your study routine!💛
🤍I really hope this technique helps you save time and be productive with your studying! If you have questions about the technique or need clarification, please drop a comment! We are here to support you🥰
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