So find a friend and try to explain what you’re studying.īy doing so, you’re actively accessing and consolidating all the information you know, to produce a simplified version.Įncourage them to poke holes in your explanation and ask more questions about things they don’t quite understand. Teaching is one of the best ways to learn. 6) Teach a friend (who knows nothing about the subject) actively recall) what you remember about the topic at hand. Simply go through the questions you’ve written down, and try to answer them.įor a quick solution, you can also take a moment to run through (aka. Or, if you’ve written questions in your notes (Tip #2), this will be a piece of cake. You can also take advantage of problem sets and practice questions before you start your study session.

There are several online communities where you can find crowdsourced problem sets and study notes, like the GoodNotes Community.Īlong the same vein as above, pre-tests before revision have been shown to help you intake more information during the actual study session.

Take a search online to see if you can find the past exams for similar courses at other schools.

Your school is likely not the only one that has a course like this.

What if you can’t find any practice tests or problem sets? Many professors will also provide past exams or tests with the answers for you to study from. You can often find problem sets in textbooks, with answers at the back. Remember, the objective isn’t to get everything right - it’s to get your brain used to the process of retrieving that information (sometimes, it can even help to get answers wrong). Practice questions and past exams are another opportunity to put your brain to the test, and help commit things to memory. 4) Incorporate practice questions and past exams You can download a free template for Cornell notes here. These notes have a section just for summaries at the bottom, making it easier to prompt yourself to pause when studying. To make this simple, once again, the Cornell note taking method is your friend. Take a step back once in a while to think about what you’re taking in, and actively try to summarize it. 3) Stop and summarizeĪ lot of what we consider studying is very passive: watching lectures, reading textbooks, highlighting notes, etc.Īn easy way to put on your active recall hat is to stop and summarize. If you’re using the Cornell note-taking method, you can slot your questions in the left column of your notes. When you’re revising, your notes will prompt you to actively think, instead of only passively reading your notes. Here’s a simple way to set future you up for success - when taking notes, write questions that refer to your notes. Tip: If you’re interested in digital flashcards with built-in spaced repetition, check out GoodNotes Study Sets. You’re simply recognizing the answer, which is significantly easier. When you show the answer along with the question, you’re not using active recall to find it. If possible, avoid multiple choice questions. If you use a lot of graphs or diagrams in your study, a fun thing to do is to include a diagram, without labels on the question side.

1) Flashcardsįlashcards are the king of active recall: you’re shown a question, and have to produce the answer. Read more: Check out our guide to Digital Planner stickers. Here are 7 practical ways to apply active recall when studying. Read more: Check out our guide to How to Study. When compared with simply rereading a chapter or rewatching a lecture over and over again, the challenge of recalling an answer helps you ultimately remember the answer better.Īctive recall triggers the “ testing effect” - the theory that when you retrieve information from memory, that information holds better in your long-term memory. Now, why is this such a recommended study technique? When your partner asks you if you even remember what day is it, and you rack your brain trying to remember whether its an anniversary or birthday.When someone asks you what you had for lunch yesterday and you have to think about it.When you’re answering questions on an exam or during a test.In other words, it’s the process of searching your brain to find an answer. Regularly practicing active recall is shown to be one of the best ways to remember what you’ve studied.

It’s one of the most talked about study techniques out there - and for good reason.

Active recall - if you’re a student, you’ve probably heard the term floating around.

Goodnotes index cards