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One of the worst parts of reading anything is when you realize you zoned out, but your eyes kept moving over the words—now, you have to go back and reread everything. It happens to the best of us, but it’s especially frustrating when you’re trying to study—and that’s why simply rereading material and notes won’t cut it when you have a test coming up.
Instead, tap into the power of active recall. This technique is all about actively retrieving content from your memory instead of just reviewing it passively.
What is active recall?
Active recall is exactly what it sounds like: You’re consciously forcing your brain to retrieve information. You’re actively recalling it. This does two things for you: It helps you move the information into your long-term memory and identifies concepts you’re having a harder time with.
Active recall has been the subject of a number of research studies, and they have found that actively engaging with retrieved memories, as opposed to passively reviewing content, helps you retain more information. That makes sense when you think about it. When you’re taking a test, you’ll need to pull that information out of your memory, right? Getting in the habit of doing that—of forcing yourself to focus on and recall something—can only help you during crunch time.
How do you use active recall to study?
We use active recall all the time in real life. For instance, when someone asks you what you did two days ago, you pause to retrieve the memory. When a website asks for your login password, you do the same thing. You consciously direct energy to the retrieval process, which makes it easier to get the info next time you need it, too. (Think about how, once you enter the same password in enough times, it starts to come automatically.)
To engage in active recall while you study, try these methods:
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Use flashcards to quiz yourself, especially the Leitner method of flashcard review, which forces you to wait longer intervals between studying concepts you think you have a grasp on and tests if you really do have that grasp yet.
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Summarize chapters, notes, or lectures in your own words, either out loud or on paper. Known as blurting, this technique relies on your ability to remember material without checking your reference materials. You can check your summary against your notes and chapter when you’re finished writing or saying it to see what you missed, but you’ll need to go off-book to actively recall as much as you can first.
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Take a practice quiz. You can ask ChatGPT to generate one, but if you’re going the AI route, I recommend Google’s NotebookLM, which generates quizzes and flashcards, but only based on materials you upload. Input slide decks, PDFs, links, and YouTube videos from your professor to make sure you’re only studying what you’re supposed to be.
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Explain the concept you’re studying to a friend or family member who knows nothing about it. This is called the Feynman method and it’ll put your active recall to the test. Not only do you have to repeat the content, but you have to explain it in a way that makes sense to someone unfamiliar, forcing you to make connections and drill down on key details. This works best when you give them the chance to ask you follow-up questions, which can further test how well you actually understand the material.
Each of these tasks forces you to retrieve the information from your brain, think about it, and communicate it in some way, which is what active recall is all about. Like I said, taking a test is also an example of engaging in active recall—so practice doing this as many times as you can before your test to make it second nature by then.