Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

Card 1

  • Front: What is the most effective learning strategy?

  • Back: Retrieval Practice - Recalling facts or concepts or events from memory. [1]

Card 2

  • Front: Give an example of retrieval practice.

  • Back: Flashcards [1]

Card 3

  • Front: What are two benefits of retrieving learning from memory?

  • Back:It identifies what you know and don't know, which helps to focus further study.

  • Recalling what you've learned makes the memory stronger and easier to recall in the future. [2]

Card 4

  • Front: What is the effect of repeated retrieval on memory?

  • Back: Repeated retrieval not only strengthens memory but creates knowledge that can be retrieved more easily, applied to more situations, and used to solve a greater variety of problems. [3]

Card 5

  • Front: What are the benefits of retrieval practice compared to cramming?

  • Back: While cramming might lead to better scores on an immediate exam, retrieval practice leads to better long-term retention. [3]

Card 6

  • Front: What is the relationship between the number of tests and learning gains?

  • Back: Learning gains increase as the number of tests increases. [3]

Card 7

  • Front: What is massed practice?

  • Back: Massed practice is cramming - studying information all at once. [4]

Card 8

  • Front: Why is spaced practice a more effective learning strategy than massed practice?

  • Back: Spacing out practice allows some forgetting to occur. When you have to work harder to recall something, it strengthens the learning. [4]

Card 9

  • Front: What is interleaving?

  • Back: Interleaving is mixing up the practice of different but related topics or skills. [1, 5]

Card 10

  • Front: Give an example of interleaving.

  • Back: Shuffling flashcards. [5]

Card 11

  • Front: What is the benefit of making errors during learning?

  • Back: When you try to solve a problem before you know the solution, you are more likely to remember it when it is later presented. [6]

Card 12

  • Front: What is the relationship between effort and learning?

  • Back: When learning is hard, it's more effective. [7]

Card 13

  • Front: What are three steps in the learning process?

  • Back:Encoding

  • Consolidation

  • Retrieval [7]

Card 14

  • Front: What is consolidation in learning?

  • Back: Consolidation reorganizes and stabilizes memory traces, gives them meaning, and makes connections to past experiences and other knowledge. [7]

Card 15

  • Front: What is the relationship between confidence in a memory and its accuracy?

  • Back: Confidence in a memory is not a reliable indicator of its accuracy. [8]

Card 16

  • Front: How can you calibrate your judgment of what you know?

  • Back: Make frequent use of testing and retrieval practice. [9]

Card 17

  • Front: What is peer instruction?

  • Back: Peer instruction is a learning method that involves working in small groups to reach a consensus on the answer to a conceptual question. [10]

Card 18

  • Front: What does it mean to elaborate on new material?

  • Back: Elaboration is the process of giving new material meaning by expressing it in your own words and connecting it with what you already know. [11]

Card 19

  • Front: What are mental models?

  • Back: Mental models are mental representations of some external reality. [12]

Card 20

  • Front: What are mnemonic devices?

  • Back: Mnemonic devices are mental tools used to hold a large volume of new material in memory, making it easier to recall. [13]

Card 21

  • Front: What is a memory palace?

  • Back: A memory palace is a mnemonic device that associates mental images with a series of physical locations to help cue memories. [14, 15]

Card 22

  • Front: What is the peg method?

  • Back: The peg method uses a rhyme scheme to remember lists. [16]

Card 23

  • Front: How can you use mnemonic devices effectively?

  • Back: Make sure you thoroughly understand the material before you try to memorize it. [17]

Card 24

  • Front: What is reflection, and how can it be used for learning?

  • Back: Reflection is a form of retrieval practice that is enhanced with elaboration. [5]

Card 25

  • Front: What is the relationship between effortful learning and the brain?

  • Back: When learning is effortful, it changes the brain by making new connections and increasing intellectual ability. [18]