Flashcard

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A set of flashcards demonstrating the Leitner system. Cards that the learner knows are promoted to a box for less frequent review (indicated by green arrows); cards for which the learner has forgotten the meaning are demoted to be studied more frequently (indicated by red arrows). Flashcard.png
A set of flashcards demonstrating the Leitner system. Cards that the learner knows are promoted to a box for less frequent review (indicated by green arrows); cards for which the learner has forgotten the meaning are demoted to be studied more frequently (indicated by red arrows).

A flashcard or flash card is a card bearing information on both sides, usually intended to practice and/or aid memorization. It can be virtual (part of a flashcard software) or physical.

Contents

Typically, each flashcard bears a question or definition on one side and an answer or target term on the other. As such, flashcards are often used to memorize vocabulary, historical dates, formulae, or any subject matter that can be learned via a question-and-answer format.

Flashcards are an application of the testing effect, the finding that long-term memory is increased when some part of an individual's learning period is devoted to retrieving information through testing with proper feedback. Study habits affect the rate at which a flashcard user learns, and proper spacing of flashcards has been proven to accelerate learning. [1]

Format

Two-sided cards

Physical flashcards are two-sided. They have a number of uses and can be simple or elaborate depending on the user's needs and preferences. One may also use two parallel decks in tandem, such as an English-Japanese deck in conjunction with a Japanese-English deck.

Example

An English-speaking student learning the Chinese word (rén, person or people) may write a card with the following sides.

Front:

Q: person
A: 人, rén

Reverse:

Q: 人
A: rén, person

Three-sided cards

Electronic flashcards may have a three-sided card. [2] Such a card has three fields, Q, A, and A*, where Q & A are reversed on flipping, but A* is always in the answer—the two "sides" are thus Q/A,A* and A/Q,A*. These are most often used for learning foreign vocabulary, where the foreign pronunciation is not transparent from the foreign writing. In this case, the question (Q) is the native word, the answer (A) is the foreign word (written), and the pronunciation is always part of the answer (A*). This is particularly the case for character-based languages like Chinese hanzi and Japanese kanji, but it can also be used for other non-phonetic spellings such as English as a second language.

The purpose of three-sided cards is to provide the benefits of two-sided cards—ease of authoring (enter data once to create two cards), synchronized updates (changes to one are reflected in the other), and spacing between opposite sides (so opposite sides of the same card are not tested too close together)—without the card needing to be symmetric. It is analogous to an arbitrary number of data fields associated with a single record, with each field representing a different aspect of a fact or bundle of facts.

Psychology

Flashcards specifically exercise the mental process of active recall: given a question, one must produce the correct answer. However, many have raised several questions regarding optimal usage of flashcards: how does one precisely use them, how frequently does one review, and how does one react to errors, either complete failures to recall or partial mistakes? Various systems have been developed, mostly based around spaced repetition, the technique of increasing time intervals between reviews whenever a card is recalled correctly.

Spaced repetition

Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique which incorporates increasing time intervals between each review of a flashcard in order to harness the spacing effect. Newly introduced and more difficult flashcards are shown more frequently, whereas older and less difficult flashcards are shown less frequently. The use of spaced repetition has been shown to generally increase one's rate of learning. [3] Although the principle is useful in many contexts, spaced repetition is commonly applied in contexts in which a learner must memorize a large number of items and retain them in long-term memory. It is therefore often used in vocabulary acquisition amidst second language learning. Additionally, spaced repetition software has been developed to aid the learning process through a virtual format as opposed to merely a physical one. [4]

Leitner system

In the Leitner system, correctly answered cards are advanced to the next, less frequent box, while incorrectly answered cards return to the first box for more aggressive review and repetition. Leitner system alternative.svg
In the Leitner system, correctly answered cards are advanced to the next, less frequent box, while incorrectly answered cards return to the first box for more aggressive review and repetition.

The Leitner system is a widely used method of efficiently using flashcards. Originally proposed by the German science journalist Sebastian Leitner in the 1970s, it is a simple implementation of the principle of spaced repetition where cards are reviewed at increasing intervals.

In this method, flashcards are sorted into groups according to how well the learner knows each one in the Leitner's learning box. The learners then try to recall the solution written on a flashcard. If they succeed, they send the card to the next group. If they fail, they send it back to the first group. Each succeeding group has a longer period of time before the learner is required to revisit the cards. In Leitner's original method published in his book So lernt man Lernen (How to learn to learn), the schedule of repetition was governed by the size of the five partitions in the learning box, which were 1, 2, 5, 8, and 14 centimeters, respectively. The learner only reviewed some of the cards in a section whenever it became full, subsequently moving them forward or backward depending on whether they remembered them.

Software

Example of a virtual flashcard: using flashcard software Anki to review a mathematical formula. First, only the question is displayed. Then the answer is displayed too, for verification. Anki flashcard question and answer math.gif
Example of a virtual flashcard: using flashcard software Anki to review a mathematical formula. First, only the question is displayed. Then the answer is displayed too, for verification.

There is a wide range of software, including open source and online services, available for creating and using virtual flashcards as a learning aid.

History

Paper flashcards have been used since at least the 19th century. Reading Disentangled (1834), a set of phonics flashcards by English educator Favell Lee Mortimer, is believed by some to be the first known usage of flashcards. [5] A single-sided hornbook was also known to have been used for early literacy education.

The Leitner system for scheduling flashcards was introduced by German scientific journalist Sebastian Leitner in the 1970s with his book, So lernt man lernen. [6] Later, the SuperMemo program and algorithm (specifically the SM-2 algorithm, which is the most popular in other programs) was introduced in 1987 by Polish researcher Piotr Woźniak. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incremental reading</span> Software-assisted learning technique

Incremental reading is a software-assisted method for learning and retaining information from reading, which involves the creation of flashcards out of electronic articles. "Incremental reading" means "reading in portions". Instead of a linear reading of articles one at a time, the method works by keeping a large list of electronic articles or books and reading parts of several articles in each session. The user prioritizes articles in the reading list. During reading, key points of articles are broken up into flashcards, which are then learned and reviewed over an extended period with the help of a spaced repetition algorithm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaced repetition</span> Learning technique performed with flashcards

Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique that is usually performed with flashcards. Newly introduced and more difficult flashcards are shown more frequently, while older and less difficult flashcards are shown less frequently in order to exploit the psychological spacing effect. The use of spaced repetition has been proven to increase the rate of learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SuperMemo</span> Spaced repetition memorization/learning software

SuperMemo is a learning method and software package developed by SuperMemo World and SuperMemo R&D with Piotr Woźniak in Poland from 1985 to the present. It is based on research into long-term memory, and is a practical application of the spaced repetition learning method that has been proposed for efficient instruction by a number of psychologists as early as in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rote learning</span> Memorization technique based on repetition

Rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. The method rests on the premise that the recall of repeated material becomes faster the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, associative learning, spaced repetition and active learning.

Memorization is the process of committing something to memory. It is a mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall visual, auditory, or tactical information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linkword</span>

Linkword is a mnemonic system promoted by Michael Gruneberg since at least the early 1980s for learning languages based on the similarity of the sounds of words. The process involves creating an easily visualized scene that will link the words together. One example is the Russian word for cow : think and visualize "I ran my car over a cow."

Pythagorean Method of Memorization (PYMOM), also known as Triangular Movement Cycle (TMC), is a game-based, educational methodology or associative-learning technique that primarily uses corresponding information, such as terms and definitions on opposing sides, displayed on cue cards, to exploit psychological retention of information for academic study and language acquisition. PYMOM is named such because of the shape the cue-cards form during the progression of the game, a right-angled or Pythagorean triangle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Study skills</span> Approaches applied to learning

Study skills or study strategies are approaches applied to learning. Study skills are an array of skills which tackle the process of organizing and taking in new information, retaining information, or dealing with assessments. They are discrete techniques that can be learned, usually in a short time, and applied to all or most fields of study. More broadly, any skill which boosts a person's ability to study, retain and recall information which assists in and passing exams can be termed a study skill, and this could include time management and motivational techniques.

Sebastian Leitner was a German commentator and science popularizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leitner system</span> Flashcard learning technique

The Leitner system is a widely used method of efficiently using flashcards that was proposed by the German science journalist Sebastian Leitner in 1972. It is a simple implementation of the principle of spaced repetition, where cards are reviewed at increasing intervals.

Studying in an educational context refers to the process of gaining mastery of a certain area of information. Study software then is any program which allows students to improve the time they spend thinking about, learning and studying that information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mnemosyne (software)</span> Spaced repetition software developed in 2003

Mnemosyne is a line of spaced repetition software developed since 2003. Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique that has been shown to increase the rate of memorization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anki (software)</span> Free and open-source flashcard program

Anki is a free and open-source flashcard program. It uses techniques from cognitive science such as active recall testing and spaced repetition to aid the user in memorization. The name comes from the Japanese word for "memorization".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memrise</span> Language learning platform

Memrise is a British language platform that uses spaced repetition of flashcards to increase the rate of learning. It is based in London, UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenCards</span>

OpenCards is a free spaced repetition flashcard program. The software is similar to SuperMemo, Anki or Mnemosyne.

Distributed practice is a learning strategy, where practice is broken up into a number of short sessions over a longer period of time. Humans and other animals learn items in a list more effectively when they are studied in several sessions spread out over a long period of time, rather than studied repeatedly in a short period of time, a phenomenon called the spacing effect. The opposite, massed practice, consists of fewer, longer training sessions and is generally a less effective method of learning. For example, when studying for an exam, dispersing your studying more frequently over a larger period of time will result in more effective learning than intense study the night before.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LearnThat Foundation</span>

LearnThat Foundation is an American 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that develops and manages an online vocabulary and spelling program along with a free multimedia learners' dictionary, Open Dictionary of English (ODE). The foundation was founded in February 2004 under the name eSpindle Learning. In August 2010, the name was changed to LearnThat Foundation, and its domain was moved to www.LearnThat.org. The program is branded as LearnThatWord.

Fresh Memory is a spaced repetition flashcard application, similar to SuperMemo.

A desirable difficulty is a learning task that requires a considerable but desirable amount of effort, thereby improving long-term performance. It is also described as a learning level achieved through a sequence of learning tasks and feedback that lead to enhanced learning and transfer.

Brainscape is a web and mobile education platform that allows students to study adaptive flashcards. The website and mobile application allow students, teachers, and corporate trainers to create electronic flashcards, and to find flashcards created by other users and publishers around the world. Brainscape flashcards and marketing content are also created by expert educators and publishers with whom Brainscape closely partners to create flashcards aligned to strict instructional guidelines. Flashcards are all stored in the cloud and can be shared with groups of other learners.

References

  1. Endres, Tino; Renkl, Alexander (2015-07-24). "Mechanisms behind the testing effect: an empirical investigation of retrieval practice in meaningful learning". Frontiers in Psychology. 6: 1054. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01054 . ISSN   1664-1078. PMC   4513285 . PMID   26257696.
  2. Adding images, sounds, mathematical formulas, and three-sided cards on The Mnemosyne Project
  3. Smolen, Paul; Zhang, Yili; Byrne, John H. (25 January 2016). "The right time to learn: mechanisms and optimization of spaced learning". Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 17 (2): 77–88. arXiv: 1606.08370 . Bibcode:2016arXiv160608370S. doi:10.1038/nrn.2015.18. PMC   5126970 . PMID   26806627.
  4. "Human Memory: Theory and Practice", Alan D. Baddeley, 1997
  5. The Clumsiest People in Europe: Or, Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World, Favell Lee Mortimer, foreword by Todd Pruzan, 2006 edition, p. 5
  6. So lernt man lernen. Der Weg zum Erfolg (How to learn to learn), Freiburg i. Br. 1972/2003, ISBN   3-451-05060-9
  7. 3. Account of research leading to the SuperMemo method, 3.1. The approximate function of optimal intervals Archived 2019-03-09 at the Wayback Machine and 3.2. Application of a computer to improve the results obtained in working with the SuperMemo method, P. A. Wozniak, Optimization of learning, Master's Thesis, University of Technology in Poznan, 1990.