How to do free recall (AKA active recall) - Language learning demonstration

Free or active recall is one of the simplest and most effective ways of studying. You can use it for language learning, learning anatomy, learning history - anytime you want to remember information in the long-term. But many students are either unaware of free recall or don't know how to do it very well.
In this video, I demonstrate free recall and explain a little bit about why it works.
00:00 Introduction
00:29 A demonstration of free recall.
2:07 Round two.
3:14 Recommended intervals.
4:00 Why does free recall work?
5:33 Troubleshooting the technique.
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References:
On the superiority of free recall to elaboration, see:
Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping. Science, 331(6018), 772-775. mrbartonmaths.com/resourcesne...
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. science, 319(5865), 966-968.
psychnet.wustl.edu/memory/wp-c...
Free recall is most effective only when the items have been "cleared" from your short term memory.
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger III, H. L. (2007). Repeated retrieval during learning is the key to long-term retention. Journal of Memory and Language, 57(2), 151-162.
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc...
On optimal spacing intervals, see:
Carpenter, S. K, Cepeda, N. J., Rohrer, D., Kang, S. H. K., & Pashler, H. (2012). Using spacing to enhance diverse forms of learning: Review of recent research and implications for instruction. Educational Psychology Review, 24, 369-378.
files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED...
Free recall "enhances organizational processes". In other words, it reduces interferences and helps us to organize what we know.
Zaromb, F. M., & Roediger, H. L. (2010). The testing effect in free recall is associated with enhanced organizational processes. Memory & cognition, 38(8), 995-1008. link.springer.com/content/pdf...

[@benjaminkeep]

Hi everyone, I made a follow-up video answering some of the common questions I've gotten to this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6espneshql3ibs Apply the same basic process to learn from KZbin videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWeagaptaN1qg9U For more discussion of common learning questions, check out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmq1g3-KbdOma9U

[@oioio-yb9dw]

I used this technique by accident when I was just 12. I used to memorize while pages of books in another Ianguage and then write it all in the test. It was in langu I did not understand completely. I barely had more than 1 day and half to actually memorize everything sometimes.

[@ZB-esque]

Ooooo0

[@ziddi_paradox]

This beats every video of spaced repetition... if u are here means you finally found the gold on how to remember anything...

[@raiyanreza9764]

im not even kidding, this is by far, one of the best methods I've seen on youtube! Yes, subjective but it beats all the other "popular" videos on "How to study".

[@benjaminkeep]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@raymeester7883]

No, he's not. He is good though. But, KZbin has far better study and learning experts.

[@unknown-10k]

@@raymeester7883 debatable 🤔

[@williammcguire3426]

@@raymeester7883 like who? I'm genuinely interested.

[@williammcguire3426]

Liam Porritt calls this his "brain splurge " where you write down everything you can remember and the things you have forgotten or have difficulty with become self evident. Read again then test again. Simples!

[@MsTranthihai71]

I have been in the habit of using this technique for many years but never knew its name and the scientific reasons behind it. Your explanation makes sense. I always write on a piece of paper with a pen whenever I have some spare time -- for example, waiting for a doctor's appointment or waiting for the bus or queuing up or waiting for friends or anyone for an appointment. I found that this way of writing helps me remember very well. For the most recent example, more than 2 years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, because of relatively free time, I started to self-study Thai. Surprisingly, it worked because I started self-studying Thai when I was 50 years old, which is usually considered too old to learn any new languages. PS: By the way, English is a foreign language for me so watching videos like this and writing and reading comments in English (especially written by native speakers) is also a way to practice the language.

[@larion2336]

You are very good with writing in English. If you hadn't said anything I would have thought it was your native language. Actually you are much better than a lot of native speakers online, lol.

[@ReflectionOcean]

- Study the material to familiarize yourself with the content. (0:34) - Take a short break after studying to let your mind rest. (0:57) - Without opening your textbook, try to recall and write down everything you remember. (1:08) - Review the textbook to see what you missed and correct your notes. (1:54) - Repeat the free recall process, expanding the intervals between sessions. (2:23) - Aim to use the intervals effectively, ideally recalling just before you're about to forget. (5:20)

[@malina_934]

One of my teachers in Islamic studies used to tell us "stop writing and listen" but he gave up when he saw that we couldn't stop doing that. But seeing your video I understand better why he would say that. He has himself travelled and learned with teachers in the desert in a traditionnal islamic way and I guess there was no note taking and he has so much knowledge.

[@anupamsengupta1304]

I don't know why your video hasn't got the views in comparison to other videos on " how to memorize"/ " how to remember" but this video is surely one of the best on internet.

[@chillociraptor5007]

Straight to the point. Useful, functional, and entertaining. Thanks, Ben!

[@sora4222]

Hey Ben, I just wanted to say thank you for posting up these techniques and explaining it the way you do, they are really helping me.

[@Tiago250250]

This method is pretty similar to the Dr. Feyman used to learn different subjects. I will give it a try for sure! Thanks for the video!

[@mananparekh_]

This is amazing more people in the medical community need to see this

[@ClearBlueSky1]

Im so glad I found your channel and Dr Sungs channel , Honestly you guys are the ones I see who give out actual study advice thats not flashcards !! Going to try this out for my upcoming exam ! 😊

[@bcan5512]

Wow it's amazing being able to name a technique I'd used while in school. I always preferred to study with a whiteboard on my lap, being able to test myself, erase, study something else, retest later. I was always envious of my more studious friends who had the drive to make flashcards, but thanks to your videos I feel less bad. Thank you for all these free resources, they are appreciated

[@kanakpratapsingh8466]

The method you shared seems very easy and interesting to do. I can't wait to try this out. Thank you

[@paulinemurray2365]

I am so impressed by the fact that you answer the questions so thoroughly. I find it makes a connection and a feeling of involvement that I don’t get from most videos. Thank you for your efforts.

[@gregorybresnahan2161]

This technique is my go to in graduate school. I appreciate that you said to be patient with yourself when you need to practice a few times over. Thanks for everything you do, Benjamin!

[@justmalik_]

A good tip for choosing intervals: Laying out the intervals along the Fibonacci Sequence is pretty helpful and I read somewhere, that science actually looked into this. For example: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 is part of the sequence. I would fist go for something like 10 Minutes 2-3 hours (like in the video) and then choose your intervals in days like in the sequence, 2 days, 3 days, 5 days etc.

[@Tymon0000]

Why the Fibonacci sequence? Did they look at different sequences? Do we have a ranking of them?

[@Dan-gs3kg]

How's the Leonardo Numbers?

[@isidoracorteshormazabal7888]

This is the best free software Ive seen. Respect

[@josemanuelochoacardona7058]

Hi🎉, I work in call center industry and we have to learn a LOT of information, and you technique was so far the best study method I found over years of trying different techniques (Anki, memory palace, mnemonics, etc) thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 😊

[@kanutaro3426]

I was reading a book aimed at helping med students pass their first year (it's a competitive entrance exam and not a typical undergrad year in my country) and this is exactly the advice they gave. Study the material first, distract yourself for 5 minutes by reading something completely unrelated to what you're learning, write down on paper what you learned, check the things you've missed. It's surprising for me to see this method being demonstrated, I thought it was obscure. Thank you for posting this

[@genegroover3721]

Yes. Yes. Yes. This works. I use a variation of this for memorization. It works. Absolutely. There is no majic pill for active recall. All learning takes work. Great job.

[@stageconvention2298]

You have no idea how many times I watched your videos especially this one

[@benjaminkeep]

Appreciate the support!

[@hljgjtdhljgjtd7222]

Exactly the same way how i learn to handwrite something in a different font. Forget then check the reference. Brilliant work.

[@edwarddjan8319]

I've applied this process and it's doing well. I like this technique.

[@benjaminkeep]

Great to hear. 👍

[@Misslayer99]

I love how in one of your free time sessions you're basically still exercising your brain (juggling)❤

[@TheMATIMAR]

This is pure gold. Thanks a lot

[@hallockstuart7899]

Flash cards have a big advantage in that you can review a condensed form of 100% of the material. I understand this technique might be more effective but if you miss anything you have to reread the section which is more time intensive. With flash cards you can very quickly target what you consistently get wrong. I think the best approach when you need to know 100% is to do a quick active recall

[@moonlight-wz5bt]

i didnt search for this i got it in my reccomandation but fr i needed this so bad. thankyou so much

[@fernandesnn]

Okay I will try this one to learn Japanese, because I feel like this is the only method that make sense for me, and tried a lot of methods, thank you!!!

[@MiloTinCan]

In retrospect, I actually used this technique in school without knowing this is actually a technique. I ended up topping college without spending too much time studying. That was 20 years ago. Now I can still remember many things that I studied.

[@sebastiangillesberg]

This method works I went from getting E the 1st semester to now getting C at my 2nd semester on uni just by doing this method 2 weeks before my spoken exam. If I started this method earlier and used it probably I would probably get a B or an A.

[@benjaminkeep]

Glad it was helpful for you!

[@shubhammittal6293]

How your exam went?

[@aleks0_o879]

this video just hit at the right time for my learning epiphany

[@tomdis8637]

This has applications in music learning and especially memorization. I've never gone so far as to write my performance music down from memory but doing so would probably take my memorization to a new level.

[@viniciusm869]

That’s exactly what I do. I use anki flashcards to set proper intervals between my practices and also to track which things I know better.

[@gremlin2632]

I like that you're videos are short and comprehencible. Currently I'm preparing for an entry exam for philosphy due in about 2 weeks. For about month and a half I've been studying with flashcards :'). I notices some time ago all the stuff you brought up flashcards lack and wanted to implement something like free recall. Found out about your channel 3 hrs ago and I'm binging your videos to find out how should I study better and ditch flashcards totally.

[@benjaminkeep]

I think flashcards can play a role in studying. It's just that they're very limiting and people tend to overuse them. Philosophy strikes me as a subject that benefits from re-creation and visualization: as you re-create the arguments, you notice things you didn't notice before. Visualizing philosophical positions can help you see relationships you may not appreciate at first. And comparing philosophical arguments to each other helps to clarify the similarities and differences in our minds. Good luck!

[@lucid8302]

Hmm, that's a really interesting method and I'm going to try it a bit more. But it seems like it takes a lot of time to study this way, I usually make a conspectus in remnote and then review it afterwards, making a better quality conspectus with flashcards that include references. It doesn't take a lot of time, but maybe studying this way is more beneficial. Thanks for the great content!

[@jeniffersilva3728]

Awesome content 😮 I've been enjoying all the videos Keep up the great work

[@eliabevalverde8289]

Que demonstração excelente.

[@larahporter8123]

Stanford and Cornell? You must be a genius! Besides that, I really like the way you explain things. I am going to sub.

[@cx24venezuela]

I try to combine spaced repetitions with deliberate practice: do some exercise , take note of how many mistakes you have done and then try it again tomorrow until You have done it perfectly. But for language you got a point. When we read or traslate we fell we know a Word because we recognize it. But when we must use it writing or talking, we simply don't use words that we can't recall. In that sense, the blank paper technich is amazing and i Will test it as soon as i can.

[@marvelouss719]

I am old but I have a great memory; however, I am trying to get a professional license. My previous attempts were horrible. I have been watching you and Dr JS's videos, which have led me to ask.. how did I complete two masters without ever applying any of the techniques from the videos? I am using the techniques from the videos and my retention of the material has gotten incredibly better. Thank you doing for these videos. God bless.

[@juaquimcalamiong8957]

Thanks for introducing me to this wonderful technique in a simple yet informative manner! If you are willing, I’d like to ask 2 main questions: 1. How much information to encode is too much before recalling? In your example for chinese characters, you focus on understanding 10 characters and recalling them shortly after, adding more increasingly spaced intervals in between. Is it efficient to recall days after reading, lets say, a chapter of the Chinese textbook(my school teaches Chinese so I’m familiar their lay out)? Having to recall information at the same day you encode information seems difficult to manage. I’m currently juggling different interests (I’m working on making an effective schedule for Academics, Chess, Reading and Music). I’m wondering if it’s ideal to stretch this time period to a few days (my idea right now is to allot a days where it’s ONLY recall, and then I’ll evaluate my understanding, encoding efficiency, and key improvements to know what material to tackle for the next few days). This could be me trying to be too ambitious, but the idea of tackling a massive or a couple of topics so that you can be using majority of your time absorbing material seems efficient. 2. How many % should you at least be able to recall? You mentioned that recall is used to strengthen your understanding of concepts and ideas but you shouldn’t wait long enough that you’ll forget everything. You mentioned that one should recall when you’re “about to forget it but you haven’t forgotten it completely”, but what if I tackle a massive or a couple topics? How much forgetting is too much? I want to understand this so that I’ll be able to revise my study plans to fit more active learning. I don’t want to be caught in the illusion of learning after all : ]

[@ringo-fp3hj]

非常感謝！讓我在自學外語時能用到這個方法，畢竟背外文單字，特別是俄文單字很容易忘記！Большое спасибо！

[@spinnettdesigns]

Excellent as always, thank you! I’ve always learned this way naturally (in spurts) and have been summarily accused of not paying attention or being lazy etc. and simultaneously praised for my retention and recall and being “smart” so tiresome…🙄 At 61 I’m finally fully embracing it again. Everyone: Please, DON’T wait to to this.

[@telanos2492]

Two questions on doing free recall: 1) You mention in other videos that we should try to avoid/minimise note-taking when listening to lectures. Does the same apply when you're studying a written information? (IE - are you writing things down in the initial study session?) 2) Once you've done a free recall session and are reviewing against the text for what you've missed/got incorrect, are you writing down those things that were missed? (It is implied in the video, but I thought I'd confirm).

[@benjaminkeep]

Good questions. 1) The problems are not the same with reading. I don't recommend highlighting and generic re-reading strategies. But margin notes or notes on what you're reading can be helpful - you have more control over your cognitive load when reading (the book isn't continuing to talk - at least, I hope not). You can make summaries, but I think self-explanations, or bringing another example that compares with an example you're reading about, or otherwise "arguing with the text" is a good thing to do. Personally, I don't do this all the time - kind of depends on what I'm reading. 2) I tend to write it down, yes. That way I can't escape it.

[@kori9779]

I just discovered this channel today. I definitely agree with other comments that say that this is one of the best videos about studying methods. It showcases real and applicable examples and the content is explained succinctly. Edit: I have some questions and conflicts about this technique. For context, I am a Physics student, so there are many concepts, ideas and derivations I have to learn and remember, plus I have to do practice problems which not necessarily test every important detail about what I've just learned, so there are a few gaps. 1. How do I know when I can stop studying to take a break to clear my mind and later do free recall? Is it until I lose my focus or until I get overloaded of information (and how would I know if I've gotten information overload?) 2. Can I study other topics or subtopics (can these be closely related to what I had studied before since studying a similar topic could slow down the forgetting process?) during the breaks? I feel like doing a different activity for 15 minutes or 2 hours and not visiting back what I was trying to learn during that period of time makes my progress really slow. To put this into an example, let's keep using the vocabulary learning demonstration. So first, I try to learn 30 words, then I take the 2 hour break and after the break I do free recall. Now, during the 2 hour break, can I learn 30 different words? 3. Can the break (of 2 hours) before the second free recall round be shorter? I don't know but I feel like my memory isn't that good, although I may be underestimating my mind

[@benjaminkeep]

Many thanks for your kind words. 1. Yes, internal signals, like loss of focus or feeling overwhelmed can be signs that you could take a break. You could set a timer, if you didn't trust yourself. But you might experiment and see what works. 2. Yes, you can study other topics. The point is to clear your short-term memory. I think learning 30 more words during your break would be a mistake in the vocabulary learning example. I would focus on something different. Many effective learning techniques seem slow but are better in the long-run (see "desirable difficulties"). Spaced and interleaved studying, which is kind of what we're talking about here, are two of these desirable difficulty learning techniques. 3. Yes, breaks can be shorter. Or longer. Forgetting little bits and pieces isn't bad at all - that's part of the learning process as your brain structures and re-structures what you're learning (check out my video on forgetting for more).

[@Angel-wo8gv]

@@benjaminkeep Random viewer here. I just want to comment that you took the time and effort to answer every question Kori asked in depth. And that's awesome.

[@Username01invalid]

makes lots of sense bro, thank you for this

[@MisterTheRobot]

Bro being casually life saver!

[@1eV]

I love the quote "It's just me and a blank piece of paper and really trying to understand what I know"

[@kevingeoghegan294]

Phenomenal explanation. I can’t believe you only got 11k views in a year! This should be recommended viewing for every student. The thing I most dislike about flashcards like Anki, is that they tend to concentrate on what you get wrong or don’t know rather than what you do know in the name of ‘efficiency’; the ‘why study what you already know?’ paradigm. You tend to develop an increasingly difficult set of cards to learn and it just becomes so demoralising.

[@benjaminkeep]

Many thanks! Yeah, one of the main things that I think can lead to demoralization with flashcards is that you don't really do anything to understand what you're learning more deeply (just run through the flashcards that you didn't get right again). Flashcards can serve an important role, at times, I think, but overall they orient learners in the wrong way.

[@andreienache6290]

I'll start implementing it. Thanks.

[@roudvolf]

Fantastic video! I am curious how would you approach using this tecnique for reviewing content a long time after engaging with it for the first time? For example, suppose you would have a test in November and you had to learn a bunch of different subjects in different areas to do it. You would have about three months to prepare. How would you use free recall after you studied something for the first time and how would you review something you studied today two months from now? Thanks a lot, I am loving your content!

[@Marckilca]

Tx 4 sharing, really interesting method. I'll try.

[@datpspguy]

I've done something like this with both spanish and studying for IT certifications without really knowing I've been doing it. Instead, what I do is use Excel and I have filters on information that I've masters vs the things I need to focus on to learn. When I'm learning, I just filter for that information and review it without being overwealmed by everything I've previously learned and try to convert the words into images and create a small story which helps me recall and I take a break and go back to thinking of the story again and if I cant quite get it, I will use the excel again.

[@anthasya01]

As someone that has like 150 pages to learn or more for like 3 subjects in a week I don't think I'd have time for this technique but I'll use it for smaller details that are important to remember and just read and retell the more general stuff

[@ralphonyx]

Commenting for the algorithm. You deserve more views

[@thedanyopang]

Great video Benjamin! I've been binging on your videos and was surprised to find you also live in Taiwan and you're also learning Chinese. I learned Chinese to a high level fairly quickly after moving to Taiwan and I share my journey on YT and podcast. It would be really cool to chat with you on my podcast about the science of learning languages and living in Taiwan!

[@benjaminkeep]

Cool! I just moved back to the States actually... 😭 Lived in Taiwan for about five years and really loved it there. Would love to move back in the future. You can find a link to contact me here: www.benjaminkeep.com/consult/. I'll look for your message!

[@jeffreywp]

I just found your channel. Memorization has always been a problem for me and now that I’m older it’s become even worse. Listening to you talk makes me realize I was never taught how to learn which is both frustrating and very sad for me to realize. Thanks for going over active recall. I will try to learn how to learn all over again … and check out your videos to learn more about learning! Question: how would you go about helping someone with learning difficulties? I’m assuming learning is, well, just learning. Would you expect it to take longer for those with learning disabilities? Should they practice the technique using more simple material and then progress to more challenging material?

[@benjaminkeep]

TBH, I know little about learning disabilities, although I've worked with some people who have specific disabilities before. Depending on what the nature of the disability is, you can use certain supports to help you. It's hard to say without knowing the nature of the disability. But I would try the general approach first, and then if it's not working for you, explore an alternative that might be better. You might be interested in reading The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin. She seems to have impaired working memory, but has quite high visualization skills.

[@gufvky]

انا شاهدت طالب جامعي من الأوائل سلوكه كما يلي 1 يدرس في النهار في الجامعة عند خروجه من الجامعة يستريح قليلا ثم يلعب الدومينو او الورق ثم يتناول عشاءه ثم يراجع دروسه لمدة ساعة فقط ثم ينام ثم يستيقظ صباحا على الساعة السادسة انتهي. كان من اوائل الطلبة

[@rtx_____]

this is literally the way i've been studying for a long while, and everyone that i tell them about it would be shocked.

[@StudyingMachine-yg4th]

Great! I´ll share these tips with my friends.

[@mraeille]

A thing I've been doing ever since I was a kid has been to rehearse what I've learned when doing monotonous or low-cognition tasks. For example, I'll be taking a shower and recalling all the different cells in the blood, or what percentage of our energy consumption is taken up by the brain etc. I sort of subconsciously prioritise things i've found to be particularly tricky or hard to remember, it's almost like a natural SRS

[@benjaminkeep]

I find myself doing that, too. Almost more out of curiosity - just ruminating about something. I wonder how often others do it. And whether this kind of behavior messes with traditional estimates of "study time" in some research studies.

[@ordigam]

Thank you for this video.

[@pisky5067]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@vmx200]

If you want to remember information, intermittently remember the information that is worth remembering. 👍

[@benjaminkeep]

I wouldn't call it *the* secret, so much as a thing that is pretty useful.

[@JC-vc7tf]

Thank you, great video.

[@mohamedwalidoutaleb4970]

Hey,I noticed you were still replying to recent comments so I wanted your opinion on a possible improvement of the free recall method. In addition to writing what you recall it is extremely beneficial, I find, to also write what you know is missing. It’s funny because in a way you still use free recall on the information you can’t recall. Also I find it beneficial to not verify the recalled information directly after. I sit on it for a few hours so my brain can passively remember the information or get obsessed by the missing information so when I verify I’m “hungry” for the answers.

[@kori9779]

Could you please illustrate this point with an example? I am not sure if I am getting the right idea.

[@inesx3071]

This is very close to the Feynman method

[@lastbaumstanding1802]

Yesterday I discovered your videos and I am finally realising why I am so bad at learning. One question: How would the free recall method work for math or physics?

[@eslteacherscott4252]

I really liked this video in that it was specifically applied to Chinese a language which I’ve been learning for a long time. Your videos are great in that they talk about learning techniques from a research informed perspective which some other learning channels lack. However, as a language learner I’d really love to see more specific videos about language learning. Could you make a video showing how you approach a new chapter in your Chinese textbook? How do you learn the new vocabulary and grammar patterns? How do you approach understanding the new reading text or dialogue? How do you then try to apply what you have learn t in speaking and writing? I often watch videos about learning and then think how do I apply this specifically as a language learner. Sometimes it isn’t easy to make the leap from theory to practice.

[@benjaminkeep]

These are all good questions and I totally agree about the difficulty of moving from theory to practice, but I don’t have immediate plans to make more videos on language learning. Although I’m starting to do more videos on applying these principles and techniques in practice (doing mental math; have a short one on juggling coming up; will probably delve into physics and language learning later on), which might be helpful. I wouldn’t consider myself a fantastic language learner or anything, but the specific steps I would take when learning a new chapter would depend on how the book presented things and how experienced I am in the language and what other resources are available. Here are some overall principles I would work from, though: 1) More than one exposure to the reading or dialogue. This could mean skimming it, studying the vocabulary words, reading it, studying grammar examples, hearing it, reading it again before moving on, and returning to it weeks or months later. Each time you return to it 2) Experience the reading or dialogue in more than one modality. This would include both reading and hearing a dialogue, for instance. LingQ can be helpful with this. 3) For grammar, I’m looking to be able to produce simple examples using the grammatical structure, restate the meaning in a different way (with a different grammatical structure), know what are the “close” related structures that may have slight variations of meaning, and, most importantly, combine structures with each other to create novel structures. The second and third points are more intermediate-level concerns. 4) Vocabulary can be tricky, but I want exposure to material that uses the vocabulary in a natural way. Supplemented by free recall. Opportunities to speak and listen are really crucial. When I was still taking Chinese courses, I would give presentations to my teacher on a different topic than the chapter was on, but using the grammatical structures and what vocabulary was relevant (stretches understanding of the grammar and gives you practice doing so).

[@eslteacherscott4252]

@@benjaminkeep Thanks a lot for this in depth reply. You’ve given a really detailed and rigorous method for learning a chapter in a language textbook. I usually try to do a lot of the things that you suggest. Especially multiple readings and listenings of the main text. However, I often find that I’m torn between knowing when to move on to the next chapter and when I need to stay a bit longer. The problem with staying a bit longer is that I’ve often run out of ideas of different ways to attack the text and vocabulary. I’ll be sure to try and implement some of the ideas you mention here in the future. Thanks once again!

[@carlosleo4485]

Hey Dr. Keep! Ironically I watched the follow up video first and applied active recall to this video and it did work but while taking the break and putting dishes back to where they should be I had some rising questions that I've seen other commenters have, but mine are more specific. 1. What do you do in those 10 to 15 minutes? Would reading a book be okay? Would something entertaining hamper learning? Or what would happen if it were something either from the same topic or a different topic (like a self improvement book)? Or do I mess around/meditate? 2. Would note taking help in that first input stage? For example, I'm learning Japanese and learning grammar at times can be tricky but making notes to help myself understand better helps to sort between how distinct grammar is different from another really similar one. 3. For a topic like art, where applying is essential, do you recommend for example, learning how to paint a face from a video, taking time away from it, and then painting a portrait, coming back and giving yourself feedback? Or if it's a bit of theory (like different light sources) would it be better to try and recall it as a concept or even draw it in that recall stage

[@krystalgomez2300]

Just one thing. Thankyou so much.

[@matthewpadilla9825]

Thanks for this man!

[@sandycheeks1580]

🎉😊Very Simple & Effective!!! Especially for ADHD studying

[@BenjaminTorres1]

Hey, I recently found your channel, and I have to say IT'S AWESOME, EXCELLENT, ULTRA USEFUL WORK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I am using flashcards for about 3 years now, I'm in college and with very good grades (90%+ on everything), and studying less than my peers, do you think that I should consider switching my less efficient technique to the things that you recommend? or maybe if it's working for me it could be the best approach for ME. Also, I think your approach is amazing (I gave a thought to flashcards and I came up with various inconvenient, that you were very bright at exposing in other videos) but it can fall in a mess at organizing learning of various subjects and themes in a long period of time. For example: I study engineering, I practice and study chess and I study on my own very complex diet and training subjects (some college level). So if I use your technique I should have a timer or something that remembers me to study every theme and every subject every certain amount of time, I'd have a LOT of timers. So this idea came up to me, you plug in into Anki or other program just the title of the theme and maybe some source to check if you are right and use the algorithm in Anki to organize your study, review your "flashcards" every day, and you don't have to be thinking what should you practice next. Thank you very much for your content. Greetings from Argentina (Sorry if I make some English mistakes, I'm a non-native speaker.)

[@curtiselmore727]

I find it helpful to organize my writings. If I cluster them in memorable ways, it's even easier to recall later.

[@marekkrzysztofiak2583]

brilliant, thank you. free recall in humanities like literature, philosophy, etc. any ideas? tutorials?

[@etanol.]

i already watched many videos of yours! i truly appreciate your content, it's very helpful, really thank you. and I have a (urgent) doubt: is the method presented in this video ideal for studying massive contents in no time? my country's national exam is a month apart from now, so i want to apply any method/technique that can help me best with efficiency in this occasion.

[@MrCabimero]

Thank you for this. I am a practicing physician. The issue is the sheer volume of material I am required to remember, much of which I don't use on a daily basis. At some point, there is an avalanche of material and I can't keep up with the amount.

[@williamchen6057]

Hey Dr. Keep, thank you so much for this video! I am a undergrad studying maths and cs. Recently I've been binge watching videos on how to study more efficiently. I was wondering if you could offer any advice on how to effectively study complex math topics. The current method I am using is just brute forcing and actively reading through an entire chapter; if I don't understand a theorem, then I would slowly go through its proof. It allows me to understand the concepts and thus remember it for a short period. However, this process takes about 2-4 hours per chapter depending on its difficulty, and I would forget about the contents after completing the problem sets and exam. My question then is how should I break down my textbook readings, so I can more effectively use my time and retain the information longer? I watched your video on textbook advice, but I'm stuck on how to structure my readings. Since a lot of concepts in math require building upon previous connections and knowledge, I'm afraid that if I don't binge read, then I won't be able to form those connections and thus spend even more time on rereading. And afterwards, how should I work to retain my understanding of those concepts and connections? I heard about creating recall questions for the chapter, then going through them with active recall just so the conceptual understanding sticks. What are your thoughts on this method? And what would be a good way to revisit an older concept using the points you bring up in this video (for example, in physics, say you perform a few rounds of active recall on the contents of chapter 1; while learning chapter 2 and so on, would it still be as effective to perform active recall on different topics in a day)? Sorry for the jumbled thoughts and long comment, and thank you for your content.

[@benjaminkeep]

Sorry for not replying earlier to this. This is just a guess, but I think that you're not integrating what you learned into bigger and bigger pictures. I think going through proofs - even ones that you think you understand - can be quite productive and is absolutely a good thing to do. But do you ever spend time organizing the proof techniques you have? Or, instead of entirely solving a problem by proof, just trying to organize several problems by the kinds of proof techniques that might be productive for them? Re-reading is only productive when there is a purpose to it (i.e., you have a question, you know something is unclear, etc.). Seeing a proof techniques on a single problem is not really enough to understand it. You need to see multiple examples of the technique working and not working (maybe examples where it looks like it wouldn't work, but actually does and it looks like it would work, but actually doesn't). Another thing to keep in mind is solving the same problem with multiple methods. This, again, leads to more organized knowledge structures. You can also think about chaining proof techniques together to solve more complex problems. I don't know if the above comments are helpful. But hope they are.

[@andrew38617]

Mathematics, in some way, is comparable to languages and body building at the same time. Get confident with notation, repeat and stay on the most important proofs (periodically revise them and try to improve their readability and clarity), especially those that let you remember multiple concepts at once, and eliminate redundancy. Include also the proofs with unusual or different techniques. Practice them like you would do with any other sport. Thus, reorganise your mind around your favorite set of proofs and think about the big picture and how they connect each other. However, mathematics is so vast and you certainly have duties. Struggling to follow your professors and the program is only normal. Be at peace with yourself. You're doing well.. P. S. Forget about speed if you want to retain for a long time.

[@viniciusm869]

I study coding problems. What i basically do is:. I encode the coding problem by watching a video explaining how to code the solution. Then I add the name of the coding problem to my anki. The goal is to remember the problem solution by looking at its title. So I need to remember what the problem asks and develop an optimal solution for it.

[@LesTutosbyGhita]

I find this method very challenging so it must be working

[@philg4678]

Barb Oakley wrote a book about the same thing. A mind for numbers. But this video is great on simplfying the technique. I wonder if schools can apply this.

[@rynp9853]

Hello! Middle school math teacher here. Any ideas on how this could translate into the classroom? I really want to teach them how to take notes so they can find what works for them *sooner*. With math though, specifically Pre-Algebra and Algebra I'm struggling to conceptualize it. Feels much better with things that have chunks of information. I've studied Chinese, I definitely see how it'd be beneficial there, but math is more about processes rather than parts and meanings. When it comes to learning them, at least. Mind you, I teach advanced 7th grade, which means they had perhaps 4th, 5th grade online. In 7th grade, those foundations aren't really there at all yet, especially not with their recent school years.

[@matthewleitch1]

I have often counted the number of specific points I have noticed when studying and then counted the number of specific points I have recalled later, using free recall. The counting gives me confirmation of work done and helps keep me focused. I use techniques or gadgets so that the counting is not too distracting.

[@benjaminkeep]

That's an interesting approach - thanks for sharing.

[@matthewleitch1]

@@benjaminkeep In most cases, I recall points almost perfectly which shows that free recall can be a remarkably thorough and easy method even though it seems like it should be harder than that.

[@cloverlengocphuong2197]

lesson imported to my current language learning app.

[@shorelee8716]

I can’t believe this but it worked

[@Nelson-Cs]

Fantastic..thanks

[@pliniotoni]

Hi Benjamin, congrats on the video, that was very interesting! I have a question - as a professor I always use free recall with my students (usually 2-3 times during a 2-hour long lecture), but I do that orally (so basically they “teach each other” what they just learned). I’ve noticed that here (and in other videos) you always mention a written form of free recall. Have you ever found a study showing any difference between retrieving by speaking out loud and by writing it down? Thanks!

[@benjaminkeep]

Hi Plinio, glad to have you here! Your question is more complex than it appears. To be honest, I think most researchers use written free recall because it's easier to record, store, and analyze. There is research that compares spoken and written free recall, but not always in the context that we might be interested in. In eyewitness memory research, researchers are interested as to which method produces the most accurate recollections (and the least fabrications). People who use free recall as outcome measures in their research are concerned about which form more validly represents the students' declarative knowledge. There is some evidence for a "written superiority effect" and, conversely, a "spoken superiority effect" in terms of how accurate the recall is to the material that was studied (which are sometimes word lists, sometimes objects, and sometimes pictures that tell a story). Some studies find no meaningful difference. Immediate accuracy is a slightly different question than long-term learning outcomes, however. As far as I can tell from a very brief look at these research articles, it's hard to say which, ultimately is going to be maximally helpful for long-term learning. So it probably doesn't matter that much. It's not a topic that generates a lot of interest, so there's just a handful of papers through the years. BUT, there's a lot of interesting things going on. First, writing is much slower than speaking, so that means less output speed from writing. Whether that's a good or bad thing is hard to say. Speaking tends to produce more repetitions and more "extra" utterances. Cognitively, writing also requires you to engage with the graphemes - the written letters in a way that you don't have to do when you speak. Again, maybe that's helpful if you're doing free recall on material you've read. Maybe it's just extra processing that's not necessary b/c it's not squarely focused on remembering the material. You say that students "teach each other," which raises another interesting factor - whether the presence of a listener impacts the value of the free recall. Could very well benefit it. Writing has the advantage of being able to be critically reviewed or updated later, which is nice. I'm sure I'm missing some other interesting differences between the two modes. What you're doing sounds great, so I hesitate to suggest anything different. If writing makes a difference it's probably not that big. But you might experiment with having students write instead of speak once or twice and see how it goes. If you do, please write me back and let me know how it goes (you'll have to @ me if you respond in this comment thread). Good luck! Some references: Janczyk, M., Aßmann, M., & Grabowski, J. (2018). Oral versus written recall of long-term memory items: Replicating and extending the writing superiority effect across knowledge domains. The American Journal of Psychology, 131(3), 263-272. (Finding a written superiority effect) Bekerian, D. A., & Dennett, J. L. (1990). Spoken and written recall of visual narratives. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 4(3), 175-187. (spoken superiority) Sauerland, M., Krix, A. C., van Kan, N., Glunz, S., & Sak, A. (2014). Speaking is silver, writing is golden? The role of cognitive and social factors in written versus spoken witness accounts. Memory & Cognition, 42, 978-992. (favoring written, but not finding large differences; in the eyewitness area)

[@pliniotoni]

@@benjaminkeep Wow thank you so much for taking the time to write such a great reply, that was very kind of you and very informative! I''ll find a way to do a little research with my students about that and get back to you. That's not exactly my field (I study the psychology/neurlinguistics of bilingualism), but I'm very interested in active learning and this idea of having the students do a spoken free recall came from those techniques teachers use in the classroom (3, 2, 1; teach-okay; think-pair-share), but you raised a lot of very good points I'll try to investigate - among others, the presence of a listener in free recall makes a lot of sense, maybe that gets in the way (at least in a first free recall - maybe it adds a little beneficial difficulty in the next ones). I'll think about it. Thanks again for your great work here on KZbin! Have a great day!

[@benjaminkeep]

My pleasure! Always great to exchange ideas with teachers and other experts! Good luck!

[@desiboi2559]

@@pliniotoni waiting on the results sir !!

[@aryanyavari3149]

my bro gained a new subscriber

[@chiobiokey]

Brilliant content man! I have a question. For courses like linear algebra and calculus other math-based subjects, how can i apply this technique? Im thinking, instead of trying to recall concepts, i try to solve questions without refereing to notes. Math subjects are better practised than memorized and this technique works brilliantly if you want to memorize things butcould you please provide an alternative that works for problem-solving? Thank you! ❤

[@johnk8174]

I found practicing helpful for math; iĕ. practicing problems, even the same problem set (after an interval of course), working for time (first it takes me 40 minutes, then 25 minutes etc.). I read that Serge Lange, famous math book writer, used to do his classmate's calculus HW (when he was an undergrad) primarily as practice for himself.

[@thesadnesspath8371]

How do you apply this technique when you have multiple/alot of concepts to revise? and also how do you apply it when you are prepping for an upcoming exam??

[@bin-ob]

I totally agree with “free recall”, and revisions in a consistent manner, the concepts will become a piece of cake to you, but the real key here is to use the information it should become a part of your life and your brain for a long time, otherwise once you stop or start learning a different material everything starts to vanish overtime not completely, but at least it will not be present in your brain when you need it, you will have to call it back by reviewing again.

[@bin-ob]

Also if you never quit reviewing, the time you will spend on reviewing will slow you down from gaining new knowledge, so there should be a point where you have to step up from reviewing to an upper level approach that gives you more time to learn new things and also keep up with old ones.

[@apexhacker346]

I'm going to try this technique this semester. I'll give you my final scores in December.

[@weirdytrends]

Ok

[@unblank4299]

How did it go?

[@LivermoreJr]

A great tip from native Chinese speaker, try to learn simple mandarin简体中文rather than complex mandarin繁体中文, it makes your learning curve much smoother.

[@RuskiVodkaaaa]

I really wish academics in America started teaching and using more of these 'radical' methods of learning new concepts, I feel it would greatly impact society. Instead, I've noticed the majority of academics still use traditional methods, which have been scientific proven to be ineffective for the majority of students who are not academically gifted. I've been on a binge spree on your videos, and it's astonishing to me how much more effective methods ways of learning new information and then applying it...

[@aniketkumarrajak8073]

Kya baat bola hai bhai❤

[@tamasinford5022]

Great process! Do you have any suggestions for when you are learning information that has not already been organized for you? Like in a new job, rather than in a course?

[@benjaminkeep]

That's a good question. I don't have any studies to pull out of my hat, but I think you would want the basic process to be the same. Something like: 1) Go to work, study or be exposed to the information. 2) After work, take fifteen minutes to do a free recall exercise. 3) Verify correctness and identify gaps in your information. 4) Then do this at successively long intervals. The big questions are: a) Is there a way to verify that what you remember is true (without, say, embarrassing yourself)? If it's information that's accessible at work, that's no problem. But if it's information that you were told or isn't already written down somewhere, then you might need to keep a record while at work. and b) How much information is it? In a single work day, you might be exposed to too much information to remember, so, again, having some sort of record or access to that information would be helpful. Usually, I'm not a fan of taking extensive notes, but if the information is important and it's not written down anywhere else, then it's probably the right thing to do. Having things organized for you is helpful, but in the long run, students (and employees) should be organizing the information themselves. That is, seeing things for the first time presented in an organized way is, indeed, an advantage. But deeper understanding comes from seeing structures that aren't necessary immediately obvious. These kinds of things are tough to answer in the abstract. If it's just raw information you're remembering, then the above strategy would probably be solid. If it's a complicated process or a deep conceptual understanding, there are other complementary approaches that would probably help. Such as mentally rehearsing a complicated process (i.e., go to the machine, check the fluids, press the ready button... what next?).

[@sovereignknight9290]

@@benjaminkeep I'm curious as to how this method works for procedural knowledge like doing complex math problems or playing chess. Is there a learning framework that we can use to see and detect patterns? Additionally, I'm wondering whether you can create a video where you explain how to gain understanding of complex topics like physics without having to take detailed notes but instead process it internally.

[@benjaminkeep]

Good question - for improving your skill at solving complex math problems or playing chess, doing free recall is probably not the best thing. Studies of chess expertise suggest that recognizing chess positions is one of the most critically important parts of the skill. Essentially, experts have huge databases of chess positions in their mind (and deep understandings of the implications of those positions) that they call on when they see new situations. One thing that I don't see a lot of students and teachers using enough of is contrasting cases. We solve math problems serially. We play chess serially. We even study chess serially (e.g., play a through a famous game). But comparing close positions to each other and studying the differences, IMO, develops the right kind of structured knowledge. You get a little bit of this with chess because people at looking at alternative moves, and the implications of those moves. But with math, it's very rare for students to see two or three problems simultaneously and explain what is different or the same about them. Hope to make more videos along these lines.

[@shaun2025]

@@benjaminkeep I am assuming this is the same for Programming? I believe a subject like Operating Systems can benefit from free recall but general programming concepts or even learning frameworks like react benefit more from active processing and regular application of concepts?

[@pedroewert143]

@@sovereignknight9290 You could try to see clusters by using different literature and lectures or maybe talk to various people who are knowledgeble in the field. So if various books bring up the same topics in a similar structure with sahred content we could assume that this is somewhat of the framework. [I learn media psychology now - i have the script of my professor and found his book - now i can verify that they share the same structure - now i found another book on mediapsychology and saw similar topics in a different order - so i know the topics are correct and the order is somewhat flexible - so i may find a third book to what degree the order is flexible - for the exam the script has probably the msot useful structure but if i want to be generally knowledgble about it i may use a more common structure) In memory psychology we would liken that to schema-theory but your personal schema of making sense may differ - but to communicate with each other it may make sense to arrange your thoughts in a simialr way than everybody else.

[@rgarlinyc]

Pretty interesting stuff, thank you - I shall take a more detailed look and practice. One (odd, I admit) question if I may - what is that book you're using to learn Putonghua?

[@madanie1]

Thanks, Ben! I benefitted from your explanation. I do have a Q (I apologise if this has been asked), if you don't mind: Does practising a skill after the study session considered an appropriate "different thing" to do? An example would be: studying a topic of History, then doing sentence-building exercises (or things related to language learning eg. listening) during the period between the previous session and the recall. Or it would be better if it was a different type of activity; studying = mental activity vs physical activity eg. taking a walk.

[@benjaminkeep]

True breaks are important (like taking a walk, playing music, or doing absolutely nothing). So don't drop those entirely. There's some evidence that memory consolidation happens during downtime (i.e., when the brain is otherwise not doing anything, even if you're awake, it engages in enhanced memory consolidation). But when we're talking about the benefits of retrieval practice, the important thing is to clear things from our working memory. You could definitely study a different subject or work on something else to do that. So, in a way, both are good. Which is "best" probably depends on the circumstance. You could do something like: Activity A, Activity B, Activity A, True Break, Activity C, Activity B, Activity C, True Break.

[@madanie1]

@@benjaminkeep I appreciate your suggestion at the end of your response. Thank you!

[@tullochgorum6323]

Solid advice - and it sure beats the tedium of flashcards! The only thing I'd add is that to get the best out of this technique you need to apply smart encoding to the information in the first place. I'm presuming you'd agree with this, even through it wasn't explicitly covered in the vlog?

[@benjaminkeep]

Yes - I'm working on a video going into more depth on encoding. Probably won't be out for a few months though.

[@tullochgorum6323]

@@benjaminkeep This is excellent news - it's a topic that's often poorly covered. It's going to be valuable to get the insights of a genuine expert like your good self...

[@ChilliDuck]

this method reminds me of teaching someone something you just learned or reviewing together. after a (short) amount of time you recall, cluster and formulate information. the main difference is that teaching is verbal and more of a conversation. So now i'm wondering about this method, about how well it can be translated into different forms, like verbal and digital forms. Do you know anything related to free recall on a laptop?