The Danger of Active Recall

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Most people aren't using active recall correctly. And this is a big problem because active recall is the best study technique there is. In this video, I'll share my mistakes and what fixes you can make to ensure you are efficient and effective when using active recall.
📜 Write Up - zhighley.com/active-recall/
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🐧 Twitter - / zachhighley
0:00 Intro
0:40 What is Active Recall
2:57 Mindset
5:23 Understand
6:29 Sleep
8:23 The Best Strategies
8:53 Plan
10:03 Incorrect
11:09 Start Big
13:00 Spaced Repetition
14:17 Nebula Classes
16:19 Pot is hat
Editor: Martino Gasparrini
Work Cited:
1. psycnet-apa-org.proxy1.lib.tj...
2. Morris, P.E., Fritz, C.O., Jackson, L., Nichol, E. and Roberts, E. (2005), Strategies for learning proper names: expanding retrieval practice, meaning and imagery. Appl. Cognit. Psychol., 19: 779-798. doi:10.1002/acp.1115
3. Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT. Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychol Sci Public Interest. 2013;14(1):4‐58. doi:10.1177/1529100612453266
4. Wagner, U., Gais, S., Haider, H., Verleger, R. & Born, J. Sleep inspires insight. Nature 427, 352-355 (2004).
5. Stickgold, R. Sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Nature 437, 1272-1278 (2005). doi.org/10.1038/nature04286
6. Murre JM, Dros J. Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve. PLoS One. 2015;10(7):e0120644. Published 2015 Jul 6. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120644
7. Roozendaal B, McGaugh JL. Memory modulation. Behav Neurosci. 2011;125(6):797‐824. doi:10.1037/a0026187
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Who am I:
My name is Zach. I’m a fourth-year medical student in Philadelphia. I make videos about medical school, studying, and growth. I love trying new things and often mess up. However, every time I screw up I usually learn something. Whatever I learn I post it either on KZbin or on my website 🌐 (zhighley.com/​​).
I write a weekly newsletter 💌 (zhighley.com/newsletter/​​) linking the best things I read, watched, and listened to that week. Join the 3,000+ that read it every Sunday morning.
The Gear I Use to film videos: zhighley.com/resources/#_YouT…​​
What I’m Reading: zhighley.com/resources/#_Books

[@ZachHighley]

Flashcards4lyfe - Get 20% OFF my Exclusive Nebula Class: nebula.tv/study-smarter-not-harder and get access to my Study Smarter, Not Harder class. When you sign up you also instantly get access to everything on Nebula with tons of other classes, exclusive videos, and all my KZbin videos a week early and ad-free.

[@danielkatz1139]

Does active recall work with any subject

[@HikaruAkitsuki]

How you should categorize this my way? I watch a short video about a topic; After watch it, I research the topic in another source, I finding a slightly longer discussion anyway; I try it to do it my self base how I understand the topic; And I watched again the original source of the topic so see if I miss some details. I prefer watching the topic rather read it because of my eye condition. But also reconsider reading if the topic is too difficult.

[@harleen3983]

1. Make sure you're making a true attempt at remembering the question / attempting the question instead of just flipping the card cause you don't know the answer. 2. Understand the information before you test yourself on it 3. Wait one day before using active recall on new information . Sleep on it. 4. Do practice q and flashcards. Best forms of studying 5. Plan before exam. No of questions you have / days left = no of q you need to do per day 6. Capture incorrect answers. Make flashcards only on the information you got wrong within the question 7. Prioritize broad topics > incorrect q > nitty gritty information 8. Spaced repetition

[@juliand3565]

7. Prioritize broad topics > incorrect q > nitty gritty information this works well until you actually need both

[@aurorabtwCS]

THANK GOD THANK YOU. so much fucking bs.

[@jaytunka914]

mvp

[@HudaRamadan44]

Love u

[@phanikatam4048]

questioning , undertsnding the topic , now take some real time examples , relate to the known topics ,deep learning the topic if neccesary , now we have a commond on the topic so teach that topic to a layman in spaced intervals .... any suggestions or more than enough ???

[@bbccrawling6831]

One tip I'd give to help save lots of revising is that instead of taking intense, and often, laborious notes during lectures, I'd highly advise you to *only* write down the broader topics with some of the more critical subtopics. Writing down the main topics automatically helps your brain fill in the void between the topics with the more in-depth information you've had in the lecture. After the lecture, you would simply ask: "What have we learned from this lecture?" You could think of these as checkpoints between one another. This is a low-effort, high-reward small addition to make recalling that much easier when you use active recalling later.

[@lexiforman5578]

Thx for the tip❤😊

[@bbccrawling6831]

@@lexiforman5578 np

[@tem7822]

Hello.. Sorry for the inconvenience.. I don't understand what you mean by broader topics and some of the more critical subtopics, can you give me a simple example?

[@a_m_al_j_a.r_t2037]

​​@@tem7822only note down Main headings nd Subheadings of each topics.. Then grab the contents of the topic you listened in your mind.. Thereby you can connect each checkpoints means each gap between headings.. Written topic headings will help you to recall the contents

[@adw1z]

Doesn’t help when it’s mathematics and u literally need each and every line, and missing even just one screws u over when u come back to review it

[@chrismessenger6634]

Appreciate the level of research that has gone into making the video. One thing that deserves mentioning is how spaced repetition empowers active recall. Spaced repetition primarily works because it allows the forgetting of information so that it's not readily accessible in our conscious awareness, it's then that active recalling of information from the subconscious strengthens the neural networks of said information.

[@matthewwinter3927]

Active Recall/Spaced repetition (in the form of flashcards etc) is actually one of the worst studying techniques, this video is not well researched in the grand scheme of things. Sure active recall is better than nothing but it is extremely inefficient. Active recall is glorified by KZbinrs but really you should be focusing on building relationships between concepts and inquiry based learning. Flashcards are absolutely garbage and should only be used for remembering specific facts. I recommend Dr Justin Sung, or Archer Newton if you want to learn good studying techniques.

[@lololololol1342]

@@matthewwinter3927 in medical school you need to remember a LOT of things to even try to connect them

[@shock789]

@@lololololol1342 you can’t memorise anything in med school if you can’t connect the dots and pretty much expand your concentration and attention span

[@dahyimi2185]

@@matthewwinter3927 The thing here, Matthew, is that people who struggle with studying have an impaired ability to understand concepts and relationships between things. I don't mean their intelligence is below average; such impairment is actually the norm. Those of us who really understand stuff and make connections, and whose recall system relies on such connections, have our brains wired somewhat differently. We are obviously not the target audience of people teaching "study techniques" on YT. I'm here because this video appeared on my feed and the title made me curious; I suppose that's also your case?

[@kissarmin7130]

@@matthewwinter3927 Was looking for this comment. This video is borderline misinformation

[@lena-xo3ld]

It‘s surprising to me that i do all these things you said without ever researching it. I just taught it myself by relying on my experiences. I can guarantee that all these tips work really really well, but one thing you need first is discipline!!

[@beautifulday1665]

HOW DO I DISCIPLINE MYSELF 😭😭😭

[@hzhz9012]

Ah yes discipline, the skill I'm so bad at lol

[@niek_de_piek]

Exactly, having good self-discipline can really carry you through a big part of school.

[@noman4073]

I also do the same but the hurdle that I'm facing is I can't sit more then 1:30 hrs and my mind just diverted and I don't feel motivated any more and whole day wasted

[@beautifulday1665]

@@noman4073 same here, except that I can't even stay focused for 30 minutes!

[@learninghistory4397]

Honesty is key for this method. I use it to learn English and French. If I get a single letter mispronounced I restart the cycle for that word. No point on lying to yourself.

[@firdowacige8884]

a night sleep is actually very helpful. i once had my midterms as a takehome exam. we had 24 hours to submit our work. i was working till midnight without finding any solutions, then i decided to sleep. the next morning i ended up solving many of the solutions, comapred to the students that that didn't sleep that night.

[@ivethe4thgenmonsterrookieg901]

this is actually true, I had exams yesterday and I used passive learning in english, ap and other subjects. Because of it, it took so much time that I just decided to study using these methods UNCONSCIOUSLY since I only got to watch it now lol. THE RESULTS WERE AMAZING. my classmates complained that "science" is the most difficult but to me it wasn't. It was actually the easiest one for me and now I understand why the other subjects are difficult. Not only it can save your time but it's also more effective.

[@ivethe4thgenmonsterrookieg901]

definitely gonna try again this method since I have exams next week too

[@uranus256]

what is ap?

[@nefth1363]

@@uranus256 Advanced Placement, a special program for different high schools in the USA and Canada. Also, AP is not a subject, if you were wondering, he meant to say, "English AP"

[@lololololol1342]

@@nefth1363 in the rare case that this person is Filipino they mean social studies (Araling Panlipunan) but idk if they are XD

[@nehalilisays]

For me the most difficult part about studying is deciding what I should memorize because they mainly give use long texts with barely any hints about what's gonna be relevant for the exam. On the one hand it forces you to think about the content (what is important?) and on the other hand it burns a lot of mental energy and might stress you out (should I risk to not memorize enough or should I risk to overwhelm myself and study too much?)

[@spaghettiking653]

Back when I was studying for my literature exams, I decided to memorise as many quotes as I could and their analyses, because on the exam we weren't given most of the text we were supposed to be analysing. By learning loads and loads for the test, surely I didn't remember all of it, but even 50% would be more than enough for the test. Then again, if you're studying for mathematics, you ought to remember everything, because any inaccuracies mean you probably can't get it right. At least in literature you can choose your own essay topic.

[@mceyyy]

I think the best way to memorize a text is to understand it first, what is it talking about, why, when etc.

[@jailenes5594]

a good tip is emphasizing the heading, sub titles and bold words. that’s the most important information. if a sub title says “the importance of food” ask yourself “what is the importance of food and what information in this paragraph is gonna answer that question and prove the importance of food”.

[@jailenes5594]

another tip is the bolded words are frequently definitions to remember so you can write them down & learn what they mean and why it was used in the paragraph.

[@malabedchristian2597]

This video is great, informative, organized, thank you for including time stamps that really helps, love lots 😳😭🌸

[@luccapanico8441]

Great video. I saw your video talking about anki a year ago and it really transformed me. With 1 year of studies I've got approved at my dream med school and I can easily say that studying with Anki was the number 1 factor of my success. Thank you so much Zach! And hi there from 🇧🇷

[@elainer8288]

Hi, Lucca! Which med school did get into? USP?

[@khalilahd.]

It’s sooo important to know how to study effectively so I’m glad you’re mentioning this 🙏🏽❤

[@ZachHighley]

Thanks for watchinggg

[@EduardoHenrique-nd1ro]

Another amazing video, Zach! Thanks for sharing with us! Cheers from Brazil!

[@chamallow989]

I started using flashcards with a piece of paper on the side to actually write down an answer because I noticed that I tended to say « Yeah, close enough » when giving an answer in my head, but writing it down feels like more of a commitment so when I get a question wrong, I can clearly tell and I’m not in denial

[@_AshishKumar-jk9uh]

I too realized that 'start big finish small' thing, few months ago. Before that I literally used be the most knowledgeable person on certain topics, but still fail in exams😅, as I never used to be able to complete most of the syllabus I knew most of the things that you mentioned in your video, but your video gave me more confidence on my strategy👍

[@fredoxychannel923]

you usually present helpful content. Thank you man.

[@jamesruz6684]

those are some sharp glasses over there. i would just like to commend you for your ideas of showing the negative sides (dangers) of the concepts we all thought was the best. it just opens that thought that the best also has a point of failure

[@seanneal9406]

I did all of it. I found after long experience that reading each chapter VERY slowly, almost word for word, somehow allows me to retain almost all of it long term.

[@mertb.6487]

What really matters when studying (in my experience) is the actual link between the abstract information with one another and the medium it is to be applied in (for example a test of some kind). Especially with active recall through Anki flashcards, as noted in the video, it can become very easy to find oneself simply MEMORIZING, but not intricately understanding the infos one learns. The stage of linking together multiple sources of information with one another with respect to the way, whichever that may be, it is to be applied, is very important. It doesn‘t matter how much you know about the functions of the human liver if that information is never used to link together in the organ‘s pathology, but EVEN IF someone tries to create that link „artificially“ through even more flashcards, still the problem of just memorization instead of understanding it can present itself (sorry for the oversimplified example, I study law lol). So it is incredibly important to go way BEYOND memorization through application of active recall into AMALGAMIZATION of the memorized information with other infos, the way the information is to be applied in the exam as well as logical connections that may only be VERY IMPLICITLY presented in lectures/books for the sake of keeping things short. This step can, although depending on you field of study in a bit more difficult manner, be taken even through passive memorization through using an additional step of active thinking after having taken in some information (e.g. thinking about how the infos in the lecture/books may be useful in the exam, how they can be linked together with other things one has read up on etc.). If this seemingly simple, yet EXTREMELY IMPORTANT step is not taken, it doesn‘t matter if one uses active recall memorization to gather infos or passive learning; you‘ll simply not understand. You need to use active recall for CONNECTING, not just MEMORIZING information. So to simplify, THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE STUDYING! Don‘t look at memorizing or studying flashcards as some sort of job or task, think of it as a tool with which you can solve a variety of problems, even if those problems first have to be thought up by yourself. Through doing this step of active recall internally, one can even reap a lot of benefits from just reading a book, despite that being what is readily associated with passive rather than active recall.

[@kissarmin7130]

This

[@fardeenahammedbhuiyan6019]

By far the best vedio on active recall on you tube Take love bro

[@franziskani]

6:33 Sleeping over it - the brain literally BUILDS the neural connections, and that needs a little time. Good nutrition, enough water and exercise help, too. Enough sleep is key and probably it will help to have a fix time for that, going to bed and rising at pretty much the same time. I wonder how the practice of LUCID DREAMING might affect the buidling of memories during sleep - or if it does not affect it at all. Dreams (also) seem to be a way of processing what is going on in your life, and if you use that time to have fun experiences or even to communicate with the subconscious, the function of processing what is going on behind the scenes with your feelings and life might be affected.

[@omerrott2946]

Would love to see a video discussing how to study for an oral medical exam, in my university all of the exams from anatomy to rotations are done orally, we have topics we might get asked about and during the exam we have 10 minutes to write our thoughts done before we will talk about the topic with the examiner

[@lidyateshome1840]

HI! Zach the video you shared was very amusing and helpful thanks.

[@dhc4822]

I really appreciate your videos.your speaking style is satisfactory.I easily understand everything.your videos help me a lot to . thanks 😊

[@AwareWokege]

i was just looking at your channel a couple of hours ago to see if you posted anything new and turned on the bell :0 thank you for uploading again ^0^ love and support from japan!

[@ZachHighley]

Arigatooooo

[@CajunKoiAcademy]

Loving this series 🙏 danger of spaced repetition next? Lol

[@epicuber1351]

this community of studying tips is so nice, thank yall

[@hish33p32]

Hey you're here

[@hodasamadi7903]

Thanks! This has really helped me study for my EPPP licensing exam.

[@freddyjosereginomontalvo4667]

Thanks for all of the good advices🌍 Take care

[@ZachHighley]

Thanks for watches

[@kuroju]

Instant sub my man, this helped me so much.

[@loficiousbeats6542]

Thank you for the explanation!

[@saraangel6696]

I’m not a student anymore, but when i was, i felt like i had no study method. When i inevitably became very stressed, my way of studying was pretending i was teaching the class on the subject. I guess it worked because i graduated with honors from my undergraduate and postgraduate programs lol but i still suck at studying. Edit: i just remembered that i tested myself. I studied engineering, so a lot of it was math or solved by math. I would find different exercises we reviewed in class and then would solve them on my own (like 10, and gave myself a two hour timer) and then i would compare and review if the method i used actually stuck. For other classes that were more based on interpretation an analysis, i honestly pretended i was teaching a class. I would talk to myself out loud, write notes here and there, and so on. I figured that if i was able to explain it to someone else, i had learned the thing i wanted to learn…. I’m a teacher at uni now, but i don’t enjoy it that much lol

[@DannyHatcherTech]

Thoughts while watching: - Using active recall wrong - do you mean retrieval practice? - Your list of things that aren't active recall isn't correct - what if highlighting was the method used when signifying an answer... needs more contents - Mental effort and mental space are different things - Mental effort for learning is different for each persons learning environment so it might be too much or not enough... missing nuance - Thankyou for including citations (they also say retrieval practice, not active recall) - The Dunlosky meta analysis you reference has been updated in research as it does oversimplify application - Active recall should feel tough - what about practising something you can do well? - What it tough enough? - A level of understanding will always be available (preconceived notions) I assume you are talking about deeper understanding? - Sleep is part of the stay healthy advice so I am curious why nutrition, exercise etc weren't also included there... - Flashcards best and evidenced way ... for who and what? Flashcards are useless for motor skills, experiential skills and questions with contextual answers (context needed) - How does a practice question differ from a flashcard? - Learn things you don't remember - ok and use flashcards to do this - what about if you can't remember it? - Spaced repetition - what and why intervals? what about other types of practice? Thanks for the video 😁

[@elifozzz]

Yeah especially flashcards maybe itd be good for highschool but wouldnt really work for a lot of majors

[@gdp7q]

Thank you for this!!!

[@WeDream18]

Great as always excepted. Love you brother ❤️

[@ZachHighley]

Thanks for watchinggg

[@gabriellabenedicta8793]

Hi Zach love ur videos!!! Can u plz make a video of how to start the academic year after a long break I'm struggling right now!! And also day to day scheduling for coming into the zone

[@victorrodriguez1234]

Is very important talk about this topic, thank you Zach 😁👍

[@ZachHighley]

Thanks for watching!

[@ar.jananeer554]

Hi Zach! Amazing Video! I wish I knew this earlier.. But as they say, better late than never! I was signing up for Nebula and have come across the subscription plans for classes which only bills annually. Could you possibly discuss a little in detail if it would be possible to take the monthly subscription first (without the classes), try it out and then later convert to the annual subscription while I use your joining code?

[@Judi571]

Nice tips thanks so match. Zach ❤🌹

[@ayushipundir]

Thankyou for sharing this 💙

[@ZachHighley]

Thanks for watchinggg

[@SB-iq9dq]

Really insightful vid ibr

[@Alphalafel]

I wish i had seen this video earlier, but amazing explanation!

[@itscky2007]

This video is very informative and helpful

[@papill6n]

Great video, very insightful and scientifically based. Thank you very much! Now I'm wondering what's the optimal way to teach content to students? (my content is about trauma therapy, so I teach some theory, biology, psychology and some exercice to apply what they have learned and practice it). Do you have any articles or videos to share? Thank you

[@ArenElliott]

It's important to mention that, in active recall, context is extremely important. Flashcards have a tendency to deprive the student of context, which can weaken learning attempts. For this reason, study strategies which strain every facet of a concept's understanding in context are ideal. Also, if you don't know the answer to a question in a flashcard, I think you *should* just flip it and restudy. In most programs, you will be tested shortly after on the same information. Also, if you're unable to come up with the answer, then enough repetitions will force you to find a system for reproducing the result as though you were an artist painting a scene. Of course, don't not try to come up with the answer. But again, without enough context clues, your mind will be forced into rote memorization as opposed to true understanding.

[@ianpierce7366]

This channel is one of the channel that i should found earlier! ❤️💯

[@KURENANI]

My metod to studying is to watch a video on the subejct(mat or fysisk),then i Sue what I learnt by doing the question,if I got it wrong i do it again or if I dont understand ill go trough the video/similiar videos until i get it done. Its super effective i finally feel like that i actually understand what I am doing.

[@ClaraSantos1_]

Excellent video!

[@richiejoneri6194]

Best learning video for me

[@As-ht5rw]

Hi Zach, Thank you so much for your videos and efforts to explain your study strategies. Can I ask you please to make a video about how to make the flashcards or the AnkiCards. I am struggling with it as I am putting too much ( nearly copy paste) information on one card. Can you present it with examples. Thank you so much. Much appreciated.

[@josephcoppola4557]

Hi Zach, I’m a second term med student. Question- when going over practice questions, if you get the answer incorrect, and you make a flash card on that missed concept, but you also don’t recognize or understand one of the incorrect answer choices, do you also make a flash card on that topic as well ?

[@enrisulfr]

you should understand why the incorrect choices are incorrect, so yes if you deem it necessary to memorise

[@angela.luntian]

specific things dont work for my college's curriculum, but this gives me a better grasp on how I should study. My professors focus on "small tiny facts" and names rather than actual topic understanding.

[@beryldavid7339]

I really love how you used your mistakes to be successful and help others correct their mistakes

[@JayGahiton]

Hey Just want to let you know your videos became my foundation for reviewing for my licensure examination for Electronics Engineering. I can say flashcards really work and I passed the board exam just today! It really did help in storing to long term memory especially we are required to study like thousands of formula and concepts! Thanks man!

[@CurlyGirlChey]

congrats!

[@CalebM_]

Congratulations!

[@Andrei-zs4yq]

I have known since then that I've been studying wrong. I also haven't tried other ways of studying. I have this mindset where I should only be studying if there's an upcoming test and I stop once it's done. However, watching this now makes me wanna try active recall.

[@mmarwasaad]

Keep going 💙💪🏼

[@ZachHighley]

Keep goingggg

[@javanutz1]

I pretty much agree with you as far as the ineffective use of those passive recall techniques except for one. And that is summarizing I truly believe that summarizing is a form of active recall because you have to pay good attention to what you have just heard whether in class or during a discussion. If you can’t accurately recall what you just heard, then it cannot be internalized, and therefore cannot be used to proceed to any more critical thinking stages, such as analysis and synthesis. Plus I think too much attention has been put on spitting back information by just test practice and flashcards and not enough attention to developing critical thinking skills.

[@deryasimsek3786]

Thanks for the video recently studying for the Step 1 as an IMG! Also love the Rothko paintings :)

[@jansherv9767]

Spot on bro

[@ispasani]

Brilliant!

[@rahulisgreat4911]

Thanks man

[@fabiele1508]

Me eating lunch right now But I'm so happy to have found ur video prior to my exams this year

[@JohnS-er7jh]

I used Active Recall and Spaced Repetition many years ago (but I didn't even know what it was called). I just developed Active Recall late in my college years on my own. I wish I had a more developed learning plan, I am sure I would have done much better. I did study many hours using the ineffective techniques of summarizing, rereading and highlighting. But for final exams I would get to the school 2 to 3 hours ahead of the test time (I was a commuter to school). I had note cards that I had written out the night before. I would sit in a quiet space and go through the note cards, if I knew a concept well already, I would put it in one pile (Pile 1) and I never looked at that pile again. If I sort of knew a concept I would put it in a second pile (Pile 2), and then for concepts I didn't know I would have a third Pile (pile 3). I focused only on Pile 2 for the next hour, until I knew it well, then I never looked at them again. Then I shifted my attention only to the last pile (Pile 3), and as I locked into concepts into my mind in the third pile, I would put them aside, with each pass of the cards, I only had a few cards left with about 40 minutes to go before the exam, so I would stay on them until about 5 minutes before the exam. I learned never to go the exams early, other students would start talking about what would be on the exam, or other nonsense and it was a distraction for me. This method really helped me and I wish I started doing the active recall, from the beginning of the course (the first week), I could lock in the concepts each week as I went.

[@june3536]

Nice tips...Thank you...😇

[@ZachHighley]

Thanks for watching!

[@Sagitarria]

I really appreciate this video. I do have a question about your assertion that “it is supposed to feel hard” is that inherent to the studies? Do you have citation for that? I think we all have ideas about what active means and I would like to see actual data on that.

[@urbanoverlord2412]

I always naturally chose to study by solving homework problems and going back to check if i was correct and revising my method if i wasn’t. Always found it odd that some people refused to use the questions for studying lol

[@chrispy4636]

I had to watch this at .75 speed. Love the video, just thought you should consider slowing down a bit. Cheerski!

[@mbbsrishu]

thanks a lot for this video .I am also preparing for medical(NEET) from India.

[@hajji384]

1. Look at the Topic title first 2. Look the structure of the resource 2. Look at the subtitles second 3. Read it 1 or 3 times and understand words on multiple resources like articles , websites , book, KZbin. 4. Search words you not understand And write on near the word. 5. Underline or highlight paragraphs you don't understand 6. Search on Google, KZbin, articles or a book find it . And write one sentence next to the. Paragraph. 7. Take a break after you done reading the topic. And visualize the headings, subheadings in your head. 8. Come back after week or month write a blog post the topic in your medium or LinkedIn social profile.

[@noobcoin0012]

I would have failed my engineering program if it wasn't for Anki and spaced repetition. I was working full-time and on academic probation. I was learning Japanese on Anki at the time during some free time. I realized just how good I was doing learning Japanese and decided to put some old practice exams and hw problems on Anki as a desperate measure. Little did I know there was a whole lifestyle on studying through Anki. Had I known some of these tips I would have used Anki a bit better, but idc now since Anki already gave me my engineering degree. Since I didn't have too much time to dedicate to studying all I did was gather old practice exams,exam questions, and hw solutions and threw them on Anki. Every day for at least 4 hours I would study in 1 hour intervals with 20 minute breaks. Every class followed the same pattern: I wouldn't do so well on the first midterm, second midterm I'd do way better and final always above average every single time. I went from academic probation to a solid B student. I was able to answer all of Professors questions during lecture and really stood out to the point my Professor asked me to help him with his research after the final before he even graded it. Be more efficient in your study repetitions and use the techniques in the video as I wished I had known them. Stick with it and I promise you when it comes to finals season you'll be smooth sailing.

[@Almighty-ik2be]

Hiii Zach! I'm a 15 yr old studying in 10th grade and while learning certain answers, i just cannot get past that answer. For whatever reason i just keep on repeating the same answer for like 15-20 minutes even though i know that spending that much time on 1 answer is pointless and stupid l. This happens especially before an exam. Pls suggest something. And also what do you do when the topic ur studying is something which u dont like and is extremely boring...

[@ZachHighley]

Move onto next question or move onto next subject

[@Almighty-ik2be]

@@ZachHighley sure thanks!

[@proteadrinker]

You got this!!! Relax for a bit and come back to the question 10 minutes later or switch around to do other subjects, and come back to it. Keep in mind the purpose of your study session is to get through the exam and not anything else

[@pinhead6764]

TECNOBLAED?!!!?!!

[@naritruwireve1381]

Along with the other replies, since we're more focused soon after waking up, you can retry the difficult questions the next morning if a 10 minute break isn't helping either

[@user-jx3kr5pr8h]

In premed We are given so many different assignments active recall is the last step.I first want to understand fully the material to get a good grade.I have to first master the material in each class usually only a few hours to do the assignments.There are required readings videos zoom class meetings blackboard readings videos classes which of course monitored for attendance whether live in person synchronis asynchronis or completely online.

[@fifgaming445]

I really want to say thank you, just thanks

[@roger_ando7895]

Hey really cool video I also use anki

[@elhassanmeslouhi1138]

thank you thank you thank you

[@bkstandard882]

In 35 years-old and I just started learning through active recall. It really is the best way to learn.

[@samirahersi4427]

Could you please make a video about how to learn information for the first time effectively

[@JavaughnJPorter]

Really good advice

[@ZachHighley]

thanksss

[@svwendalisenilegne3118]

I actually was using this techniques in middle school and it was very easy for me to remember details of my textbook. I kind of stopped doing this in high school because my mental health is going worse with the corona thing happening and it's suddenly hard again for me to study. Thank you very much for helping me remembering the past techniques I used in past and even more detailed!

[@demonrhythms8761]

Awesome video Zach, and why are you wearing specs is it for myopia ?

[@ZachHighley]

Correct lol

[@demonrhythms8761]

@@ZachHighley me too wearing that stuff since elementary school cause for the same reason.

[@user-oe8bt8rr9k]

Hey i kinda have a question .i saw a video that said that writing questions you think that will appear on exam during lecture time is one method of active recall and i have been thinking that maybe i could use this method as a flash card by writing questions and answer it after the lecture is over but i am not sure if this is a good idea so i was wandering do you a suggestion for me which way do you think is best question writing or the flash card method?

[@MoB.41]

Would you recommend pre-reading the “required” readings that are in the lecture slides?

[@harshjoshi014]

Yo, came back to ur channel after a long time... feeling nostalgic

[@ZachHighley]

Thanks for staying with me

[@dahyimi2185]

Summarising is arguably the best study method ever. And it's not passive! (I'm referring to that ridiculous comment at 2:55). If people don't get good results from summarising, it's because they don't do it properly. Besides, you're forgetting that these "active recall" techniques are only for revision, not for learning. They might help information stick in your memory for longer and they're great to identify where you're lacking, but you need to learn the material before you can use such techniques. And what's the best way to learn? Well of course, note-taking or summarising.

[@0topon]

Your argument is a bit flawed, you can use it as a reason for everything. For example: You can become through bitcoin realy fast a millionaire, the ones who dont are just people that dont do it properly.

[@djpatt81]

Sleep brilliant to help on all various recalls i one day was overwhelmed a new job planning that was popped in blue in my area. I written in short keynotes each pieces plans to plans like flash cards strategy then had a good night sleep went to bed early a bit it does prevent brain exhaustion reduces overwhelming anxiety feelings and clear healthy refreshed calm mind next day. I was able complete well in the new unexpected plans at job.

[@salmaghezlaneanatouf3195]

That was a good video ❤😂

[@vonpascasio19]

How do you plan out your spaced repetition sessions? Do you make flashcards for 1 chapter and then throw it in a calendar for 1 day, 3 days, 6 days, and 18 days afterwards? That seems very tedious to set up especially with multiple classes

[@sindilacion]

Anki does this for you. Or any other spaced repetition app

[@svearike00]

@@sindilacion its hard to use

[@sindilacion]

@@svearike00 all you have to do is learn how to use it. Takes 10 minutes if that

[@svearike00]

@@sindilacion obviously i know how to write questions but i tend to overdo it ending up with 1000 flashcards and its not efficent way of learning

[@wm7606]

@@svearike00 depends, some people do fewer flash cards but with larger topics (for oral exams for example where u have to stuff into context), those take a lot of time to go through. But normal cards to memorise details shouldn’t be too long. Only a few words/ 1-2 sentences. U can go through hundreds of cards in a few hours.

[@nethmisenadheera4919]

Hi.. I'd like to know from where you got that filament bulb lamp🙊

[@kyoto7677]

the only reason why I stop my pomodoro is to watch Zach's new uploaded video 😂😂

[@cdtluna]

How does age affect learning? I am almost 50 and I been in college for over 10 years. We noticed that as I get older it gets harder to maintain my 3.9 GPA

[@ridmicmeena4123]

I write my answers before checking the answer and you even talked about it in this video

[@ZachHighley]

Best way to do it

[@ashishkolli7527]

Where did you get those glassses frames?? They are beautiful :D

[@vibhishnagul]

Hi Z!! Help me in improving paper presentation skills. I got my exam paper yesterday rechecked. I got very bad marks and a note to write better presenting manner. IKr it was absolutely true. But writing fast and neat seems impossible to me. Also, I need a few tips to improve my writing. Pls, reply.

[@billsurrette6092]

I would use flash cards and a small white board. I’d try to write as much of the answer as I could before looking at the other side. Then I’d make two piles…. Cards I needed to practice a little and those I needed to practice a lot. I always wrote the answer the same way, so with charts, tables, equations etc eventually I’d have the whole thing memorized. (And on an exam, the very first thing I’d do is write any of those things I was afraid I might forget on the scrap paper.)

[@olaonuoha9419]

But what do you do when you dont have that much time to start anki- for zanki there are like 40,000 cards. What if you're on a time crunch and also you cant know how to answer unless you have at least read over/ learned it first.This is good advice but I dont see it working for someone studying for an upcoming examination. i would love to hear a solution/ answer to this- thanks.

[@Icelander00]

Thanks

[@julianvilsten]

Hi Zach, I've been trying to do active recall while learning but find my biggest barrier is the time it takes to develop the flash cards. I end up not having time to study the topic after. Do you have any tips for efficient flash card development? I do work full time so this makes it more difficult to allocate time.

[@suicideman113]

What you could do as an alternative to flashcards, while STILL utilizing active recall is Cornell note-taking. That way you don't have to spend extra time to make flashcards, but rather spend that time by quizzing yourself on your notes. Hope that helps, God bless!

[@cruzgonzalez3863]

Making flash cards during lectures is also a solution

[@chungjiaxuaneileenfmss3671]

What I do is to take the creating of the flash cards as my active recall. So I try my best not to look at my notes and only refer when I absolutely have to

[@sonyasidhu9059]

i would recommend "blurting", You write out everything you know about a topic/sub-topic, then go over it with your notes and correct it. you'll probably notice patterns of gaps in your learning, and only make flashcards out of those.

[@rosaliom.s.2382]

@@suicideman113 you can do this also on Google sheets or excel and space repetition it on your own. Make the font on the answer Column white and just run through the question columns and check if you got it right. Mark them with different colors at the end to show if you did good or not. No - red, yes once - Orange, Yes twice (1 day interval) - yellow, yes three times (two day interval) - green, yes four times - Blue etc.

[@darioherediadiaz94]

Thinking to use it to learn English effectively

[@notyourophelia]

If suppose i get the practice question answers wrong, should i write down the whole answer or just the topic that i need to revise again?

[@tawseeftaher9109]

1. practice testing(mockTest), distributedPractice(have gap between your revision/spaced repetition), change your mindset. understand first, memorize later. sleep properly before testing yourself practice Q and flash card schedule your studying 9:10 start big finish small 11:15 spaced repetition 13:00 don't summarize, highlight, reread : these things are bad

[@sofibenzo]

hi zach!! how can we adapt this method to languages? im sitting for CAE in december and id love to use it for that exam. thank you!!

[@andrewdalton6973]

Maybe try and make flashcards and study them for important vocab word or grammar.

[@sofibenzo]

@@andrewdalton6973 good idea, thank you!

[@andrewdalton6973]

@@sofibenzo Also change your phone to a different launguge, or the launguage you're using. Also change subtitles on Netflix. Hope these help. Make sure you're actively listening though. Good luck

[@sofibenzo]

@@chrisstoltz3648 sure. Thank you so much.