Introduction

Active recall and spaced repetition are my go-to study techniques! They are both backed by science and over time have helped me remember the insanely vast syllabus as a med student.

But in order for active recall to work you need to have correct methods to do so! Here are some methods that have always worked for me, do let me know if they did for you too!

What is active recall?

Active recall in a nutshell is forcing your brain to recall things instead of feeding it the same knowledge again and again!  Active recall is a proven method by science, several productivity experts like Ali Abdal promote this method too.

Here’s the nerdy definition: Active recall is a study method where you actively retrieve information from memory rather than passively reviewing it, strengthening neural pathways and improving long-term retention.

Let’s understand from an example:

Student A: keeps re-reading their lecture slides and every time they open the slides again, they feel anew.

Student B: they quickly go through the subheadings, and headings on the slides, making them familiar with the content, then at the end of their study session, they try making mind maps of the said topic without look at the slides.

10 ways to active recall

Reading your chapters heading and subheadings:

Before you begin a new chapter read through all the headings and subheadings. This helps you get familiar to the content plus it is helpful in retaining focus. Let’s say there were a few terms that you didn’t understand while reviewing the headings. whenever you come cross the terms in the chapter, you’ll gain back your focus!

Mind maps:

write down important headings, subheadings and examples anything you think is important and interconnected, along the space present beside the textbook paragraphs. Later try to recall all of it and make a mind map of the entire chapter with the help of your memory.

Questions:

as you’re studying prepare questions or look up related questions on the internet and try to answer them.

Diagrams:

sometimes diagrams are all you need to sum up the entire information. for e.g.: anatomy. When you’re done with a certain part try redrawing it with all the insertions, muscles, etc.

Blurting:

(my personal fav) divide your chapter into small bits, go through the chapter, then write down everything you remember on a white board or paper. Later, open your textbook or notes and fill the missing points in.

pre-test:

give a test BEFORE you start a new chapter. yes, sounds crazy. but it’s really effective! works the same as pre-reading all the headings and subheadings. BUT an added benefit is, you understand how questions are formed from a certain topic and how to approach the chapter.

Teach someone:

be it a person or a doll, teach them as if you’re teaching a toddler who knows nothing about the topic. We humans have something known as Cue-Dependent Memory. Memory triggered when a certain situation is repeated. Let’s say when you were teaching the said person, you laughed about a certain thing as you were studying a particular topic. Now, whenever you remember the thing you laughed about, you automatically remember the piece of information.

Common mistakes during active recall

There are a lot of mistakes students make when they start practicing active recall. Try avoiding these:

• Re-reading instead of testing
• Looking at answers too quickly
• Not being consistent

If you’ve always been re-reading your notes, even the revision seems as if it’s the first time, you’re seeing the notes, it’ll be difficult to shift to a effective method. Since, you’re habituated to just reading. But hang on! force yourself to recall info do not give in to checking your notes again and again, soon you’ll start seeing the results and become better at it!

Conclusion

Keep being consistent, keep trying any of the 8 methods, and try to find out the best suited one for you! Or use all of the 8 whenever you like whichever, who cares? As long as we score well, without studying for hours!