Good luck in your exams Year 11! Remember keep revising till the last one. You are going to smash it!

Flash Cards

Flash cards are our most highly recommended strategy for students to use for independent revision. Flash cards are a great way to avoid 'the illusion of competence'. When used properly they help students move information from short term to long term memory. Keep reading to find out how to use flashcards in the most effective ways.

Tips for Using Flash Cards

1. Flash cards are for testing

On the front of the card, write a key term or question
On the back of the card, answer that question or define the term
Try to answer the front of the card before checking the back

2. One Idea, One Flashcard

Some ideas or concepts are too complex to be covered in one question.
Break these concepts down into multiple questions in order to study them well.
Use one flash card for one question, idea, or concept.

3. Combine both pictures and words

The brain is more likely to recall pictures than words. Combining the two will
boost your memory. Draw a simple picture for each term or question.

4. Say your answers out loud

Saying the answer out loud holds you accountable and ensures you retrieve
the answer instead of flipping the card over prematurely. Reciting answers out
loud also enhances your memory of that term or question you are studying.

5. Reorder and Repeat

Reorder your cards and study them on both sides to increase your probability
of recalling all of the information for your terms and concepts. Keep cards in
your deck until you've correctly answered each card 3 times. Break your
cards into 3 piles: 'I have no clue,' 'I'm not too sure,' and 'I really know this.'

6. Use more than flash cards to study

Flashcards are a great study tool, but they should not be the only study tool
you use. Consider taking practice quizzes or tests, using mind maps, and trying
other study strategies to ensure your success on your next test or quiz.

The Leitner system is a method for ordering flashcards into different priorities. The idea is to have several boxes, perhaps start with 3. One box is for flashcards you cannot remember yet, one if for flashcards to sometimes get right and one is for flashcards which you have studied and always get right.

You can move the flashcards between these boxes based on how you get on when studying them. The ones in first box you could perhaps study every day until you can move them to the next box (you start to answer them correctly). Then you could look at the second box twice a week and then the third box you look at once a week (or less).

This strategy will help students priorise the knowledge they need to work on the most.

Page updated

Report abuse