Transcript Flash cards - jolley

Beyond Rote Memorization:
New Ways to Use Flashcards to
Learn, Remember, and Understand
Concepts
Mark Mitchell & Janina Jolley, 2014
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
[email protected]
[email protected]
Click here to get started
Welcome,
Thanks for telling me your name!
Although I know your name, I have no concept of who you are.
Because I am only a computer program, I often fail to grasp concepts,
but this tutorial will show you how to avoid that problem.
Before we get started, there are three things you should know about
me.
Introduction: 3 Things About Me
1. If this is your first time through this tutorial, you
should click through the entire tutorial. After the
first time, you can use the menu on the next
slide to go to specific parts.
2. When a slide instructs you to write something
on a flashcard, you will see this picture on the
top of the slide:
3. At the end, you will be given a quiz that you can
print out and give to your teacher.
Menu
Stage 1: Learning the
concept’s key
characteristics
Mastering concepts
Stage 2: Learning a
typical example
Using flashcards to
study class notes
Stage 3: Learning the
concept’s breadth
Using flashcards to
study lecture notes
Stage 4: Learning the
concept’s limits
Conclusions
Stage 5:
Remembering the
concept
Acknowledgments
References
What Are Concepts?
Concepts are
Ideas
Compact packages of information
Separate bits of information that are
united into a meaningful whole
What Do We Learn When We Learn
Concepts?
Often, we learn
1. An idea
2. A label (a name or term)
for that idea.
Reflection Question
Have you ever felt that you knew the material,
but had trouble with the test questions
because of how they were worded?
a. Frequently
b. Sometimes
Click on the best answer
c. Rarely
d. Never
Unless You Answered “Never” to the
Last Question
 You have probably said, “I knew the material, but not the way
that it was tested.”
 That often means that you memorized terms and definitions,
but did not learn the concepts.
As a result, you were lost when
 you saw definitions that were worded differently than the
ones you memorized,
 you saw examples that were different than the ones you
memorized, or
 you had to tell the difference between concepts that
seemed, at least to you, to be basically the same.
How to Learn Concepts
If memorizing terms and definitions, doesn’t work, then what
does?
 To really know a concept, you usually need to learn it in five
stages.
 In the next section, we will show you what those five stages
are.
 Then, we will show you proven techniques that will help you
master those five stages so that you can learn concepts.
What It Takes to Learn Concepts
Like unpacking , we do not learn a concept all at
once. Instead, we must take several trips—and
each trip takes several steps.
What It Takes Learn Concepts
Like unpacking, we cannot do not do it all at
once. Instead, we must take several trips—and
each trip takes several steps.
In fact, concept learning involves 5 stages.
What It Takes to Learn Concepts
The 5 stages are
1. Learning and understanding the concept’s
definition.
“dog”: A domesticated canid”
What It Takes to Learn Concepts
The 5 stages are
1. Learning the concept’s definition.
2. Learning a typical example.
What It Takes to Learn Concepts
The 5 stages are
1. Learning the concept’s definition.
2. Learning a typical example.
3. Learning that the concept is broader than a
single example and to recognize a wide
variety of examples.
What It Takes to Learn Concepts
The 5 stages are
1. Learning the concept’s definition.
2. Learning a typical example.
3. Learning that the concept is broader than a single example
and to recognize a wide variety of examples.
4. Learning that the concept differs from
related concepts.
“No, Timmy, that is not
a dog. It’s a horse.”
What It Takes to Learn Concepts
The 5 stages are
1. Learning the concept’s definition.
2. Learning a typical example.
3. Learning that the concept is broader than a single example
and to recognize a wide variety of examples.
4. Learning that the concept differs from related concepts.
5. Remembering the concept.
How to Learn Concepts
We have outlined the five stages you must go
through to learn a concept, but how do you
actually go through each stage?
Stage 1: Understanding the Concept’s
Definition
You need to unpack the definition to understand
the concept’s key characteristics. This unpacking
and understanding involves
A. Understanding the individual words making
up the definition.
B. Identifying and understanding the key
features/characteristics of the concept.
How to Use Flashcards to Understand
the Concept’s Definition: Overview
 If you are like most students,
you probably already use
flashcards to help you study.
 Like most students, you
probably could develop
“smarter” flashcards that will
be more effective in helping
you learn concepts.
How to Use Flashcards to Understand
the Concept’s Definition: Overview
 In this presentation we will show
you how to make 2 basic types of
flashcards.
1. Definition
2. Example
 You are probably already familiar
with the first type—the Definition
Flashcard.
How to Use Flashcards to Understand
the Concept’s Definition: Overview
Let’s make our first “Definition” flashcard by
1. Putting the name of the concept (the term) on
the front of an index card.
2. Getting the concept’s definition from your text,
your professor, or a reliable source, and put that
definition on the back of that index card.
3. Understanding the words making up the
definition.
4. Identifying, numbering, and understanding the
separate aspects of the definition.
Steps in Making a Definition Flashcard:
Making the Front
First, make a definition card by
1. Writing the term (the concept’s name) on the front
of the card. If your term was negative
reinforcement, write “negative reinforcement.”
2. Writing “Definition” below the term.
Front
negative
reinforcement
Definition
Steps in Making a Definition Flashcard:
Making the Back
Copy the term’s definition (e.g., “occurs when a behavior is
increased by taking away an aversive stimulus.”)—but not
the term itself—from your textbook or from a reputable
source on to the top of the back of your flashcard.
Do it now.
Steps in Making a Definition Flashcard
At this point, your card looks like this:
Front
negative
reinforcement
Definition
Back
occurs when a behavior is__
increased by taking away an
aversive stimulus._____ ___
_______________________
Tips on Making a Definition Card
• Although the first part of the definition card is easy
to make, you can also probably find one already
made.
1. Some books come with flashcards.
2. Flashcards can be obtained online from sites,
such as
• www.studyblue.com
• www.quizlet.com
You will probably learn better if you handwrite the cards yourself.
However, the important things are to have accurate definitions
and to understand those definitions.
Why You Need to Understand the
Definition
1. If a definition does not make sense to you, it will
seem like nonsense to you—and memorizing
nonsense is more difficult than memorizing stuff
that makes sense.
– For example, compare trying to memorize the following
two “sentences”: 1
Jek veh xib yap biv mup va gew hix weg cih qez fik.
The boy and his dog met an old man who had one eye.
Unfortunately, we do not remember where we
Got this demonstration. If you know, please e-mail us.
Why You Need to Understand the
Definition
2. If you memorize information without
understanding it, you have not learned a concept.
Memorizing without understanding
is like storing garbage.
Why You Need to Understand the
Definition
3. If you memorize information without
understanding it, you won’t be able to use that
information: You can’t use what you don’t
understand.
– You will miss questions that ask you to apply your
knowledge.
– You will miss questions that ask you to recognize
reworded versions of the definition, such as the
following question:
A Typical Multiple-Choice Question on
Negative Reinforcement
√
_____ reinforcement occurs when a response leads to
the _____ of something bad. (Appleby, 2013)
a. Positive, removal
b. Negative, removal
c. Positive, presentation
d. Negative, presentation
To get this right, you need to recognize
correct definitions of a term that are worded
differently from the definition you learned.
Someone who merely memorized a definition might
get this question wrong.
Reflection Question
Click on the best answer
Have you ever memorized a definition, but
A. Did not really understand what the definition
meant?
B. Had trouble applying it to new examples?
C. Had trouble explaining to other people what
the term actually meant?
D. All of the above.
A Problem With Memorizing
Definitions
As your answer to the last question reveals,
people have trouble learning by just memorizing
definitions.
One problem they have is that they don’t
unpack the definition. They get into trouble by
trying to take the definition in all at once.
How Can You Be Sure You Have Successfully
Unpacked the Term’s Definition?
1. Be sure you understand the individual words
making up that definition.
2. Be sure you understand the key elements of
that definition.
3. Show you understand your definition by
using it to generate an example.
Design Your Flashcards to Help You Unpack
Your Definitions
As you will see, your flashcards can help you
unpack your definitions.
Flashcard
A four-part
definition
1
2
3
4
Use the Back of Your Definition Card to Unpack the
Concept
Text definition: “Occurs when a behavior is_______
increased by taking away an aversive stimulus.”__
_________________________________________
1. If there are individual words in this definition you do not
know (e.g., “aversive”) but can look up in an English
dictionary, define them on that card.
2. If there are discipline-specific, technical terms in the
definition that you do not know (e.g., stimulus), look those
up in your text’s glossary, and make another definition card
for each of those terms.
Do it now.
What the Back of Your Definition Card Might Look
Like
Text definition: “Occurs when a behavior is_______
increased by taking away an aversive stimulus.”__
“aversive” means unpleasant.______________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Working on the Back of Your Definition Card
Text definition: “Occurs when a behavior is_______
increased by taking away an aversive stimulus.”__
“aversive” means unpleasant._______________
_________________________________________
Underline
and number the key elements of the definition.
_________________________________________
Tips:
_________________________________________
1.
It may help you to put the different parts of the definition in
_________________________________________
different colors.
2. If the term has two words (e.g., negative reinforcement,
conditioned stimulus), note which parts of the definition relate
to which parts of the term.
3. You may even wish to make a separate card for each word in
the term (e.g., one for “negative” and one for
“reinforcement”).
What the Back of Your Definition Card
Might Look Like
Text definition: “Occurs when a (1) behavior is__________
_ increased (2) by taking away an aversive stimulus.”__
“aversive” means unpleasant._______________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Back of Your Definition Cards: Checklist
1. Have you copied the definition of the term from your
textbook or reputable online source on to the back of your
flashcard?
2. Have you noted words or terms in this definition you do not
know (e.g., aversive), defined those words or terms—either
on that card or on separate definition cards?
3. If, after defining the individual words, the definition still
doesn’t make sense to you, did you write your own
definition?
4. Did you underline and number the key elements of the
definition?
Use the Back to Revise the Front
On the back of the card, you figured out the number of
key elements the definition has. Put that number on
the front of your card. Specifically, put it right below the
term and put it in parentheses. In this example, it would
be (2).
Do that now.
Back
Text definition: “Occurs when a (1)__
behavior is increased
(2) by taking away an aversive _
stimulus.”__ __________________
______________________________
“aversive” means unpleasant.______
Front
negative reinforcement
(2)
Definition
Learning From Definition Flashcards
Now that you have your definition flashcards, how do you learn from
them?
1. Assemble a set of definition flashcards. To be effective, this set
should include
– a large number of terms.
– some similar terms.
2. Shuffle the cards and put the definition side facing you
Learning From Definition Flashcards
1. Assemble a set of definition flashcards. To be effective, this set
should include
– a large number of terms.
– some similar terms.
2. Shuffle the cards and put the definition side facing you.
3. Say the term that the definition represents.
4. Turn the card over to see if you are correct.
“Negative
Text definition: “Occurs when a (1)__
behavior is increased_____________
(2) by taking away an aversive_____
stimulus.”__ ___________________
______________________________
“aversive” means unpleasant.______
reinforcement”
Learning From Definition Flashcards
Text definition: “Occurs when a______
(1) behavior is increased____________
(2)taking away an aversive stimulus.”__
_ ______________________________
“aversive” means unpleasant.______
“Negative
reinforcement”
• Note that you are basically giving yourself a multiple-choice test over the term’s
definitions.
• Saying the term aloud is important—especially if the term is hard to pronounce. If
you can’t say the term, you will probably not learn, remember, or use the term.
• Say the term, its abbreviations, and its synonyms aloud. That way, when you see
or hear information about the concept, you will be ready to learn it.
Learning from Definition Flashcards
Naming the term from the definition will
probably be a fairly easy task. However, if you
never make a mistake, it may be that you need
to add more terms (especially related terms) to
your “deck” of cards— and shuffle your deck
more.
Learning from Definition Flashcards
As we just stated, you should, occasionally, make mistakes.
However, if you are really having trouble with a term, you should
ask yourself whether
A. Your problem is matching the name to the concept. You
know and understand the concept, but either haven’t
remembered the term’s name (e.g., When learning Spanish, you
know what the color red is, but you may not remember that the
Spanish word for red is “rojo”) or you mix the term up with a
similar sounding term (e.g., you know what the cerebrum and
cerebellum are, but you confuse the two names)?
B. You do not fully understand the concept and thus have not
fit the whole concept into your mind (e.g., you confuse cerebrum
and cerebellum because you know only that both are parts of the
brain)?
C. You have misunderstood the concept.
Learning from Definition Flashcards
If you are mixing the terms up because the names for the terms
look or sound similar (e.g., cerebrum and cerebellum),
1. Practice saying them aloud, concentrating on how they
sound different.
2. Realize that there is often a reason they sound different (e.g.,
there is a reason that psychologists use different terms for
positive punishment and negative reinforcement). If you find
out that reason, learning the term will be easier.
3. Even when you don’t know why the terms sound different,
you can still use the difference in how they sound to accent
how they are different. For example, you might say that the
cerebellum, because it is involved with balance and
coordination, allows one to dance gracefully while playing
bells.
Learning from Definition Flashcards
If your problem is that you don’t fully
understand the concept, it may be that you are
using only one aspect of the concept’s definition
(e.g., “dogs have four legs,” “cerebellum is a part
of the brain,” “negative reinforcement involves
an aversive stimulus”).
In that case, ask yourself whether you
A. need help understanding the other part(s) of the definition,
or
B. whether you simply need to focus on all those parts.
Learning from Definition Flashcards
If your problem is that you are too focused on one aspect of the
concept’s definition:
1. compare, side by side, the definition of the correct
term with the definition of the incorrect term.
2. highlight the parts of those definitions that differ.
Negative Reinforcement
Text definition: “Occurs when a (1)__
Positive Punishment
behavior is increased by (2)_ taking__
away an aversive stimulus.”__ ____
Text definition: “Occurs when a (1)__
______________________________
behavior is decreased by (2)_ adding
_________________________ an aversive stimulus after the_____
undesired behavior occurs.”__ ____
______________________________
Learning from Definition Flashcards
Unfortunately, if your problem is that you have
misunderstood the concept, you may not
discover this problem until you test yourself
over examples. Sometimes, misunderstandings
occur because certain words (e.g, “random” and
“experiment)” are used one way in ordinary
language and a very different way in psychology.
Learning from Definition Flashcards
If you give the wrong term for a definition four or more times:
1. Put that term in red and in brackets on the front of your card.
Thus, if you were giving “Positive punishment” for the “negative
reinforcement” definition, the front of your card would look like
this:
Front
negative reinforcement
(2)
Definition
{positive punishment}
2. Aloud, say why you confuse them (How they are similar).
3. Aloud, say why you should not confuse them (How they are
different).
4. Aloud, say why you will not confuse them on the test.
Stage 2: Learning Concepts by
Learning a Good Example
Creating and Using Examples Cards
The Purpose of Examples Cards
People generally do not learn concepts from definitions alone.
They need examples to “get the picture” and to tie the
information together in a meaningful way. Often, a good example
is worth 100 definitions.
• For example, for many students, the definition of a
reversible figure (“A stimulus pattern that allows
perceivers to reverse figure-ground organization”)
is just words.
• However, an example, like the famous face/vase
reversible figure makes the concept concrete,
useful, and meaningful.
The Purpose of Examples Cards
People generally do not learn concepts from definitions alone.
They need examples to “get the picture” and to tie the
information together in a meaningful way. Often, an example is
worth 100 definitions.
Concepts made of definitions alone are fragile. You
must make concepts out of examples to make them
last.
Concept built from
definitions alone.
Concept reinforced with
examples.
Which Example to Put on the Examples
Card
Because we think in pictures and examples, rather than in
definitions, find an example that helps you remember, visualize,
and understand the concept.
This example may be from your book or from your professor.
Be sure that you understand how this example is consistent with
the key aspects of your definition.
Making the Front of An Examples Card
1. Write down the name of your term.
2. Below that, write “Examples”
Front
Negative
reinforcement
Examples
Making the Back of Your Examples Card
1. Write down an example of your concept. This example may be
from your text or from your professor.
2. Match the key elements from your definition card to that
example.
3. Underline and number those elements.
Back (Definition
card)
Text definition: “Occurs when a (1)
behavior is increased (2) by taking
away an aversive stimulus.”_______
_____________________________
Back (Example
card)
Example: The baby gets his
mother (1) to hold him more
(2)by stopping his crying when
his mother picks him up. ____
Learning From Examples Flashcards
1. Assemble a set of example flashcards. To be effective, this set
should include
– a large number of terms.
– some similar terms.
2. Shuffle the cards and put the example side facing you.
3. Say the term that the example represents.
“Negative
4. Turn the card over to see if you are correct.
reinforcement”
Example: The baby gets his mother
(1) to hold him more _____________
(2)by stopping his crying when his __
mother picks him up. ____________
Learning From Example Flashcards
If you are giving the wrong term for an example, find
the cards related to both the right term and the wrong
term. Then,
1. look at the examples, side-by-side, to see how
they differ.
2. look at the definitions and see how the different
examples fit the different definitions.
Write: “I confuse this term with ______. Although they are similar in
that they both _____, they differ in that ________.” In other words,
spell out which key elements each term has and which elements
they do not share.
Stage 3: Recognizing a Variety of
Examples
You now recognize a typical example—but
a concept isn’t an example, it’s broader
than that.
– If the only example of “plant” you knew was
grass, your view of plants would be quite
limited.
To help you appreciate the breadth of
your concept, complete your examples
card.
Completing Your Examples Card
Each example that you create should be
1. Visual (picture it in your mind. If possible, make a drawing or
just a doodle relating to it). You can as Wyner, 2014)
suggests, find Google images to add to it.
2. As different from the example you already have on your card
as possible, while still being consistent with the definition.
Make it different by
 making it more personal—relate it to your life,
 using a different situation, or
 focusing on a different sense: If the original example deals
with sound, your example might deal with light.
If the original example is based on a rat hearing a bell in a lab,
you might use a human tasting food at a restaurant.
Completing Your Examples Card
Creating this second example will help you
1. apply your understanding of a term to a real-life
situation that is relevant and meaningful to you.
2. remember the concept because


active learning is stronger than passive learning.
making more connections between the concept and what you
already know strengthens your memory for the concept,
especially if


your example relates to your life. Then, you will also take
advantage of the self-reference effect: information you relate to
yourself is well-remembered.
your example activates a different sense (e.g., vision instead of
sound).
3. know and understand the concept because concepts are
more general than a single example.
Find your examples card. Then, underneath
the the example you borrowed, add your own
example.
Text/professor example: (2) A
Baby Juan cries until Mom picks
him up. (1)Mom picks him up to
stop the crying. ___________________
_________________________ _____________
____________
Do That Now
What Your Example Card Might Look Like
Text/professor example: (2) Baby Juan
cries until Mom picks it up. (1)Mom
picks him up to stop the crying.______
____________________________________________________
My example: My dog whines until I
start scratching her ears, so I scratch
2
her ears to stop the whining._______
_____________________________________
Example adapted from Appleby, 2013.
Make Sure Your Example Is Correct
1. Go back to the key elements of your definition and see if they are
included in your example. Number and underline the parts of
your example corresponding to those key elements.
Text definition: “occurs when a (1) behavior is
increased (2) by taking away an aversive_____
stimulus.”______________________________
My example: (2) My dog whines until I start_____
scratching her ears, so (1) I scratch her ears more
than I used to because I want to stop the_______
whining.
Ways to See Whether Your Example Is
Correct
.
2 Compare your example to the example you borrowed. Your
example should differ from the borrowed example, but it must have
the same key elements.
Text/professor example: (2) A baby cries until Mom
picks it up. (1)Mom picks it up to stop the crying.___
__________________________________________
My example: (2) My dog whines until I start
scratching her ears, so (1) I scratch her ears more
than I used to because I want to stop the whining.
Ways to See Whether Your Example Is Correct
3. Out loud, explain why your example fits.
“I now understand that my dog has been negatively reinforcing
me for scratching her ears because something I don’t like
stops (i.e., whining) when I do the desired behavior (i.e.,
scratch her ears) and she has increased my doing that behavior
(scratching her ears).”
Ways to See Whether Your Example Is Correct
4. If, during the definition sorting or example sorting
phase, you did confuse this concept with a different
concept, explain why your example is not an example
of that competing concept.
5. If you are still unsure about your example, ask your
teacher or classmates.
Stage 4: Learning Not to Confuse
Concepts
Concept Confusion
Often, the last step in understanding a concept
is to distinguish it from other concepts. Thus, a
child may be able to point out lots of examples
of dogs and even draw a dog, but then call a
horse a “dog.”
“Doggie!”
Reducing Concept Confusion
We have already discussed 4 ways of reducing concept
confusion:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Making sure you number and understand all the parts of the
concept’s definition.
Reading the example side of your examples card and then
naming the concept that relates to that example.
Underlining and numbering the parts of the example that
match up with the key parts of the concept’s definition.
Explaining why an example fits one concept’s definition but
does not fit another concept’s definition.
• However, if you are still having trouble distinguishing
among concepts, you can add a small table to the relevant
examples card.
Adding a Table To Your Examples Card:
Step 1
Start by just noting that you confuse two terms. So, if you
confused positive punishment for negative reinforcement, you
could add the following partial table to your negative
reinforcement card.
Negative
reinforcement
Positive
Punishment
Adding a Table to Your Examples
Card: Step 2
If you continue to confuse the two terms (e.g., positive
punishment and negative reinforcement), number, label, and list
the ways that they differ. At this point, your table might look like
this:
Key difference(s)
1. Their effects
2. Timing of
unpleasant event
Negative
reinforcement
Increases
behavior.
Positive
Punishment
Decreases
behavior.
Unpleasantness
occurs before
desired behavior.
Unpleasantness
starts after
undesired behavior
Adding to a Table To Your Examples
Card: Step 3
If you are still getting the terms confused, add examples that
illustrate how your concepts differ. So, after the third time, your
table might look like this:
Key difference(s)
1. Their effects
Negative
reinforcement
Positive
Punishment
Increases behavior.
Decreases behavior.
2. Timing of unpleasant Unpleasantness occurs
event
before desired behavior.
Example
Unpleasantness starts
after undesired behavior.
Parent yells before and until Parent yells after child
child starts cleaning up room writes on walls so child
so child starts cleaning up
stops writing on walls.
room.
Stage 5
Remembering Your Concepts
Remembering What You Have
Learned
Now that you understand the concepts, you
need to remember that knowledge.
To retain that knowledge, you will use both your
definition and example cards.
Start with your definition cards.
Be sure the front (term) side is up.
Front
Negative reinforcement
(2)
Definition
{positive punishment}
Retaining What You Have Learned
With the term side of your definition card up, try to produce the
definition from memory.
 The number in parentheses will remind you how many key
elements you have to remember.
 Give yourself credit only if you recall all of those key elements.
 In addition, if you have frequently confused your term with
another term (that term will be in red in brackets on your card),
explain how your concept differs from that other term.
Front
Negative reinforcement
(2)
Definition
{positive punishment}
Retaining What You Have Learned
Now, test yourself over your examples cards.
Look at the term side and then try to recall the examples.
Front
Negative
reinforcement
Examples
Why Test Yourself Over Your Example
Cards?
Testing yourself over the examples will help
you with two of the harder types of multiplechoice questions:
1. Questions
that give you the concept and then
require you to recognize the difference between
examples and non-examples of that concept.
Which of the following is an example of negative
reinforcement?
a. A child is slapped for swearing.
b. A child loses recess for not paying attention.
c. A mother stops nagging after her son cleans his
room.
d. A student gets $10 for a good report card.
This question is from Appleby, 2013.
2. Questions ask you to apply a concept to an example
as well as to understand the difference between that
concept and other concepts.
Jason experiences nicotine withdrawal symptoms (e.g., a
slight headache) after he has not smoked a cigarette for 20
minutes. When he smokes another cigarette, this symptom
disappears, but then reoccurs 20 minutes later when he
must smoke still another cigarette to make his headache go
away again. Which of the following operant conditioning
terms best explains why Jason continues to smoke, even
though he knows nonsmokers live an average of 10 years
longer than smokers?
a.
b.
c.
d.
positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
punishment by application
punishment by withdrawal
This question is from Appleby, 2013.
Can You Stop Now That You Have Gone
Through Your Cards Once?
No! Memories fade.
To forget is human– unless you review.
Reviewing maintains the paths to your concepts.
How Should You Review Your Cards?
In hard ways: Don’t re-read your cards—Test yourself on
the cards. Make your testing hard by testing
 On different days. Give yourself a chance to see what you are
forgetting—and to reverse that forgetting.
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• Sometimes, answer aloud; sometimes, answer in writing.
In different places.
 On the hard cards more than on the easy ones
To Be Sure You Are Testing Yourself
More Over The Hard Cards
1. Sort your cards into at least 2 piles: (cards you always get
right and cards you don’t). Test yourself much more
frequently on the cards you get wrong.
2. If you make a mistake on a card from the “easy” pile,
move it to your “hard” pile. Similarly, if you have
correctly responded to a question from your hard pile 5
times in a row, move it to the easy pile.
Practice on Your Electronic Devices
If you are tired of your flashcards, you can use
free, online flashcard systems such as
– StudyBlue
http://www.studyblue.com
– Quizlet
http://quizlet.com
Practice With Friends
If you are tired of practicing alone, get a partner. In
addition to making quizzing more fun, partners
Can help check that your definitions and examples are
correct.
Make you say your answers aloud—and saying it
aloud improves memory.
Let you know when your answer is vague or wrong.
Give you experience with more examples of the
concepts.
Conclusions About Making Cards
1. Before you try to memorize a term,
understand what the term means.
Specifically, know what its key features are,
know some examples, and know how it
differs from related terms.
Differentiating a new concept from other related
concepts is often the last—and the hardest—thing
to learn.
Conclusions About Making Cards
2. Make your cards work for you by making sure that
your cards help you see the concept’s key features,
provide you with good examples, connect the
concept to what you already know, and distinguish
concepts from similar sounding and similar meaning
concepts.
3. If a card doesn’t seem to be helping you, add
examples, arrows, pictures, or tables to it.
 Sometimes, just highlighting key parts of the card or writing
the different parts in different colors will help you.
Conclusions About Using Cards
4. Don’t just quiz yourself using the term side of the card. Instead,
when you first begin learning a term, look at the definition or
example side and then say the name of the term. This will help you
(a) understand the term and (b) connect the term’s name to the
concept.
5. After you understand the concept, test yourself by looking at the
term side and then providing the appropriate example or
definition. Be tough on yourself—only give yourself credit if you
say or write the definition perfectly and test yourself more on the
cards you get wrong than on the ones you get right.
6. When testing yourself, study often, study in short bursts, and mix it
up: Study in a variety of settings, at various days and times, and
frequently shuffle your deck.
Quiz Time!
Now that you have gone through this tutorial,
please take the quiz on the next few slides so
that you can show off what you have learned.
Quiz Question
The hardest thing to learn (and the thing
multiple-choice tests are good at testing) is
telling the difference between two concepts.
True
False
Quiz Question
Reading over your cards is almost as good as
testing yourself over your cards.
True
False
Quiz Question
You should only test yourself by looking at the
“term” side of the card and asking yourself what
the definition or example is.
True
False
Quiz Question
One good example is all you need to learn a
concept.
True
False
Quiz Question
You should keep your cards in order.
True
False
Quiz Question
Doing a good job in making your cards will help
make memorizing the concepts much easier.
True
False
Quiz Question
You should study your cards in the same place
every day.
True
False
Quiz Question
If you can’t immediately generate the full
definition or example, you should look at the
other side of the card to get the answer.
True
False
Quiz Question
It is important to quiz yourself in a way that
makes it so you always find your quizzes easy
and you almost always get all the questions
right.
True
False
Get your results