Flashcards are a study or memorization tool with information on one or both sides. Using flashcards is a versatile learning strategy that benefits students of all ages.
They can be different colors or kept simple. For example, when studying, students may sometimes choose to have other colored flashcards for additional topics or subject areas. Hence, they’re easy to keep tidy or to mix up when revising with interleaving strategies.
Flashcards can be especially useful for students who respond to learning through visual, tactile, or kinaesthetic means. Writing and recalling information on flashcards is a simple revision exercise that everyone can benefit from. There are plenty of practical ways that flashcards can be used to enhance learning in the classroom.
How do Flashcards Help us Retain Information?
When used properly, flashcards can be effective at imprinting information into our short and long-term memory. However, the effectiveness of learning sessions using flashcards relies on how frequently you revisit the information and revise what you’ve learned.
Cognitive science has taught us a few memorization strategies to help learners retain information for longer periods. Flashcards are a great tool that can be implemented into all of these strategies and are a great way to bring the theories of cognitive science into the classroom.
Spaced Learning
According to Ebbenhauser’s theory of the ‘Forgetting Curve,’ when we first learn information, we can retain it for a short period of time. However, as time goes on, we forget more rapidly. Spaced Practice is one of the strategies learners can use to prevent us from losing information we’ve learned and begin embedding it into our long-term memory.
The spaced practice works as follows:
- Study information.
- Move on to something else.
- Revisit the statement later, perhaps after a day or so.
- Repeat.
It’s a simple process but an essential one. For example, when a human brain tries to cram lots of information into itself at once, then never revisits that information, our brains have trouble hanging onto it.
However, suppose you allow yourself time to forget and revisit the information regularly to revise your learning, even if it’s only for short periods. In that case, the normal rehearsal process makes remembering easier and easier. The longer you continue this process, the more likely you will retain your learning.
Flashcards can play a useful role in this process. For example, when studying, vital record information you don’t want to forget on flashcards that you can use to revise later, revisit this information during your spaced learning sessions to help you remember it more effectively.
Interleaving
Interleaving is about mixing up the learning of different topics that are closely related to each other. It helps the learner form connections in their brain between them and processes the information better. It contrasts with blocked practice, where students study one subject in great depth before moving on to another.
For example, if a student is studying a novel for English, they may need to learn about many different aspects of that novel, such as the characters, plot, themes, structure, writing style, quotes, etc. By switching between the other areas, the student makes stronger connections between them in their mind, helping them get a more thorough understanding of the novel at large. In addition, this understanding and cyclical revision process make it easier to remember information.
Retrieval Practice
Retrieval practice is all about supporting learning by encouraging students to recall information they already know and build on it, as opposed to introducing new information. Using this strategy during starters and plenaries is a great way to get students in the mindset to learn and celebrate their prior knowledge in different subject areas.
For example, if you wanted to use flashcards as part of your retrieval practice, you could give every student a set of flashcards and ask them to write down as many as they could, listing all the things they already knew about a topic. They could then get in groups and form a complete deck of flashcards, making sure to take out the duplicates. They could then share some of their ideas with the class, and the flashcards could be shelved for revision activities later.
This activity is an example of retrieval practice because it celebrates what the students already know and exposes them to information they may have learned in class previously but forgotten or just not thought of at the moment. Going over this information helps embed it in the long-term memory, ready to use later.
More Strategies for Using Flashcards in the Classroom
- Write a word on one side of the card and a definition or associated fact on the back. It can be used when studying various topics, from vocabulary words to the accomplishments of significant figures throughout history. In addition, students can use these to quiz each other in pairs or make a game out of it in threes, seeing who can remember the definition/information the fastest.
- Write words on some and definitions/information on the other. Then, play a matching game where students must match the correct word with the data.
- Students can use them in pairs or small groups to give each other prompts and take turns trying to remember what’s on each card.
- Once a week, students could revisit a deck of flashcards they’ve made throughout the week to revise what they’ve learned. They could also share them with the person sitting next to them.
