Looking for genius ways to use flashcards in your school?
The virtue of flashcards is more than we imagine it to be. In fact, flashcards are among the top study tools that make study sessions fun and effective. So, what really are flashcards?
In essence, flashcards are note cards that are fashioned to test and improve memory with the help of practiced information retrieval technic. Ideally, they are two-sided cards, where one side contains the prompt, and the other side contains related information. Typically, flashcards as a group represent information and simplify the process of learning and remembering the details.
You can make your own flashcards or fashion custom flashcards to make your study sessions more effective. While at it, integrate the following tips to make the process more exciting and beneficial.
8 Tips for using Flashcards in your School
Take a quick look at these quirky tips to make the process of learning using flashcards more effective and catered to your requirements.
Tip 1: Include relevant pictures
Put the ‘Picture superiority effect’ (PSE) in your favour when putting together your set of flashcards. Typically, the process of learning and recalling information is a lot faster and easier when pictures back words.
So, to make the most of the phenomenon, include pictures to increase memorability. For instance, use pictures to simplify concepts or to represent them. If you struggle with the idea of producing a clean and accurate picture, direct custom flashcard makers to integrate them on your behalf.
Tip 2: Stick to one idea per card
Flashcards work on the principle of splitting a broad topic into small bites. This way, the task of processing information is simplified for the brain.
So, steer clear of the urge to jampack one flashcard with a lot of information. Instead, stick to the practice of breaking down one idea on one card. Take, for instance, instead of describing economic, political, and social causes of the Great Depression in one card, use multiple flashcards to describe the one cause at a time.
Tip 3: Say answers aloud
Verbally reinforce the information you read on the flashcards by reading the answers aloud. Indeed, this is a more effective practice than reading the answers silently and over and over again. Read the answers aloud for better impact. In fact, read the information as if you were explaining the same to someone. This simple tactic comes in handy for faster memorisation and better understanding.
Tip 4: Use a mnemonic memory device
A mnemonic device is considered to be an effective means of remembering information. Such a device can be anything from an acronym, sentence, or a short song. ROY G BIV is probably one of the most famous mnemonic devices used to remember the order of colours in the light spectrum.
Similarly, by including mnemonic devices like a simple acronym, you can make remembering crucial pieces of information, say, the successive names of rulers, presidents, or eras easier.
Tip 5: Review flashcards closely
Repeating and rereading flashcards will not be of much use if you do so aimlessly. In other words, separating flashcards by type, structure, or even content is known to help meet study goals with greater effect. You can place an order of custom flashcards that follow this reviewing tactic for a more effective learning experience.
Tip 6: Use the waterfall technique
This particular technique is based mostly on reviewing information as per a structure. The waterfall method works on the principle of confidence-based repetition. In this particular method, you need to focus on concepts (cards) you don’t know instead of revisiting familiar concepts.
In other words,you can separate flashcards into three piles:
- Concepts you know well
- Concepts you don’t know well
- Concepts you don’t know at all
By doing so, you can study flashcards as per your level of familiarity and improve on problematic areas with more effect.
Tip 7: Add them to your routine
Undoubtedly, using flashcards is a greatreviewing and studying method. They tend to be more effective than most concepts as they help reinforce the crucial concepts with ease. However, they would serve their purpose as long as you make an effort to integrate them into your daily routine. Adding 5 minutes of flashcard reading into your study session will strengthen the reinforcing method. Trying to memorise all cards in one day will be of no good. Instead, develop a habit of reading the cards for a few minutes and divide the same across multiple sessions. This way, the short sessions will prove more effective and rewarding than longer sessions.
Tip 8: Turn it into a game!
You can make your study sessions more fun by turning the flashcard reviewing technique into a game. Invite your friends and quiz each other on different topics and concepts covered in the flashcards. You can also request your family members to quiz you or plan a little contest where you get the point/reward for every correct answer and a penalty for every wrong one. This is an excellent technique to test your expertise on the subject matter across different concepts.
Indeed, using flashcards is a great way to remember new information. In fact, it is more effective than most learning techniques as it involves active learning, strategic repetition, and close reflection of information. There are plenty of ways to fashion flashcards for study sessions.
Take, for instance, you can use online flashcards, create flashcards on your, or simply buy custom flashcards from reputed printers. While the first seems ideal for some situations, customizing study cards helps to save time and make them more detailed and attractive.
This proves useful for students with a busy schedule, the bulk of homework, and extra-curricular activities. So, make a smart decision, find out how you would like your flashcards, and instruct our team to customize them according to your requirements. This way, you will have quick access to the most effective and informative flashcards to simplify your study sessions.
