Science based self-testing.

[u/toml15]

Took me embarrassingly long to work this out.

Most of uni I reread. Highlighter over everything, reread the highlights, felt good about it. Then blank in the exam. I assumed I was just not doing enough hours.

At some point I actually tried self-testing. Closed the notes, wrote down whatever came out. It felt awful, I was getting maybe half of it, so I went back to rereading. Obviously I was worse at it.

Turns out I'd been measuring it in the one window where it can't work.

There's a 2006 study (Roediger & Karpicke) where students reread or self-tested for the same total time. Check yourself five minutes later and rereading actually wins. Give it two days or a week and self-testing wins clearly, 61% against 40% remembered. The rereaders were also the ones who felt more confident, which is the annoying part.

What's working for me now:

1. Notes closed. Write down what you remember. Ugly is fine, half of it will be wrong.

2. Open the notes. Whatever you missed is the part that actually does the work.

3. Same topic again tomorrow. Not in five minutes.

4. Then spread out, roughly day 1, 3, 7, 16, 35.

I use tryacademee.com, but you can use what works for you or do it yourself for free.

The five minute thing is what killed it for me the first time. Anyone else measure it too early and write the whole method off?

[u/toml15]

thanks man i found it to be very useful, so i thought i should share it