SPACED REPETITION: LONG-TERM RETENTION IN MEDICAL SCHOOL

So we’ve talked about active recall and how it is by far the best method you could implement in your studies. But you’d be seeing much more results if you combined it with spaced repetition. Spaced repetition is simply trying to retrieve information you’ve studied after a period of time or over spaced intervals.

We already established that the idea behind using active recall and spaced repetition is beating the forgetting curve and solidifying content in memory so we remember more easily and achieve better grades.

The harder your brain has to work to recall a piece of information, the stronger its connection will be in your brain. And of course it becomes increasingly difficult to remember as it gets farther away from the time you first studied. Hence, we plan these strategic active recall sessions and try to maintain a consistent knowledge level till test day.

So how can you apply spaced repetition to your study schedule?

1. Review at the end of your study session: Many of us are used to trying to recall information fully when we are still in the middle of the topic. Try as much as possible to focus on understanding the concept, recognising precise details and drawing out necessary points as you read. Then begin your recall: explain to yourself aloud or open a fresh page where you can draw out the whole idea again.

2. Review at the end of the day: At the end of your learning for the day, it’d be really helpful to go back and try to recall everything you’ve learnt that day. And while doing this, try to recognise the gaps you still have in your knowledge and fill them immediately. The aim here is to further build stronger connections in memory.

3. Do practice questions from memory. When people say they are doing sample tests, they often read the question, then look up the answer from the studied material. To effectively study, try as much as possible to do the problems on your own. That way, you’ll readily notice the problem parts and can now pay closer attention to them.

4. Draw a revision timetable: When studying for a test or exam, it is important to have a clear plan of how you’ll cover all the topics. So, draw out a timetable where you write the dates leading to the test and allocate your topics. Make sure you leave out the last few days to the test blank for a final review.

The truth is that for every upcoming test or exam, there are topics you are sure of and there are those you’d need to study more. Now a twist to this technique would be to add future active recall sessions in the timetable depending on how comfortable you are with the topic.

Suffice to say, the point of this would be to be very honest with yourself and study only what is necessary. You want to make sure you’re not wasting precious time rereading something you already know and now ignoring the topics that are problematic.

For example, if a topic proved difficult on the day you studied it, add two future reviews, on days where you will have less to cover. You should also space out the reviews so that you have to recall the information when your brain may have started forgetting. This is a system where you organise your study into proper intervals to make sure you don’t forget.

Finally, you should go through the post on active recall if you haven’t. This will help you maximise spaced repetition as you learn to review information at increasingly longer intervals, lodge it securely in your long-term memory, spend less time studying and remember much faster.