How to use active recall properly in order to score good in exams ?

[Rishabh R]

Any idea guys ?

[Ulax]

@Rishabh R Anki can be useful

[Yimpa]

I asked GPT-4 for you. Feel free to take whatever piece is useful:

Quote

Active recall is an excellent strategy to enhance memory and improve your scores on exams. Here's how you can implement it effectively:

1. Understand First: Ensure that you understand the material before attempting to recall it. It’s hard to remember something that you don't completely comprehend.

2. Practice Recall: Once you've understood a concept, close your book or notes and try to remember the main points without looking. You can write these points down on a blank piece of paper or say them out loud.

3. Use Flashcards: Flashcards are a simple and effective way to practice active recall. Write a question or a key term on one side of the card and the answer or definition on the other side. Go through your flashcards regularly, trying to recall the answers before checking them.

4. Teach Someone Else: Another way to reinforce active recall is by teaching the material to someone else. When you try to explain a concept in your own words, it not only demonstrates your understanding but also reinforces your memory.

5. Space Your Learning: Don't cram all your study into one session. Spread your learning over time. This technique, known as spaced repetition, aids in moving information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.

6. Test Yourself Regularly: Regular self-quizzing can enhance your memory. Create mini-tests for yourself, or use end-of-chapter quizzes if your textbook has them.

7. Interleave Topics: Instead of studying one topic for a long time, switch between different but related topics. This method is called interleaved practice and it's proven to be more effective than massed practice (i.e., focusing on one topic at a time).

Remember, the goal is not to recognize the answer, but to recall it. It's also important to practice recalling the information in a similar environment to your exam, as it helps your brain make the connection easier during the actual test.

 

[Rishabh R]

Thank you @Ulax and @Yimpa. I have installed anki in my laptop but I think Doyounotes is more profound.

[Ajax]

I don't really know active recall is.  However, I use the Upgoer 5 rocket text editor. 

If you can't explain a concept using 1000 of the basic words. You don't really understand the concept well enough. 

It was developed by Rocket scientist to explain and conceptualize rocket science, or so the story goes. 

So if you have trouble remembering a concept, use Upgoer because you probably don't understand it well enough. 

Also make a rule for yourself to never go past a word you don't understand. It is important to know the meaning of every word used in a sentence. If you don't, you are remembering something that you don't understand... Which is a problem.

Also use "toys" or props to demonstrate the concept. There is a reason people like watching a movie rather than reading a book. You can visually see it out in space and not abstractly. Using props help make the abstract, concrete. 

 

@Yimpa

HAHA, I only responded to this thread so I could ask you a question but still remain on topic... *chuckle*

How useful is GPT-4? How good is it relative to the free version. Is it worth getting if you only use maybe once or twice a week if even that? 

I am wondering if it is worth getting it for me. 

[Yimpa]

6 hours ago, Ajax said:

HAHA, I only responded to this thread so I could ask you a question but still remain on topic... *chuckle*

How useful is GPT-4? How good is it relative to the free version. Is it worth getting if you only use maybe once or twice a week if even that? 

I am wondering if it is worth getting it for me. 

I happened to start using ChatGPT about a week before GPT-4 came out. Ever since then, I’ve exclusively been using GPT-4 (as well as Google Bard to compare their responses). So I really don’t have much experience using the free version (GPT-3.5). 

If you’re only going to use it once or twice a week (I personally use it daily), you’re better off with GPT-3.5 and/or Google Bard. You can always upgrade later on. 

[Ajax]

@Yimpa lol thanks, I did even know about Google Bard.

Lol, I am a little behind on the AI game. how do you personally use it?

[Yimpa]

13 minutes ago, Ajax said:

 

Lol, I am a little behind on the AI game. how do you personally use it?

Here’s an example of how I used it today.

I live in Texas and it’s currently summertime with excess heat (in the 90s/100s). I have no idea how to water a lawn using a hose since we have an automatic irrigation sprinkler system. Our city just announced a drought response; we are limited to using our system once every couple weeks in July. We are, however, allowed to water the lawn by hand anytime using a hose. So I asked GPT-4 how to do that, and it gave me a list of steps and suggestions. Now I won’t have to worry about our lawn going to shit and violating the drought response!

What’s cool about these AI tools is you text it conversation style, almost like how you text your friends and family (albeit you get a response right away). So you can ask it follow-up questions and even correct it if you suspect it gave misleading information.

“Hmm.. I don’t agree with what you said here ______. Can you explain?” Sometimes the AI will be like, “Oh, my apologies, you’re right. [insert further explanation here, lol]”

[Ajax]

13 minutes ago, Yimpa said:

Here’s an example of how I used it today.

I live in Texas and it’s currently summertime with excess heat (in the 90s/100s). I have no idea how to water a lawn using a hose since we have an automatic irrigation sprinkler system. Our city just announced a drought response; we are limited to using our system once every couple weeks in July. We are, however, allowed to water the lawn by hand anytime using a hose. So I asked GPT-4 how to do that, and it gave me a list of steps and suggestions. Now I won’t have to worry about our lawn going to shit and violating the drought response!

What’s cool about these AI tools is you text it conversation style, almost like how you text your friends and family (albeit you get a response right away). So you can ask it follow-up questions and even correct it if you suspect it gave misleading information.

“Hmm.. I don’t agree with what you said here ______. Can you explain?” Sometimes the AI will be like, “Oh, my apologies, you’re right. [insert further explanation here, lol]”

Ohhh? pretty cool.??? That would be the perfect girlfriend if it had a nice body and a voice. Actually be a dream come True.

Are you getting blackouts like you did last year. That ? must suck!

[Rishabh R]

@Ajax any idea how I can improve my marks in exams since I am using active recall from the previous semester and my marks are backsliding bit by bit.By the way how can I use active recall properly in the way that will boost my sgpa and cgpa ?

[Ajax]

@Rishabh R

*Sigh* walked into this one...  No, I am sorry. I had to Google the sgpa. I don't know anything about architecture.  Or how to pass the test. So any information I tell you is bad information.

Sorry.

[Rishabh R]

@Ajax ok fine.

[supremeyingyang]

@Ajax

Hi Ajax, you provided a useful hint for me with the 'Upgoer 5 rocket text editor'. Thanks for that.

Besides that I strongly believe that the quality of the forum goes down the drain.

[Ajax]

4 hours ago, supremeyingyang said:

@Ajax

Hi Ajax, you provided a useful hint for me with the 'Upgoer 5 rocket text editor'. Thanks for that.

Besides that I strongly believe that the quality of the forum goes down the drain.

K, so what are you going to do about it, besides complain? Lol

[supremeyingyang]

1 hour ago, Ajax said:

K, so what are you going to do about it, besides complain? Lol

I don't complain, I state the obvious for this is the base to make any change possible. You find it funny - are you jaded?

So what will I do? I don't know - I don't think a reform in this Forum is wanted, so I mourn for what is place once was for me. It's only good as an sad  example how a community not rooted in excellence goes down.

In this sense you provided both a welcome exception of the rule with you tlink, only to then give typical response with - so it seems to me - half sarcasm / half shame. So be it.

[Ajax]

53 minutes ago, supremeyingyang said:

So what will I do? I don't know - I don't think a reform in this Forum is wanted, so I mourn for what is place once was for me. It's only good as an sad  example how a community not rooted in excellence goes down.

Hello fellow traveler. 

I see your pain and would like to remind you that mourning the past will not build the future.  It is holding you down. I would invite you to let that go. The saddest thing to see is a child who saw beauty and magic everywhere he looked. He was fascinated with everything and everything was a mystery and fun. He laughed all the time. Life was full of joy and amazement. Then he got older and older, he knew more about the world.  His inner world dimmed and broke down, he hates people, he hates how rude they are, he has seen just about everything and there is nothing left to see. 

The beauty that was once was, now gone. That is the real tragedy. The beauty and wondrousness of the world has dimmed and could almost not be seen. The pressures of life got too much, let him down.  So I ask again, friend, what are you going to do about the things that are wearing heavy on your heart, that is dimming your inner beauty? 

I wish to help, if I can.

LOVE

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Ajax

[supremeyingyang]

17 minutes ago, Ajax said:

Hello fellow traveler. 

I see your pain and would like to remind you that mourning the past will not build the future.  It is holding you down. I would invite you to let that go. The saddest thing to see is a child who saw beauty and magic everywhere he looked. He was fascinated with everything and everything was a mystery and fun. He laughed all the time. Life was full of joy and amazement. Then he got older and older, he knew more about the world.  His inner world dimmed and broke down, he hates people, he hates how rude they are, he has seen just about everything and there is nothing left to see. 

The beauty that was once was, now gone. That is the real tragedy. The beauty and wondrousness of the world has dimmed and could almost not be seen. The pressures of life got too much, let him down.  So I ask again, friend, what are you going to do about the things that are wearing heavy on your heart, that is dimming your inner beauty? 

I wish to help, if I can.

LOVE

 

Thanks for your kind words, they are really appreciated. At the same time know that I'm not lost, looking for advice from you. I know my answers.

Love

[Rishabh R]

@Ajax great words so it is good for me to stay optimistic about upcoming exams as mourning due to previous exams aren't going to make my grades better . Right ?

[Ajax]

@Rishabh R Positive and negative forces fight each other. The more you push against something the more something pushes back.  Similar to gravity.

supremeyingyang is a really smart guy. He is like a positive force. If I responded with a negative force, he would fight back.  Then we would have a war or words. You see, he would change into a negative force and now you have 2 negative forces fighting each other, until it gets too negative, and someone just walks away. Or even worse, one surrenders. This is why this forum gets toxic. He is amazing!

So you see the more you are forcing yourself to pass the studies, the more negative force you become. And the exam will be harder and harder because you are trying too hard. 

Imagine lifting something really, really heavy. It is impossible to have a intelligent conversation with anyone or even know what is going on around you or receiving any information because you are so focused on lifting that heavy object all of your energy is on that heavy object. 

What you need to do is to stop putting so much force on your exam. The more force you use, the harder it is to learn. 

How do you do this? Just laugh. There is a reason Spiral Dynamics Orange is obsessed with comedy. You can tell who resonates with SD Orange by the comedy they watch. Their work ethic is simply brutal and guess what, so is their comedy. their comedy is just brutal.  You see, comedy releases the negative force put into their work.

When people get too hot, they sweat. When people feel too much pressure, they laugh. Laughter releases the steam. 

So you need to laugh. Imagine in your mind what would happen if you failed; and laugh. Just create scenarios, the worst scenarios; and laugh. Laugh 50 times a day for no reason. Here is a piece of Truth, anytime you cannot laugh, you are off the track. You just stepped off the road and onto a pile of shit!

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Ajax

[Optimized Life]

Anki & SRS apps are great

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Optimized Life