Using a technology tool that provides pre-made flashcards is not the best way for students to prepare for an exam, according to new research.
In five of six experiments, the researchers found that participants, who were college students, learned more when they generated their own flashcards than when they used premade flashcards—and, in some cases, much more.
“A typical advantage was 10% better performance on tests, which is roughly equivalent to a letter grade,” says Steven C. Pan, lead author of this paper. research on the use of flashcards published in December in the Journal of applied research in memory and cognition.
In one experiment, participants who generated flashcards on their own performed 25% better than those who used premade flashcards. This research leaves no doubt in Pan's mind that it is best for students to make their own.
“If a student uses an existing set of flashcards, they are depriving themselves of the learning opportunities that can arise from creating their own sets of flashcards,” says Pan, director of the Learning Sciences Laboratory in the University's Department of Psychology. National. University of Singapore.
Why are student-generated flashcards more effective?
“Probably the main reason is that generating flashcards provides opportunities to engage in generative learning activities,” says Pan. “Generative learning activities require students to select, organize, or elaborate on the information to be learned. “Doing so can provide opportunities for additional cognitive processing of that information, which aids learning.”
This did not happen with the students in Pan's experiment who studied pre-made flashcards. “There was no need to engage in any generative learning,” he says. “That led to a more passive approach to learning that was generally less effective.”
Many digital tools offer sets of pre-made flashcards, while ai tools can also create flashcards on demand. The idea is that by eliminating time spent generating flashcards, students will be able to focus on studying, but that logic may be flawed.
“Avoiding the need to generate your own flashcards is often touted as an advantage of online flashcard platforms. It now appears that advantage is greatly exaggerated,” Pan says.
However, some digital platforms allow users to generate their own flashcards, which may be a better way for students to use these tools. “Our research suggests that an effective way to use tools like Quizlet is to first generate our own flashcards and then practice with them,” Pan says.
Additionally, pre-made digital card sets can vary in quality. “In some cases they are very well made, but in others they contain inaccuracies or even completely wrong information,” says Pan. “This raises another potential advantage of generating your own flashcards: quality control.”
What about paper flashcards vs. digital ones?
“There is an ongoing debate about whether reading on paper versus digitally “It's better for learning,” says Pan. “While we didn't specifically compare paper flashcards to digital flashcards, the most important factor seems to be whether students generate the content on the flashcards or not.”
However, by their nature, paper flashcards must be self-generated by students. “In that sense, by using paper flashcards, one can be less susceptible to the temptation of using sets of pregenerated flashcards,” Pan says.
Any tips for creating effective flashcards?
Part of what Pan's research attempted to unravel was which methods of creating flashcards were most effective, and he looked at several different methods of flashcard generation, including copy and paste, paraphrasing, and generating examples.
“Paraphrasing turned out to be the most effective, even surpassing example generation,” he says.
The least effective was copy and paste, in which students transcribed word for word what was written in a textbook. This was the only method studied in which generating flashcards did not provide a significant advantage. “That approach required spending time and effort on the act of transcribing, which doesn't seem like a very productive learning activity, and it didn't involve students creating their own content,” Pan says.
Teachers can encourage their students to make the most of these findings by creating their own flashcards and putting the information into their own words as they do so.
“Rather than transcribing information directly from a textbook or other source, students should study that information, try to understand it, and then, based on what they know now, generate original content, in their own words, for their flashcards” , says. . “Then, using those flashcards, they can participate in recovery practice, self-testfollowed by checking the correct answers.”
