Ace Level Studying: What is the Active Recall Study Method?

Have you ever tried to remember the last lesson your professor discussed in your class? Well, that’s a problem.

You see, the worst situation you could get is being unable to answer in your exams! That’s all because you failed to recall what you’ve learned.

So, to prevent and solve this dilemma, you need a study strategy. One of the popular methods is the active recall study method.

In this article, you’ll understand how it works and how often you should use this technique.

But first, what does active recall have anything to do with studying? 

What is Active Recall Study Method?

The active recall definition in the Oxford English Dictionary mentions that it’s “the action of remembering or calling back to mind; the ability to remember.”

This means active recall studying is simply the method wherein you remind, or recall, to yourself what you’ve learned while gaining new information.

Not only that but you can see how effective the active recall method of studying is and its effects on your memory.

So, do you want to know how to do active recall studying? Keep reading below.

7 Ways How to Use Active Recall Study Method

Understanding how to do active recall doesn’t need your best effort. It is a fairly simple technique that maximizes your brain’s recall of information you already know.

With that said, here are 7 ways how to study using active recall strategy:

Use flashcards

There’s no better way to recall what you’ve learned than using flashcards. They can be written notes or questions on index cards or Post-it notes. And each question has the answers written on the back.

It’s also better if you include diagrams and graphs in your flashcards. Only that you would leave certain parts blank, depending on what you’re studying.

Just remember not to use flashcards on multiple-choice questions. It’s not applying active recall when you’re already seeing the possible answers.

You can also use digital flashcards with toggle functions, like RemNote or GoodNotes. So, instead of writing it down, you can copy-paste it in the software, and arrange them as you wish.

Write questions when note-taking

It’s important to take notes during the lesson, but you’ll benefit more if you’re writing questions along the way.

The notes are not just there to passively allow yourself to read and re-read them. But the questions you wrote will make you think critically about your notes.

You can be sure that you’re recalling better of the lesson when you ask yourself anything about the material you’re studying from.

A journaling method, like the Cornell note-taking system, allows you to write questions in the left column. On the same page, you can see the main points and summary.

Summarize lessons

Passive learning is a widely practiced way of learning in all walks of life. It can be reading a book, sitting in a lecture, or highlighting parts of your textbook.

But you can switch to active recall in a very easy way. That is by summarizing what you just read or heard. You can absorb the material more by thinking about the topic in your own words.

For example, you are reading a psychology chapter, and after reading the whole section, you stop for a minute to think about what you just read.

Again, the Cornell method I mentioned earlier is your best match for writing down both notes and summaries on one page.

Include practice questions and exams

Another way to use active recall is by including practice quizzes and exams. These are great opportunities to test your knowledge of a subject. It also helps the brain to remember it better.

You don’t need to get all the answers correctly. Instead, use this chance to see what should be focused on in your study form. It’s about helping your brain recall the information by answering the questions.

This is why having copies of past tests and exams is very helpful in studying. But what if the school doesn’t have any of those? You can go online and search for problem sets from other schools that have the same course and subject.

Pre-test before you start

Pre-testing is a great way to set your mind on the subject. This also helps you learn more about the topic as you notice that the first questions are answered, and how they make sense.

You can use the practice exams before you study, or refer to the questions from your notes on previous lessons. 

No matter how difficult the line of questions may be, see it as a mental prep to get more from the topic.

Teach the material yourself

The teaching effect (also called the protégé effect, or Feynman technique) forces you to explain what you have studied. This technique helps you to boil down your learning into simple bits that you can easily understand.

You can teach with an actual group of schoolmates, an imaginary group, or even by yourself in the mirror. By doing this, you’ll find yourself breaking down what you’ve learned from the subject.

The goal is to break down the topic into its simplest form, that even a 5-year-old kid can grasp. Because the way you explain a subject reflects how well you understand it.

Never rely on Google

Sometimes, when we can’t remember anything exactly, we search it on Google. And this is not the best way to study.

Google lists its sources and links based on many factors, and one of them is having the most visitors. This is why cherry-picking links and articles from Google is not good for studying.

Instead, you can use Google to second-guess a subject or idea you’re looking for, rather than instinctively going to it for reference.

By actively recalling a topic or information first, you’ll find Google Search as a secondary tool for retrieving any subject. Just remember that once you learn it, you just need to harness recalling it more often.

Does Active Recall Improve Memory?

Whenever a piece of new information is stored in your brain, it creates neural pathways. And when the info is needed in time, that pathway gets activated. The more that pathway is used, the better that information is retained.

In that sense, whenever you retrieve the info from your memory, without any notes, it gets deeper into your brain. Thus, you’re learning and re-learning at the same time.

A study published by Drs. Karpicke and Roediger concluded that you are better at learning information from zero, and then trying to remember it in regular intervals. As a result, you can permanently store it in your brain and recall it quickly.

Not only that, but you should apply the active recall method at regular intervals so you can keep in mind what you already know.

How Often Should You Do Active Recall?

After understanding how to use active recall as your main study technique, perhaps the next question should be: how often should you do it?

Studying methods are effective without cramming. You can do so much more with the active recall method when done weeks ahead of exams. Remembering the class’ topic earlier that day while doing homework is best when actively recalling it.

You can do active recalling as much as you can. It is a surefire way of remembering topics or ideas in the long run. You can retrieve information for a test day after a long time of not reviewing it.

Why is Active Recall Effective?

With all that said about active recall studying methods, why is it then considered an effective way to learn? The proof is in the pudding, as they say. It’s been proven that it enhances better learning retention.

Active recall studying is more effective simply for maximizing the brain’s memory retention. The more you recall a certain subject or idea, the deeper it will be stored in your long-term memory. 

This is also why repeated memorizations are effective in retaining information, although that only gets into the short-term memory. Coupled with spaced repetition over time, such learning will continue to be stored in your brain for as long as possible.

It is also very effective in complementing other studying forms, like journaling, reading, highlighting, and lecture listening.

What Are Some Methods of Active Recall?

Reading your notes over and over again will not get you anywhere. Around 30% of it remains in your brain. Thus, passive learning is not a good way to level up your understanding of a topic.

Meanwhile, active recall strategies are helping students ace their exams. They also aid researchers in their studies, as they broaden the concepts that they’re learning.

Here are some of the active recall techniques you can easily do on your own:

Whiteboard recall

This is your best way to do an active recall for difficult topics. You just need a whiteboard, marker, lesson notes, and textbooks.

Here’s how you can use the whiteboard for active recalling:

1. Write what you know on the board, but just the brief ones.
2. Read it aloud, then try to recall it without reading it again.
3. Check the whiteboard again to see if you got it right.
4. Repeat until you’re confident and sure that you understand it.

This is a good alternative for flashcards. You’re not memorizing the info since you’re writing, reading and remembering it all at once.

Excel or spreadsheet

You can digitally make your learning by using Excel spreadsheets as your flashcards. You can do this for a lesson or an entire topic that you’re studying.

To do this, here are the steps:

1. Write each question in a row.
2. In the next column, write the answers for each question.
3. Then, highlight the answers column in white text so you can’t see them.
4. To practice quiz yourself, read the questions and try to recall the answers.
5. Once answered, highlight the answers text color to black.
6. Where you got the correct answers, highlight the background in green; for partially correct ones, highlight in yellow; for wrong answers, red.
7. Repeat to step 4 until you get all the answers correct.

Doing this forces your brain to remember the information and attempt to get the correct answer all the time. You’ll also feel a sense of fulfillment when getting the wrong answers right, too.

Visual aids

Another good way that you can learn the materials is by using visual aids. Sketches and illustrations can help you better imagine the lesson, problems and solutions.

For instance, when learning about complicated diagrams and structures like parts of a cell, human anatomy, or how an electric grid works, visual aids provide better help in that. 

Illustrations make learning easier and more flexible when reading a text that needs elaborate details.

Practice problems

Solving problems is a headache when you haven’t learned much about the problem. That’s why practice problems and tests are the right choice of study aid when figuring out what’s the solution and how it became the solution.

There are lots of these in your textbook, usually right after the lesson’s body. You can ask your teacher or professor to get some samples. You can also go online and look for free resources.

Interacting with the material through actual problem-solving is one of the active recall techniques you can use.

Spaced repetition

The spaced repetition strategy lets you study the same topic at different intervals in between. This improves information retention in the long term.

This method is also recommended for studying complicated topics and subjects.

Although it is done similarly to active recall, it differs in the time interval. While active recall is done regularly, spaced repetition lets you study a topic after a few days, then weeks and months.

For example, after you study a lesson, give it 2 days to study it again; then, study it again after a week, and so on.

You would also take full-focused attention when studying, and this is where you can apply active recall.

What is the 3-step Active Recall Study Method?

The 3 step active recall study method is a very simple technique that you can use to study and memorize any topic.

It sharpens your understanding of the topic by using reading, writing and listening skills to help you grasp any lesson easily.

All you need is a pen and a journal, along with your textbook.

1) Write about the topic.

Write everything you thought you knew about the subject. Whether it’s good or bad, helpful or not, whatever it may be, as long as it’s relevant, write it down. 

By doing this, your brain prepares itself to learn something new or challenge any preconceived notion about the topic.

2) Read and write the key points.

Now, open your book and read through the material. And as you do so, write down all the key points about it. You can quote parts as the textbook recommends, like the hanging quotes in between the pages.

You don’t need to copy everything from the book. Make sure that the references and the information you quoted are correct.

3) Close your book and write about the topic.

After that, close the book and write down what you’ve learned and observed from the textbook. You can also write down new opinions that you found in it.

After following the 3 step active recall method, you can see the difference between what and how you’ve learned, and what extent you have covered. You’ll be surprised at how broad you can get as you study through the topic.

Not only that, but the three-step active recall study method is one of the popular techniques trusted by both researchers and students online. Just a simple search on TikTok will let you see how popular it has become.

Are Active Recall and Spaced Repetition the Best Methods of Studying?

Both active recall and spaced repetition are the best methods in their respective aspects of studying. 

While active recalling contributes to your actual studying regimen, spaced repetition trains your studying schedule and discipline.

Memory retrieval and focused learning are what active recall study method is all about. You’re making new connections in your brain as you recall and memorize your topic.

Meanwhile, as the name suggests, spaced repetition lets you have spaces of time between repeated reviews of the same lesson. This trains your brain to remember the info when needed.

Thus a recall study method, coupled with spaced repeat relearning, is best done for difficult subjects.

Why is Active Recall Considered a Better Method of Studying Than Re-reading?

The main reason why active recall is considered a better, or far better, method of studying than re-reading is its ability to retain information. Let me explain.

The words are already a dead giveaway. The “active” in active recalling means you need to focus your attention on what you’re reading and learning. Your brain is in full focus during the study session, and you’re recalling from memory what you just read. 

Meanwhile, re-reading is a passive way to learn, with fewer benefits than active recall. You may remember some of what you’ve learned when reading the same parts over again. But it doesn’t engage you as much as actively recalling the subject.

So, the reason why active recall is better than re-reading can be summed up in one word: engagement.

How Do You Recall What You Study?

Learning how to actively recall a subject or term is the main benefit of this study method. And the answer is simple: active engagement.

Methods such as using flashcards in the form of index cards, digital apps, or Excel spreadsheets may help you remember and absorb your studying.

In your brain, more connections are activated and created the more you actively retrieve the lessons you’ve learned. Thus, you become sharper as you frequently remember your studies more.

When you also follow a regular schedule of re-learning your subject, your brain will do its best to remember what you’ve reviewed. So, when quizzes or exams come, you’re ready to answer them confidently.

What is the Difference Between Active Recall and Passive Studying?

Here’s a quick reference table, so you can see the difference between active recall and passive learning:

Active Recall	Passive Studying
Critically approaches the material	Reads without observation
Summarizes material in own words	Rewrites the text as is
Highlights similarities and differences	Highlights texts and quotes upon reading
Review materials in intervals	Review materials right before tests
Constant memorization	Waits to feel ready about the material
Emphasis on learning assessment	Little to no learning assessment

If you notice on this table, you can see the difference between the two methods. With that, you must recognize that there are certain areas that active recall and passive studying are good for.

For one, passive studying is the default format of teaching that instructors apply to their students. Meanwhile, students are used to this system, where they are given a piece of information for a short while, and there will be little to no assessment done.

On the other hand, active recall improves critical thinking skills, allows students to provide inputs, and meets the needs of students of different learning styles. 

However, active recall instructors should be highly experienced and know well their topics, sometimes beyond what the syllabus will teach.

Active recall examples, like answering a question in a matter of seconds, or remembering important dates are also considered ways to improve topical learning.

And that’s what makes active recall studying so much interesting!

What is the Best Method to Study Alone and Effectively?

In my opinion, one stands out as the best and most proven study method. Even when you study alone, the active recall method is your best go-to technique.

I noticed that many students and learners online attest to its effectiveness. With that, I think you can be sure of similar results. Studying alone lets you focus more and give you more time to rest.

Group studies are beneficial but only available for a certain time only. That’s why you’ll notice that studying alone should not be discouraging. 

By applying active recall in your studying habits, you can review and test yourself on how well-versed you are and be honest about your improvements.

Active Recall Study Method FAQs

What to Do Next?

The active recall method of studying proves to be the most effective way of learning any kind of material. Not only such a claim is backed by science, but a lot of students and researchers benefitted from this method.

One of the best places to use this method would be an active recall website, like ActiveRecall.com. It provides a digital flashcard app that you can customize. In this app, you can write plain text and place charts and formulas.

Now that you know what is the active recall study method, how will you do your studying from now on? Will you challenge yourself or stay dry with passive learning? Are you ready to take the ace of your upcoming exams?

Leave us a comment. Let us know your thoughts!