Retrieval practice: test yourself instead of re-reading
Recalling something from memory strengthens it more than reading it again, even though re-reading feels more productive.
The evidence
In Roediger & Karpicke (2006), Test-Enhanced Learning, Psychological Science 17, 249–255, students read prose passages and then either re-read them or took recall tests. On a test five minutes later, re-reading looked better. After two days and after a week, the students who had practised recall remembered more. The students who re-read also predicted they would do better, which is the trap: fluency feels like learning.
A major review of study techniques, Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan & Willingham (2013), Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques, Psychological Science in the Public Interest 14, 4–58, rated practice testing as one of only two techniques of "high utility", alongside spacing.
How to do it
- Close the source and write what you remember before looking again.
- Answer questions before reading the answers. A wrong attempt followed by feedback still helps.
- Say "I don't know" when you don't. Guessing and getting lucky hides a gap.
- Rate your confidence before checking. Comparing confidence with accuracy shows you where you're fooling yourself.
- Test the why, not just the what. "When does this fail?" is a better question than "what is this called?"