Active vs. Passive Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This doesn\u2019t mean these traditional techniques are completely useless. But if you want to make the most of your study time, you might want to implement \u201cactive\u201d study techniques rather than \u201cpassive\u201d ones. Although you might not be familiar with active recall, you practice this technique daily. When someone asks you for directions to the nearest coffee shop or what happened on the last episode of a favorite Netflix series, you are using active recall to retrieve that information from your long-term memory. Passive learning involves familiarity with general concepts and recognizing correct answers; active learning requires engagement to learn the specifics of those concepts and ideas, which in turn, help you better understand information. With passive learning, students rely heavily on teachers and textbooks; active learning places the commitment to learn squarely on the student.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"fluoroquinolones](\"https:\/\/www.picmonic.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image20-294x300-1.webp\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nActive = Better Recall.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Both strategies can help you learn information. Passive learning helps you comprehend the information you\u2019ve read, but it often fails to adequately engage memory in the way that active recall does. In other words, active recall stimulates your memory in a specific way and helps you be able to retrieve<\/em> what you\u2019ve learned whenever you need to. It\u2019s essentially memory retrieval practice, and it will improve your ability to find the right answer among all the other bits of information you have stored in your brain on any given day. We\u2019ve all taken a test, missed a question, and later thought: \u201cI know I learned that, but I couldn\u2019t remember it during the test.\u201d So the better you become at retrieving the information you\u2019ve learned, the more easily you\u2019ll ace that test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While writing information on flashcards is a traditionally passive study method, using those cards to ask yourself specific questions about that material is the active way of doing it – at least, if you don\u2019t give yourself the answer right away. Instead of reading the question on a flashcard and immediately flipping the card to the answer side (then thinking, \u201coh sure, I knew that\u201d), give yourself plenty of time to answer the question before flipping over the card. And resist the urge to rely on Google to find the answer. Be patient with yourself if you can\u2019t immediately remember; the answer might be just a few more seconds away. Adding this one step will help improve your level of active recall and demonstrate that you truly know the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many ways to implement active recall studying methods into the strategies you already use. You might decide that using one or two of them is enough. Or you might benefit from rotating through four or five of these methods – that choice is up to you. In any case, here are some ideas to get you started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using a whiteboard, write down something you want to remember, but use as few words as possible, especially if it\u2019s difficult material you\u2019re struggling to learn. After you\u2019ve read out loud what you\u2019ve written, look away and recite everything you can remember – again, out loud. Hearing your own voice respond with the answer is important to later recalling it. Shout if you think it will help. Once you\u2019ve recalled everything you can, check to see if what you recited is correct – and complete. This focused method is an effective way to learn complicated concepts in a short amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you prefer to use a computer when studying, create a spreadsheet with two columns – one for questions, and the other for answers. Once you\u2019ve entered all the questions, type in your answers then check your work when you\u2019ve completed the test. If an answer is correct, highlight it in green. If you almost got it right, highlight it in yellow. Highlight incorrect answers in bright red. This method will make it easier to focus on the questions you missed and will also allow you to monitor your progress as your column of answers turns green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many students are visual learners, and the label-and-repeat method is especially helpful for classes in which you have to identify structures. Start by drawing a diagram or depiction of the image you need to identify. Make as many copies as you think you\u2019ll need, then use one copy to label the correct answers. After reviewing the answer key, use a blank copy to practice labeling the structure. When complete, check your work against the answer key. Repeat with the remaining copies until you can quickly and accurately label the structure with the correct answers. This method can also be used with a whiteboard \u2013 just erase and repeat.<\/p>\n\n\n It isn\u2019t unusual for students to take notes during lectures. But why not supercharge those notes by infusing active learning into the lecture with the stop-and-summarize method? At the end of each page of class notes, stop and write a complete, yet concise, explanation of the material you wrote above. Students sometimes get bogged down in the minute details of a lecture and fail to see what is being communicated overall. Summarizing content as you\u2019re learning can help you focus on the larger concepts of what is being taught and reinforce your long-term memory in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This process was invented in the 1950s by Professor Walter Paul of Cornell University<\/a>. To prepare your notebook for this method, draw a vertical line down the left side of the paper, leaving a few inches between the line and the left side of the page. Then draw a horizontal line a few inches away from the bottom of the page. These lines will create three sections. The largest section will be for the kinds of notes you would normally write during a lecture. The column on the left is reserved for keywords, questions, hints, and prompts about what you\u2019re learning. The bottom section is where you\u2019ll write a summary of the material from the largest section. This structured, organized way of taking notes will improve your retention level as you complete them, as well as when you review them later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember the Sage Journals study? They found that both practice testing and distributed practice were highly effective methods for increasing active recall. Frequent test taking, using practice quizzes from your textbook or other sources, will cement information into long-term memory in question form, just as it will be on the exam you are studying for. Familiarity with those questions will create less stress at test time. Distributed (or spaced) practice is comprised of short, intermittent recall practice sessions at consistently timed intervals. It\u2019s like those HIIT (high-intensity interval training) sessions you may have done at the gym. Short, highly focused study sessions completed over a longer period of time will improve information retention and help you perform better mentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a shorter distributed practice, use whatever downtime you can find to sneak in a quick study session. Most days, we have more free time than we might think: 20 minutes riding the bus, 15 minutes waiting for that pizza to be baked, and even those 3-minute commercial breaks during your favorite TV show. Every minute you actively study will accumulate and result in faster, easier memory retrieval of the material you\u2019ve reviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to think you know course content \u2013 until you try to explain it to someone who isn\u2019t in the class. It\u2019s often then that we realize we don\u2019t know the subject as well as we thought. Pretend it\u2019s your job to teach someone who knows nothing about the course. How would you do it? This would be a good time to simplify explanations, putting them in lay terms to make them more understandable and memorable. Or compare the unknown subject to a known one, noting the similarities and differences. These tricks will reinforce the material for you and cause that information to be more easily retrievable from your memory at test time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you\u2019re reading a chapter in your textbook, verbally turn statements into questions. For example, when reading \u201csymptoms of hypoglycemia include dizziness \u2026\u201d, write down \u201cwhat are the symptoms of hypoglycemia?\u201d Use a variety of questions, including the 5 Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. This form of questioning will engage your brain more than simply reading text will and will improve your recall from long-term memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a myriad of study methods available to students, you may have wondered: Am I getting the most out of my study sessions? Traditionally, students are taught to read and re-read the textbook, highlight words and definitions, and write notes about what they think are the most important concepts. But even though these methods are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":27957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-picmonic-learning-system"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does Active Learning Look Like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9 Active Recall Study Methods to Engage Your Brain.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Whiteboard Recall.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Green is for \u201cI got it!\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Give it a Label.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Study](\"https:\/\/cdn.picmonic.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Brain-Explosion-219x300.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n4. Active Recall During Class.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Try the Cornell note-taking method.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. HIIT for your brain.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Squeeze it in.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
8. Teach don\u2019t preach.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
9. Turn Textbooks into Question Books.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n