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Most people are using
active recall all wrong.
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And that's a big problem, right?
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Because active recall is
the best study technique
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there is period.
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Proper utilization of active
recall took me from a B student
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to an A student and all of
this was during medical school.
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I wish I had learned about
using active recall properly
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in like high school or even college,
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'cause then I would've scored higher
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on every single test that I would've took.
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And also I would've learned more.
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In this video, I'm gonna
tell you why most people
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are using active recall like
all wrong, completely wrong.
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And I'm gonna give you
the exact tips you need
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to make sure you're efficient
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and effective when using active recall.
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(upbeat piano music)
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So let's talk about what is active recall,
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but first before we even talk
about what is active recall,
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let's talk about what isn't active recall.
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So rereading, highlighting,
underlining, watching,
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listening, this isn't active recall.
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Those things sound pretty easy to do.
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You can reread a book
without taking much energy.
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You can listen to something,
you can watch this video
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without committing much mental energy.
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It takes such little
mental effort, in fact,
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that maybe while you're
watching this video,
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you're also on your
phone, or eating a snack,
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or talking to a friend,
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because that's how little mental space
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it's taking up to watch this video.
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That's how little mental space
passive learning takes up.
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But we want to take up mental space.
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We want to learn, and that's
what active recall does.
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Real active recall is hard.
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It makes your brain work hard.
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You can't do a hundred other things
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when you're actually
truly using active recall.
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Good active recall example are exams.
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Practice questions or flashcards.
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In one study, two groups of
people were asked to remember
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as many names as possible
in a party scenario.
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So imagine you're meeting tons of people
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and you have to remember as many
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of these people's names
as you possibly can.
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Well, one group was made to
study using active recall
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and practice testing, while
the other one was told to study
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by just reading over the fact.
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The active recall group
were called 11.5 names,
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which is 57% on average.
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While the other group recalled 5.8 names,
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which is 29% on average.
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They were meant to try
to remember 20 names,
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which means that the
active recall group scored
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about 20% higher than the
passive learning group.
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That's two letter grades.
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Finally, in one review article
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called Improving Students' Learning,
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which looked at over a hundred
different other studies
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and referenced to a hundred other sources,
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looked at summarizing, active recall,
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practice, testing, rereading,
highlighting, underlining
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and a couple other study techniques.
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And they came to the
conclusion that there were two
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certain study strategies which won
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among all of those other study strategies.
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And that was practice testing,
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which is a form of active recall,
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and distributed practice,
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which is another form of active recall.
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And guess which study methods they said
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were the worst study strategies to use?
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Yes, summarizing,
highlighting and rereading,
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all forms of passive learning.
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Now let's talk about making sure
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we're using it effectively
and efficiently.
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(upbeat piano music)
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The first thing I wanna
talk about is mindset.
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The first significant
shift you need to make
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in using active recall
correctly is to pay attention
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to your big old brain.
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Yes, the most calorie hungry
organ in your entire body.
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Pay attention to how you
feel when you're studying.
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Active recall should feel tough.
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You should be able to tell
you are doing active recall
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just by the feeling you
have inside your brain.
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Watching this video is easy, right?
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That's passive learning.
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But thinking of the equation 13 times 27,
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go ahead try and figure it out.
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That's tough, right, you have to sit there
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and think about it, you
can't be doing other things.
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13 by times 27, if you're a normal human,
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takes a little bit of time
to figure out in your head.
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You may even need to pause this video
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when figuring out the
answer to that in your head,
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just because of the
mental effort it takes.
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Importantly, you can fall into the trap
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of having those active
recall things, flashcards,
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and practice testing actually
become passive learning.
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Well, how does that happen?
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Well, this can happen, right,
which has happened to me,
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if you're not having true attempts
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at the practice questions
or the flashcards.
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For the practice questions,
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if you just say, "Oh, I
don't know the answer",
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click and answer and then see the answer
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so you can read it all,
that's just passive learning.
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You're just reading stuff.
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You're not actually testing your brain.
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And for the flashcards, if
you don't know the answer,
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sometimes you'll just flip the card over
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to see the answer without
having a true attempt
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in your head, a true attempt
to figure out what's going on.
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And that's what active recall is.
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If you're just flipping the flashcard,
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if you're just reading the
practice question answers,
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then you're not really
using active recall.
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And there are actually studies that show
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by just testing yourself,
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even if you have no
idea what the answer is,
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your retention and your
learning of that information
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goes way up compared to when you just flip
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the information over when
you just see the answer.
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So for me what I do is
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whenever I'm doing practice questions,
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I make sure to write down
the answer somewhere.
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Maybe that's just a, or
maybe that's an actual filled
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in kind of description
of what the answer is.
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And then for flashcards,
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you have to be very, very careful here.
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Make sure you say an answer
in your head to the flashcard
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before flipping over the flashcard.
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And I think it's harder to fall
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into this trap with practice questions,
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but it's very easy to fall
into this trap with flashcards.
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So when you're about to flip a flashcard,
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wait, take a pause and
make sure you've answered
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the question in your head.
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What's kind of on the other
side of the flashcard?
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What do you think the answer is?
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Bottom line, active recall is tough.
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It should feel tough.
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When going over practice
questions or flashcards,
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make sure you're actually having
an attempt at the questions
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on your own before flipping
over and seeing the answer.
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(upbeat piano music)
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Tip number two is to
understand the information
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before you use active recall.
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You should have a basic understanding
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of what you're testing yourself on
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before you test yourself
on that information.
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I know this seems pretty straightforward,
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but again I've mentioned this
over and over and over again.
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You can't just go straight to flashcards.
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You can't just go straight
to practice questions.
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You need to build a base of knowledge,
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otherwise kind of you're just
gonna start memorizing answers
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or not really understanding
what's going on.
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And unfortunately, I can't teach you
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how to understand everything
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with the bazillion
different things to learn
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and the bazillion different
ways to learn them,
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you have to figure out for yourself
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what's the best way to learn information.
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If you want to know what I do,
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I'll link to my zero note strategy above.
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But in that zero note strategy,
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I'm previewing the information
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so I'm getting a basic
understanding on lecture slides.
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And then I'm viewing the
information the next day
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in the lecture after reviewing
it on my own to confirm
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that understanding before
actually testing myself
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with practice questions
the same day or later
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on that day when I
actually see the lecture.
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Bottom line is you need to
get a basic understanding
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of the topic before you do
any form of self testing.
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(upbeat piano music)
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Tip number three is sleep on it.
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Why do I wait at least
one day before beginning
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my active recall practice of the material?
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Well, studies show that
a good night's sleep
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helps solidify memories and
information in our brain.
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Not only that, but in a
really cool study from nature,
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it showed that overnight,
we are actually not
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only solidifying information,
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but our brain is creating new connections
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coming up with new
information while we sleep.
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And I wanna talk about
this study a little bit
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just because of how cool it is.
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So basically you have two
groups of participants
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and they're both taught
this complicated algorithm
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for solving a math problem.
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Both groups are said to wait 12 hours
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before being tested on this once again,
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but one group that 12
hours involves overnight.
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So they get a full night
sleep before being tested
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on this algorithm again.
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And then with the other group,
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the 12 hours is during the daytime,
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so not when they get a night's sleep.
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So just morning to night,
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as opposed to night to next morning.
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Now, secretly there was
an easier, faster way
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to solve this problem, a secret equation,
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a secret answer, to solving
this problem more quickly.
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Now both groups of subjects
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were then retested 12 hours later.
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Remember, both groups
are waiting 12 hours,
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but one group gets a night of sleep
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and one group does not
get a night of sleep.
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Well, the group that had the sleep came up
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with this solution two times as much
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as the group that did not sleep.
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That's crazy.
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In dreamland, our brain
is creating new solutions
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coming up with new ideas, not
only solidifying information.
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That's why before I start
testing myself on what I learned
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I like to get a full night's
sleep before that begins.
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So again, before my
lectures, the night before,
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the day before, I've already
previewed the material
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and gotten a basic
understanding of that material,
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so that way when I show up to lecture
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I wanna start testing myself.
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I've had a night's sleep
on an understanding
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already of the material.
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Bottom line, have a good night's sleep
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after first studying the material
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before you start testing yourself.
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(upbeat piano music)
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Tip number four is practice questions
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and flashcards are number one.
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Practice questions and
flashcards are the most evidence
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based and well studied ways to study
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and retain information with active recall.
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If you could only pick one, however,
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probably practice questions
edge out flashcards
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by a little bit.
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When I would talk to my
friends in medical school,
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anecdotally, the students that
did more practice questions
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usually were correlated
with higher grades.
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So bottom line, the best
forms of active recall
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are practice testing and flashcards.
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(upbeat piano music)
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Tip number five is you
need to plan your studying.
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Yes, active recall and
practice testing sound amazing,
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but how do we actually
use it on a daily basis?
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Just saying to yourself,
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"Oh I'm gonna review
biology with active recall".
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That's a sure way to fail and not study.
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Where and what are the practice
questions you'll be using?
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Are they in the textbook?
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Did the teacher give you some questions?
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Can you find an online resource
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with these practice questions?
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Which ones should you do?
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Did the teacher recommend
certain questions?
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Will the test be based
off of certain questions?
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So think about all the
questions you need to answer,
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all the studying you need to
do, and then I would divide it
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by the amount of time you have
to study that information.
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So for example, if you
were taking two classes
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during the week, the night
before the first class,
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I would preview and
understand the information.
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Then the next day I
would show up to class,
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try and understand what's
going on even more.
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And then you can start practice testing
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and using active recall.
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Now, the second night or the second day
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after you'd had that class,
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I would use active recall
again to test yourself
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and kind of solidify this information.
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And then I would just
repeat that for class two.
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Whenever class two is during the week.
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Bottom line, plan as precisely as possible
00:10:00
what you will be studying
at least one week
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before you actually need
to study that information.
00:10:04
(upbeat piano music)
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Tip number six is capture
your incorrect answers.
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Okay, so you're blasting
through practice questions.
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You're flipping over billions
in trillions of flashcard
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and you can feel your
brain really working.
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You're using active recall well.
00:10:19
How can we level up
active recall even more?
00:10:21
Well simply, when you're
doing practice questions
00:10:24
and you get a question wrong,
create a flashcard based off
00:10:27
that incorrect practice question.
00:10:29
Then, theoretically, you
should never get that kind
00:10:31
of practice question wrong again.
00:10:32
Make sure you're creating
a flashcard based on
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the actual piece of information
that you don't understand,
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as opposed to just the
entire practice question.
00:10:39
Because we wanna be as efficient
00:10:40
as possible in creating these flashcards.
00:10:42
We don't want thousands
00:10:43
and hundreds of thousands of flashcards.
00:10:45
And I found this is a fantastic
multiplier for test scores
00:10:49
because you're uniquely matching,
00:10:50
your uniquely filling your
own gaps in knowledge.
00:10:53
And using this, I think is
really one of the best ways
00:10:55
to make active recall the most efficient
00:10:57
and effective, for you, as possible.
00:10:59
Bottom line, create
flashcards from the practice
00:11:02
questions you got wrong.
00:11:03
Only create flashcards based
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on the specific piece of information
00:11:06
within the practice question
that you didn't understand.
00:11:09
(upbeat piano music)
00:11:12
Tip number seven is when
using active recall,
00:11:14
prioritize broader topics,
then your incorrect questions,
00:11:18
and then specific nitty
gritty information.
00:11:21
I learned this strategy,
and this is probably one
00:11:23
of the best strategies for
learning in medical school,
00:11:25
because I just had so
much information to learn
00:11:27
and I didn't know where to start.
00:11:28
I didn't know what
information to learn first.
00:11:30
And I actually started backwards.
00:11:31
I started remembering little
pieces of information,
00:11:33
random facts of information,
00:11:35
before understanding the general concepts
00:11:37
of what was going on, and that was wrong.
00:11:39
I got to test day, I
remember my first test day
00:11:41
of medical school, and I was like,
00:11:43
"Wait a second, they're
not asking me to recite
00:11:45
these specific fact I just learned.
00:11:47
They're not asking me to know this
00:11:49
random tiny piece of information.
00:11:50
They want me to actually
understand what's going on".
00:11:53
The questions were tough.
00:11:54
They required a deep understanding
00:11:55
of the topic to connect facts,
00:11:57
not just to know random specific facts.
00:11:59
And I scored like pretty low on that test,
00:12:01
probably actually my lowest
score that I ever got
00:12:03
on a medical school test.
00:12:05
And at that point, I knew
I needed to switch it up.
00:12:07
And this is kind of the way
this YouTube channel started.
00:12:09
I realized, okay, wait,
00:12:11
my studying strategies
aren't necessarily right.
00:12:13
There are better strategies,
00:12:14
there's evidence based
strategies that work.
00:12:16
So I switch to understanding first
00:12:18
and then knowing the smaller
random pieces of information.
00:12:21
Okay, so we know we need
to understand first.
00:12:23
But when we use active recall,
00:12:24
we should also be studying
active recall questions,
00:12:27
practice questions, flashcards
that are more general too,
00:12:30
then they get more specific.
00:12:31
And usually textbooks
and practice questions
00:12:33
that your teachers give you
are formatted in this way.
00:12:35
The first ones are a little bit easier,
00:12:37
a little bit more general,
and then they get harder
00:12:39
and more specific the farther you go on.
00:12:41
So do it in that order.
00:12:42
And also make sure as you're answering
00:12:44
these harder questions that you understand
00:12:46
kind of the basic pieces of
information in the question.
00:12:48
So bottom line, test
yourself on the broader,
00:12:51
more general topics before then moving on
00:12:54
to the questions that
you normally get wrong,
00:12:56
before then moving on to
those specific little pieces
00:12:58
of information that might bump your grade
00:13:00
like a point or two.
00:13:01
(upbeat piano music)
00:13:04
Finally, the last point about
using active recall correctly
00:13:07
is use the power of spaced repetition
00:13:09
to make your active recall stick.
00:13:11
So instead of doing a flashcard one day,
00:13:13
and then never doing it again,
00:13:14
you'll do the flashcard one day,
00:13:15
and then maybe three days later.
00:13:17
Then if you get it right,
maybe six days later,
00:13:18
then if you get it right
again, maybe 18 days later.
00:13:21
That's distributed practice.
00:13:22
And I cover this idea
tons in my other videos.
00:13:24
I'll link one up here.
00:13:26
But the idea behind this is
00:13:27
when we first learn a
piece of information,
00:13:29
we're gonna forget that
information very, very quickly.
00:13:32
Some studies show that
you actually forget 50%
00:13:34
of the information you
learn within 20 minutes,
00:13:36
and then a total of 66% of
the information the next day.
00:13:40
So the only way to avoid this loss
00:13:42
is to test ourself at certain intervals.
00:13:44
Spaced repetition.
00:13:45
Anki is an amazing
computerized flashcard resource
00:13:47
that I use all the time
to help combat this.
00:13:49
But really you just need to make sure
00:13:51
you're studying this information
00:13:52
at different periods of time.
00:13:53
You can't just study the information
00:13:55
from the beginning of the semester once
00:13:57
and hope it's retained for the final exam.
00:13:59
You need to review that information
00:14:01
from the beginning of the
semester a couple times
00:14:03
throughout the semester
before the final exam,
00:14:05
if you want to stick
around for the final exam.
00:14:07
Bottom line is space out
your active recall sessions
00:14:10
of the same information
on your way to the exam,
00:14:13
so you don't forget that
information over time.
00:14:16
Anki is a great resource for this.
00:14:18
So I talk a lot about studying,
00:14:20
but it's because it's
what I'm passionate about.
00:14:22
It's what most of my videos are about.
00:14:25
I've always wanted to
know how I can maximize
00:14:27
my time spent studying by
using the most efficient
00:14:30
study techniques based off the evidence.
00:14:33
My videos hopefully teach
you how to study better.
00:14:37
And I've made my most
detailed study guide ever
00:14:41
on a class I'm calling
Study Smarter, Not Harder,
00:14:44
that's hosted on Nebula Classes.
00:14:46
Nebula Classes is a platform I'm creating
00:14:48
with a bunch of other creators.
00:14:50
Going more into my class,
00:14:51
my class has over a hundred
sources for a reason.
00:14:54
I wanted to double, triple,
quadruple check the information
00:14:58
to make sure I'm providing
you the highest quality
00:15:01
information possible.
00:15:02
I wanted to make a class that I wish I had
00:15:04
when I was starting college,
and this is that class.
00:15:07
This course covers priming your brain
00:15:09
for the best study session ever,
00:15:11
which study techniques work,
00:15:12
and which study techniques don't work.
00:15:14
And finally, I'll tell you how to actually
00:15:16
integrate these study
techniques into your real life.
00:15:19
When you sign up using my
link for Nebula Classes,
00:15:21
you not only get access to
my class, but you get access
00:15:24
to Thomas Frank's class on
running a business as a creator,
00:15:27
which I watched and it is awesome.
00:15:29
And the great thing is there's a new class
00:15:30
being released every single week.
00:15:32
I mean not only do you get
access to tons of classes,
00:15:35
but because Nebula Classes
is a part of Nebula,
00:15:38
you also get full access to Nebula,
00:15:40
which is where a bunch of YouTube creators
00:15:42
put all their YouTube videos on,
00:15:44
but completely ad free.
00:15:46
Some creators, like myself
also put up exclusive videos,
00:15:49
so videos you can only see on Nebula.
00:15:52
And I even put all of my
YouTube videos up on Nebula,
00:15:55
like one week early.
00:15:56
So you could watch next
week's YouTube video
00:15:58
right now on Nebula.
00:15:59
The whole thing is $149 per year,
00:16:01
but if you sign up using my special link,
00:16:03
which is nebulaclasses.com/zachhighley,
00:16:06
you can get access to it
for $119 a year instead.
00:16:11
So click on the button on screen,
00:16:12
or click on the link in the description,
00:16:14
and sign up today.
00:16:15
And you'll be helping not only me,
00:16:16
but tons of other creators,
00:16:18
and you'll get access
to some awesome stuff.
00:16:20
Overall active recall is
what the best students
00:16:23
use worldwide for a reason.
00:16:25
Make sure you're using it right,
00:16:26
make sure you're efficient and effective,
00:16:28
and watch your grades go up.
00:16:29
But that is it, thank you so
much for watching this video,
00:16:32
and I will see you in the next one.
00:16:35
Now, a plant pot, that's, that's
00:16:38
that's meant to be your hat, right?
00:16:40
A plant pot.
00:16:41
(upbeat string music)
