What is active recall? How to apply it with flashcards
Learn where active recall comes from, why flashcards help you practise it, and what MemorizeKit Flashcards offer for your learning.
What is active recall, and who developed it?
Active recall is a learning method in which you retrieve information from memory before checking the answer. Its basic principle is simple: read a question, answer without looking at your notes, then check what you remembered.
It has no single inventor. The historical account in Wikipedia’s article on the testing effect describes contributions over time: William James discussed active recollection in 1890, and Edwina E. Abbott published early experimental research in 1909.
The purpose is to strengthen later recall, as well as check what you know. In a 2006 study by Henry L. Roediger and Jeffrey D. Karpicke , students who practised recalling passages remembered more after two days or one week than students who only restudied them. This benefit of retrieval is known as the testing effect.
Flashcards are a way to apply active recall
A flashcard places a question or cue on the front and an answer on the back. It gives you a simple way to practise active recall:
Read the cue → recall the answer → flip the card → check.
For example, the front asks, “Which English phrasal verb means ‘postpone’?” You try to answer, then flip to see put off, with the example “We put off the meeting until Friday.”
Try to answer before flipping the card. This lets you check what you actually remembered and identify what needs more practice.
What do MemorizeKit Flashcards offer?
MemorizeKit connects Flashcards to the learning content in your Lessons and your review schedule:
- Keep context when reviewing: Practise words and phrases within a Lesson, with examples, images, and pronunciation audio when available.
- Check your recall: With Track progress enabled, choose Know or Still learning after checking the answer.
- Return for scheduled reviews: MemorizeKit records your ratings to support future reviews through spaced repetition.
Start with a topic you want to remember. Choose a Lesson to preview its flashcards.