The Flash Card strategy uses flash cards to help you memorize key terms. With this strategy you put the term on one side of the card and the definition on the other. Flash cards are very helpful for courses that provide you with several terms and definitions, such as any language course, economics, phycology or sociology. This strategy is most effective when you put the definitions in your own words because it helps the memorization process a lot easier.
When should you use this strategy?
This strategy can be used when memorizing key concepts and definitions. It is also very useful when you are learning new vocabulary in a foreign language.
Explain how to apply the strategy step by step.
The first thing that you need to get is flash cards. Once you have found some you will need a pen. It is better to make flash cards with several colors because it makes the learning process a lot more enjoyable.
After you have gone to the lecture and have done the reading for that week you should have a very clear idea of what the main concepts are. If you have difficulty remembering what the main ideas were of that week you can always double check the textbook. Once you have pointed out the main ideas you are not ready to write them down on the flash cards.
When you begin writing the main ideas on the cards you want to ensure that you put the main idea on one side and the definition/explanation on the other. Monitoring your understanding of the main ideas is very important when you are studying so you want to ensure that you write each definition/explanation in your own words. This is where you can begin to get create and us different colors.
Once you have finished writing out your flash cards, whether you are doing vocabulary or key concepts, you now have to go through them one by one. For some people, saying them out loud helps them memorize them easier.
With this strategy you should not wait until the day before the exam to make them. You should continue to create and memorize them as the course goes on so that you are not cramming in all the information the night before the exam.
Why does this strategy work? Explain the theory and concepts underlying this strategy. (Justification)
This strategy works because it helps you memorize key concepts and new vocabulary words. By using this strategy you are reducing the amount of information you need to read when you are studying for your exams because you are not going to be able to read your entire textbook the night before. By using this strategy you are selecting what is important, which happens to be one of the SMART operations. This strategy also forces you to translate the information into your own words while monitoring your understanding. Translating the material into your own words is very important because it ensures that you have a complete understanding of the main concepts. If you begin to have troubles understanding a concept you must go back to the textbook and read it over and over again until you are able to put it into your own words. If you are unable to put it into your own words then you do not a a complete understanding of the concept.
Making flash cards is an excellent way to assemble all of the information about a specific topic, that way when it comes time to study for your exams you will know exactly where to find those specific concepts. Flash cards are a great way to put all the course material instead of having to go back to the textbook to read over all the concepts again.
Flash cards are also a great way to rehearse the material. By going through the cards over and over again you will be able to understand the material better and better every time. Rehearsing the material is very key because the more you practice the better you will understand what you are studying.
Courses or tasks for which I have used this strategy.
I have used this strategy when I studied sociology vocabulary words. It was very useful for me because the more I practiced the better I understood each vocab word. Every night I would go over the flash cards more times then I can count to ensure that I had a complete understanding of each word.
Questions I can ask myself to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy.
Do my questions require too much information?
Are my questions to broad?
Do my questions revolve around a narrowed topic?
Am I reading over the flash cards in the same order every time?
Are my answers too long? Am I having troubles memorizing the answers?
Am I being specific?
General comments about your experiences with this strategy. Examples.
This strategy is great for memorization. I have used it on a couple of my midterms and I believe that it gave me great success in the end. I think that not only reading the flash cards over and over again help you understand the concept but writing them out also helps you understand the key ideas. It is very important that you write out the flash cards as the course goes on because then when it comes time for finals you are not rushing to write them all. If you write them as the term progresses all you have to do is read them over and you won't have to worry about writing a hundred flash cards. The flash card strategy is more surely a worth while strategy!
No comments:
Post a Comment