How to Use Free Recall to Learn More Effectively

People have some good questions about how to use free recall to study. Here, I try to answer them.

0:00 Is one recall mode better than another?
1:21 What should the recall interval be?
2:20 Do I need to master the material first?
2:43 Which is better, encoding or retrieval?
4:03 Is free recall just vomiting out words?
4:57 Some further thoughts

REFERENCES

On the differences between different modes of recall, see the three references below:

Janczyk, M., Aßmann, M., & Grabowski, J. (2018). Oral versus written recall of long-term memory items: Replicating and extending the writing superiority effect across knowledge domains. The American Journal of Psychology, 131(3), 263-272. (Finding a written superiority effect)

Bekerian, D. A., & Dennett, J. L. (1990). Spoken and written recall of visual narratives. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 4(3), 175-187. (spoken superiority)

Sauerland, M., Krix, A. C., van Kan, N., Glunz, S., & Sak, A. (2014). Speaking is silver, writing is golden? The role of cognitive and social factors in written versus spoken witness accounts. Memory & Cognition, 42, 978-992. (favoring written, but not finding large differences; in the eyewitness area)

On test expectancy effects (how expecting a test influences encoding), see: McDaniel, M. A., Blischak, D. M., & Challis, B. (1994). The effects of test expectancy on processing and memory of prose. Contemporary educational psychology, 19(2), 230-248.

[Prince-oplp]

Video request - make a video where you give very brief overview of all the tools in your tool box (study techniques)that are effective. So that we can pick the ones that we really like and then teach each of them to us

[annycrepyy]

I am still getting use of the frustration when I forget something. Doing free recall and perceiving what I forget really make me fell better

[raven_furax]

I discovered your channel a few days ago, I cannot overstate how glad I am that I did. As a philosophy student, I never gave a single thought as to how I learned things. I just did my readings and talked about it with some friends in my class… It took me a while to realise why I don't seem to learn as effectively as I did before: now that neither I nor my friends have much time to spend in conversation because of work, we can't free our readings to each other… Thankfully, your videos gave me both an explanation and a solution! So thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and advice!

[alejndraalmirowitsch]

Personally, I use your method with Anki, so in essence I'm using Anki as a spaced repetition scheduler rather than a flashcard app. Basically I just put a very broad cue to my Anki cards without any answers (to avoid it becoming a factual, 1-on-1 flashcard). Personally, my mantra with free recall is 'active processing' rather than 'active recall' as the former imply that I need to really making sense of the materials I'm dealing with (again, to avoid it becoming a factual flashcard which don't really promote big picture understanding).

[CaptainWumbo]

I watched a lot of your videos this last week. I really, really enjoyed them, and they gave me a lot of food for thought. Thank you for making so many thoughtful, entertaining and helpful videos, I hope your channel will garner the success it deserves.

[mananparekh_]

This is great and I haven’t even finished the video

[johnmiller]

I am really grateful to you Dr. Keep. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing so much science backed information for free and make them easy to understand for us laymen

[PepeBr]

Greetings from Brazil. Im very happy that I discovered this channel. High quality content and theory. You explain why the methods presented work with studies and than it makes perfect sense. Thanks for this content!

[LucasOliveira-dwzh]

Great video, initially I thought that free recall was only a remembering technique. After using it, I see it as valuable rounded learning tool.

[moejoe]

i recently discovered your channel!! it is so helpful i cant explain it enough. ive implemented this technique and seen my quiz grades improve thank u ❤

[ABC-jqve]

Just dropping in to say I love your vids!!

[cr.ferlago]

I'm very glad to find your channel, because I had plenty of questions about how we learn and how to do it effectively. I'm a Law student from Spain, so you have been a great discovery! However, I have a question that worried me a lot, especially when I have to take exams. When you try to work for the public sector, for example, you have to memorize *literally* the text of the law. How could you encode and recall that information in an effective way? All the suggestions I get from the people who's preparing an exam like that is that you have to reread and do rote learning. Some of them get the job in the end (not everyone, of course; there's a limit on the vacancies), but they don't understand anything, they forget everything and, in my personal opinion, they waste a lot of time. I would be very grateful if you could answer or do a video talking about this. Thanks!

[annycrepyy]

Its good because it gives you a baseline in every phase of the learning

[natalia]

You are frickng awesome and I am so glad to have found you before my first year of college. Thank you so much!

[joaofrancisconogueira]

Thank you so much! Your vídeos are great.

[nicolastoledo]

Informações excelentes. Muito obrigado.

[oliverjoelpeace]

Dr. Benjamin, I just love the fact that you presented the technique to us on a paper. And I have a doubt, If I’m learning some problems in maths (for exams) and I use the free recall technique, will I be able to remember those problems for a few months (until my exams like in 4 months) ? How many times would I need to do free recall so that I can remember everything I’ve studied until a few months?

[shrinathgarad]

Very helpful...learned something valuable...

[tullochgorum]

One way to handle the spacing issue is to use an SRS app to time the reviews. Say you're working through the chapters of a language course. When you've studied the chapter, add the chapter number into the SRS. It will pop up next time a review is due, And with a well-featured app like Anki it can adjust the intervals depending on how well you recalled the materials.

[joshberg]

I love your videos, but feel overwhelmed by all the info and choice to do something. I think it would be great if you did a longer video where you combine the proven most efficient study methods, so that more people would have a concise guide on how to act. For example Ali Abdaal has a study guide which is approximately 20 minutes long and has millions of views because of its practical content. I love your videos but would love them even more if i could really use them by getting concise practical proven tips!:) I am sorry for my bad english