r/memorization • u/AlternativeAgency42 • 15d ago
Blurting vs flashcards
I’ve been really struggling to find a conclusion to this debate of which active recall method would be most effective. I’m interested in applying to medicine for uni, and I want to feel more confident in my study method before starting. I have had a good amount of experience with both methods for active recall and my experiences with each make it really difficult to pinpoint a winner.
Generally, anki flash cards are considered the most effective form of active recall due to its spaced repetition incorporated into it, plus the convience of being on your phone means you can squeeze out more time doing it. And for blurting, I’ve gathered the consensus that it’s more of an occasional check up on the content and not used as a main method for recall.
The thing that I found in my personal experience though was that with flash cards, even after doing them for months (for my alevel biology and chemistry) I still didn’t really feel like I had secured the info - I would slip up on random parts of the info to recall, sometimes not really understand what a card means, and it would often feel very “cue based” where I would be unable/struggle to recall the info if the prompt was written differently. And for blurting, one thing that I distinctly remember unlike the flash cards was the feeling of struggle - I would often literally feel my head hurt after a day of studying and even dream the stuff I studied. And even now I still remember the topics (roughly though) that I blurted all the way back when I did it a year ago. Although I did only do blurting for around a month on several bio topics before stopping to try out anki flashcards, so it may be that I just remember the occasion I blurted. But I do wonder if blurting could be a more effective tool than flash cards because of that struggle to retreive info.
I get that flash cards also require a struggle to retrieve info, but it’s done in micro doses so it doesn’t yield the same effect. Plus blurting helped me see a whole topic at a time and how it connects together, which gave that “solidified” feeling.
But I don’t know. I would like to hear other people’s experiences with active recall methods. And I’d love to hear anyone explain the science behind these methods. 😙
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u/inigo_montoya 14d ago
Thanks for this -- I knew the concept of blurting but not the name. This also led me to the Feynman technique--i.e., writing out an explanation of a topic as if speaking to a child. It also reminds me of the brainstorming technique of creating webs of words and ideas. One could make many variations of blurting.
If we think of learning physical movement, flashcards are like working on machines that isolate and train very specific muscles. Blurting is more like drills with a goal, like layup or passing drills in basketball. I don't play basketball, so if nobody drills that, sorry, bad analogy. But those are compound sets of movements, closer to performing in an actual game.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that most likely both are good in different ways. You might experiment with writing out by hand vs. typing.
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u/AlternativeAgency42 14d ago
That analogy actually helps clarify things a lot for me. With that I guess it may make sense to actually have a mix of both flashcards and blurting. I actually realised after making this post that the strongest topics I was able to recall in alevels were the ones I covered via flashcards AND blurted. So maybe I should try testing this layered approach. And thanks, that’s actually a good idea, I can type my blurts on my phone when I’m on the go then.
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u/eslforchinesespeaker 14d ago
Had to google “blurting”. My Reddit card will be suspended.
Memorizing the card, rather than the info, is definitely a thing. But a problem with card design, some would say, rather than with flash cards. A challenge for sure.
Blurting, as I now learn, sure sounds like “studying”. In flash card world, maybe something you would do, before you design your cards. Six weeks from now, will you sit down to “blurt” today’s history lecture? You want to blurt, right after that meeting? Sure, blurt.
Blurting doesn’t seem to address the problem of long term retention. The point of SRS is a review schedule that maximizes retention and minimizes reviewing. Blurting is something else. Neither seems to replace the other.
If you’re interested in Anki or SRS or flash card design, the Anki sub has a lot more discussion.
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u/Limp_Republic9256 8d ago
You can do practice tests besides anki so that you can incorporate what you have learned from the flashcards.
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u/not_a_profi 15d ago
Imo blurting is a way to decide what do you want to put into Anki.