Spaced Repetition: How it Benefits You

A universal struggle amongst students is not having enough time for self care 🍃 , going out with friends 💃 , and doing hobbies 🥹 all because of the immense amount of time spent studying huge amounts of material. There is a study tool that, when used properly, can allow you to efficiently put huge amounts of material in your long term memory! Spaced repetition is the magical study tool that allows you to study both efficiently and effortlessly, in a much shorter time ✨. 

Previously, we did a deep dive into spaced repetition with its history, scientific evidence, and gradual incorporation into the day to day student life. Here, we will explore its benefits!  

Promotes neural network formation 🤓

After you first learn a new piece of information, your brain starts to work on “consolidating” or processing it. During this period, if you don’t review the information, chances are you will forget it within 3 days! 😰

This is why it is important to review or reconsolidate by forcing yourself to “retrieve” or recall the information… and this process enhances your memory. When you do this revision task at increasing spaced intervals, it eventually goes into your long term memory 📖

💡 By reviewing material just as we are about to forget it, neural connections are strengthened and information goes from your short term memory to your long term memory! 

Active recall actively boosts studying

Testing (or practicing retrieval from memory, relative to just rereading the material) boosts learning in various ways: improved retention of the tested material, shown down forgetting rate, helps you apply the knowledge to different settings, and strengthens your self awareness of your own knowledge! All of these are crucial to your future comprehension of the subject. 

Instead of passively rereading a piece of information, you can instead review by making your brain recall from memory what you had just read. 

Personalized to YOU

The amount of times you revise a single piece of information depends on how “confident” you are in your knowledge of that info. To explain this, Voovo flashcard app uses a confidence ranking system in which you rate your confidence on a scale of 1-4 (no idea-guess so-so close-too easy). How does it work? 

1. Consolidation — this is your first time studying the flashcard. You will have to rate your confidence, be honest! It will most likely be a 1-2 if it’s your first time ever seeing it 🤓 
2. Reconsolidation: Time to review and rate again! 
3. Based off of your rating, the spaced repetition algorithm will determine how soon in the future you should review the flashcards. If you had no idea then you will review the flashcard very soon. The opposite is the case if you selected “too easy”.

With each successful review of a flashcard on Voovo and the higher confidence rating you give, the time intervals between review sessions will increase! This way, the algorithm optimizes and modifies the rate and time at which you study each flashcard in a deck to YOU. Your study sessions are tailored and personalized to you to help you reach the highest scores possible. 

💡 Instead of spending an equal amount of time on all material, you focus your time more efficiently on weaker areas that need reinforcement. 

Allows you to have better study-life balance 📚 

Because you are studying smarter, and retaining more information in your long term memory… you don’t have to spend as much time on your studies. In fact, it is encouraged for you to take plenty of healthy study breaks to go out with friends, do your hobbies, and just take a breather! When you are taking a break from studying, your brain is still processing the information in the background and slowly forming new neural networks. 

💡 Breaks to live life allow your brain to consolidate information better 

Prevents burnout 🚀 

A common problem with students is burnout, which makes you counter-productive. When you cram large amounts of information over short periods of time, your brain can easily be overwhelmed. This overwhelming feeling often causes you be mentally unable to study! 

Spaced repetition studying distributes material over many study sessions, lightening the load on your brain. This allows for your brain to easier process and retain information without feeling mentally exhausted or burnt out. 💪 

Immediate Feedback 

On flashcard apps, you get immediate feedback on if you actively recalled the answer to a flashcard correctly. This is great for keeping track of how much you’ve studied and what you should focus more on! 

Builds confidence

Because you spend much more time on topics or questions you might not be 100% in, once you finish studying all the flashcards in a deck, you will become 100% confident in the whole topic you’re studying! 

Spaced repetition also makes it easier for you to truly master a subject. As you review individual flashcards from various topics again and again over time, slowly you will also see connections between different topics! Being able to see connections between topics is a sign of deeper understanding of complex subjects like biochemistry and physiology. 👏 

A truly powerful learning technique!

Spaced repetition is an invaluable tool that is individually tailored to you with the goal of enhancing your long term memory, shortening your study time, and helping you excel in your studies. 🤓 Reviewing material at increasing intervals allows your brain to consolidate, and reconsolidate new pieces of information efficiently. 

How you can harness the power of spaced repetition with Voovo App 

At Voovo, we believe that studying should be easy, efficient and enjoyable. We are here so make your study sessions more effective and less stressful so that you can have both a fulfilling personal and study life. 💪 are you ready to transform your learning experience? Download the Voovo app for free from the App Store orGoogle Play!