Use the Leitner System for More Effective Learning
A variety of learning methods is a great way to keep you more engaged when learning new information, so try Leitner’s system the next time you’re learning a new subject. This memory improvement method works best when you have plenty of time to study the material, so don’t use it for cramming, but start right away at the beginning of the semester or chapter. Here’s what to do.
What is the Leitner system for learning?
This system was developed by science writer Sebastian Leitner in 1972, so he is honored to have it named after him. (This is from his book How to Learn , but it’s only available in German, so trust me.) This method relies on physical tools: cards and boxes . (You’ll also need a pen or pencil to make the flashcards.) At its core, it’s a version of spaced repetition , a science-based technique that helps students learn multiple pieces of information and retain them in their memory. The system is best used when you have plenty of time, but you have a lot of concepts, phrases or ideas to learn – so use it for an entire course or a really long chapter, rather than a section or topic that only includes a few new things to learn . study.
How to use the Leitner system
The first thing you need to do is make cards. Don’t worry about the other steps involved with the boxes for now. Make flashcards as usual, including vocabulary words, new concepts, phrases, important dates, and anything else you need to know. It’s helpful to use reading comprehension techniques to get through a chapter or subject first, so try the SQ3R method , which allows you to identify questions you have about the material before you start reading, and then write down the answers to those questions. as you find them, as well as everything you learn. You base these questions on subheadings, graphs, tables, summaries, and other key parts of the chapter, but later you can base your cards on those same pieces of information as well as the answers you found. Be careful to include concepts and words that you already know, even if it seems silly. This is all part of the Leitner method and will come in handy.
If you have a full deck of cards, now is the time to use this method. You’ll need five boxes (or envelopes, or even paper clips with labels if they can hold large stacks of cards). You should mark them on a timeline, ideally indicating how long it will take you to absorb the information. For example, if you have a big midterm in two months, label box 1 “daily,” box 2 “every other day,” box 3 “weekly,” box 4 “biweekly,” and box 5 “monthly.”
Now hand out the cards. For every card you got right, move it into Box 2. For every card you got wrong, keep it in Box 1. You can see where this is going, but I’ll spell it out: Box 1 is a daily review, so you play these cards every time. day, but if you start this activity on Monday and your Box 2 is meant to be studied every other day, you won’t get back to it until Wednesday. If you answer the cards in box 2 correctly, they will go into box 3, which in this example is your “weekly” box. If you answer any cards incorrectly in Box 2, you will move them back to Box 1, where you will study them each day until you answer correctly.
In short, when you answer a card correctly, it moves into a box and you will look at it less often. If you answer a card incorrectly, it will move back into the box and you will revise it more often . Eventually, in Block 5 you will have cards. These will be flashcards containing information that you have effectively stored in your memory and actually retained, so you won’t have to look at them as often. Cards in lower numbered boxes contain information that you also don’t save and should be reviewed more.
Modifications and features of the Leitner system to remember
How you use the system will depend on how long you have to learn, as well as how much you have to learn. For example, if you only have a few concepts you want to practice, or you only have two weeks before a big test, you can simply use the three fields for daily, every other day, and weekly study. You also have some wiggle room when it comes to incorrect answers. Following this method most closely will result in you moving all the incorrect cards back to box 1, regardless of, for example, which box they went into previously, but you can decide whether you got it wrong once. means you need to study it every day or you think it should only be demoted one box.
You also need to be strategic when you study in a day that includes multiple boxes. If you start on Monday and use, for example, a daily, every other day, and weekly setting for the first three boxes, Friday will be quite difficult for you. Start with the tallest box of the day, then work your way back. By doing this, you will be able to learn all the things you got wrong and moved backwards twice, but you won’t have to learn all the things you got right and moved forward twice. Plus, it’ll be a bit of a confidence booster to start with the tougher ones and get some right, moving them into a box you won’t have to look at for a while.
The goal here is to really hammer the cards that contain information you’re not interested in without getting bogged down in learning what you already know. As more cards move into higher numbered slots, add information from new chapters to ensure your deck is a comprehensive overview of everything you need to know for an aggregate test or, ideally, for long-term real-world use. information.