Flashcard
Encyclopedia
A flashcard or flash card is a set of cards bearing information, as words or numbers, on either or both sides, used in classroom drills or in private study. One writes a question on a card and an answer overleaf. Flashcards can bear vocabulary
, historical dates, formulas or any subject matter that can be learned via a question and answer format. Flashcards are widely used as a learning
drill to aid memorization
by way of spaced repetition
.
: given a prompt (the question), one produces the answer. Beyond the content of cards, which are collected in decks, there is the question of use – how does one use the cards, in particular, how frequently does one review (more finely, how does one schedule review) and how does one react to errors, either complete failures to recall or mistakes? Various systems have been developed, with the main principle being spaced repetition
– increasing the review interval whenever a card is recalled correctly.
(opening). For physical flashcards, one may either use a single card, flipping it according to the direction, or two parallel decks, such as one English-Japanese and one Japanese-English. For electronic flashcards, cards going in the opposite direction can easily be produced, and may be treated either as two unrelated cards, or being related in some way, as in the program Anki
, which enforces a minimal time spacing between opposite sides of a card. They have a number of uses that can be very simple or very elaborate for the person to memorize.
– reviewing information at increasing intervals. Manually managing interval length can add greatly to the overhead of using flashcards: the Leitner system
is a simple spaced repetition system designed for paper flashcards, based on a small number of boxes and a simple algorithm, while the SuperMemo
algorithms are more complicated, tracking each card individually, and designed for implementation by computer.
s, as in Chinese
hanzi and Japanese
kanji
, but can also be used for other non-phonetic spellings, including English as a second language.
Reverse:
An example for a French student of English learning "enough", which in French is assez, and due to the -ough has irregular pronunciation (pronunciation given in IPA):
Reverse:
One can generalize this principle to an arbitrary number of data fields associated with a single record, with each field representing a different aspect of a fact or bundle of facts.
flashcards by American educator Favell Lee Mortimer
being credited by some as the first flashcards. Previously, a single-sided hornbook
had been used for early literacy education.
The Leitner system
for scheduling flashcards was introduced by German scientific journalist Sebastian Leitner
in the 1970s, specifically his 1972 So lernt man lernen. Der Weg zum Erfolg (How to learn to learn), while the SuperMemo
program and algorithm (specifically the SM-2 algorithm, which is the most popular in other programs) was introduced on December 13th, 1987 by Polish researcher Piotr Woźniak
.
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
, historical dates, formulas or any subject matter that can be learned via a question and answer format. Flashcards are widely used as a learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
drill to aid memorization
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
by way of spaced repetition
Spaced repetition
Spaced repetition is a learning technique that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material; this exploits the psychological spacing effect...
.
Use
Flashcards exercise the mental process of active recallActive recall
Active recall is a principle of efficient learning, which claims the need to actively stimulate memory during the learning process. It contrasts with passive review, in which the learning material is processed passively . For example, reading a text about George Washington, with no further action,...
: given a prompt (the question), one produces the answer. Beyond the content of cards, which are collected in decks, there is the question of use – how does one use the cards, in particular, how frequently does one review (more finely, how does one schedule review) and how does one react to errors, either complete failures to recall or mistakes? Various systems have been developed, with the main principle being spaced repetition
Spaced repetition
Spaced repetition is a learning technique that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material; this exploits the psychological spacing effect...
– increasing the review interval whenever a card is recalled correctly.
Two-sided
Physical flashcards are two-sided; in some contexts one wishes to correctly produce the opposite side on being presented with either side, such as in foreign language vocabulary; in other contexts one is content to go in only one direction, such as in producing a poem given its title or incipitIncipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
(opening). For physical flashcards, one may either use a single card, flipping it according to the direction, or two parallel decks, such as one English-Japanese and one Japanese-English. For electronic flashcards, cards going in the opposite direction can easily be produced, and may be treated either as two unrelated cards, or being related in some way, as in the program Anki
Anki
Anki is a spaced repetition flashcard program. The software is similar to SuperMemo, a commercial product for the same purpose, and Mnemosyne, another free flashcard program. Anki is the Japanese word for "memorizing"....
, which enforces a minimal time spacing between opposite sides of a card. They have a number of uses that can be very simple or very elaborate for the person to memorize.
Systems
There are various systems for using flashcards, many based around the principle of spaced repetitionSpaced repetition
Spaced repetition is a learning technique that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material; this exploits the psychological spacing effect...
– reviewing information at increasing intervals. Manually managing interval length can add greatly to the overhead of using flashcards: the Leitner system
Leitner system
The Leitner system is a widely used method to efficiently use flashcards that was proposed by the German science journalist Sebastian Leitner in the 1970s...
is a simple spaced repetition system designed for paper flashcards, based on a small number of boxes and a simple algorithm, while the SuperMemo
SuperMemo
SuperMemo is a learning method and software package developed by SuperMemo World and SuperMemo R&D with Piotr Wozniak in Poland from 1985 to the present...
algorithms are more complicated, tracking each card individually, and designed for implementation by computer.
Three-sided cards
Physical flashcards are necessarily two-sided. A variant, found in electronic flashcards, is what is known as a three-sided card. This is a particular kind of asymmetric two-sided card; abstractly, such a card has three fields, Q, A, A*, where Q & A are reversed on flipping, but A* is always in the answer – the two "sides" are thus Q/A,A* and A/Q,A*. Concretely, these are most used for learning foreign vocabulary where the foreign pronunciation is not transparent from the foreign writing – in this case the Question is the native word, the Answer is the foreign word (written), and the pronunciation is always part of the answer (Answer*). This is particularly the case for Chinese characterChinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s, as in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
hanzi and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
, but can also be used for other non-phonetic spellings, including English as a second language.
Examples
A Chinese-English example, for learning the word 人 (rén, person):- Q: person
- A: 人, rén
Reverse:
- Q: 人
- A: rén, person
An example for a French student of English learning "enough", which in French is assez, and due to the -ough has irregular pronunciation (pronunciation given in IPA):
- Q: assez
- A: enough, ɪˈnʌf
Reverse:
- Q: enough
- A: /ɪˈnʌf/, assez
Purpose
The purpose of three-sided cards is to provide the benefits of two-sided cards – ease of authoring (enter data once to create two cards), synchronized updates (changes to one are reflected in the other), and spacing between opposite sides (so opposite sides of the same card are not tested too close together) – without the card needing to be symmetric.One can generalize this principle to an arbitrary number of data fields associated with a single record, with each field representing a different aspect of a fact or bundle of facts.
Software
There is a wide range of software (including open source and online services) available for creating and using virtual flashcards as an aid to learning.History
Paper flashcards have been used since at least the 19th century, with Reading Disentangled (1834), a set of phonicsPhonics
Phonics refers to a method for teaching speakers of English to read and write that language. Phonics involves teaching how to connect the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters and teaching them to blend the sounds of letters together to produce approximate pronunciations...
flashcards by American educator Favell Lee Mortimer
Favell Lee Mortimer
Favell Lee Mortimer, born Favell Lee Bevan was an English Evangelical author of educational books for children.- Life :...
being credited by some as the first flashcards. Previously, a single-sided hornbook
Hornbook
A hornbook is a book that serves as primer for study. The hornbook originated in England in 1450 . The term has been applied to a few different study materials in different fields...
had been used for early literacy education.
The Leitner system
Leitner system
The Leitner system is a widely used method to efficiently use flashcards that was proposed by the German science journalist Sebastian Leitner in the 1970s...
for scheduling flashcards was introduced by German scientific journalist Sebastian Leitner
Sebastian Leitner
Sebastian Leitner was a German commentator and science popularizer.As a student in Vienna, he was briefly kept in custody by the Nazis in 1938 because of his opposition against the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany. Later he moved to Frankfurt to study law, but he was recruited by the...
in the 1970s, specifically his 1972 So lernt man lernen. Der Weg zum Erfolg (How to learn to learn), while the SuperMemo
SuperMemo
SuperMemo is a learning method and software package developed by SuperMemo World and SuperMemo R&D with Piotr Wozniak in Poland from 1985 to the present...
program and algorithm (specifically the SM-2 algorithm, which is the most popular in other programs) was introduced on December 13th, 1987 by Polish researcher Piotr Woźniak
Piotr Wozniak (researcher)
Piotr A. Woźniak is the principal author of SuperMemo and a researcher in the theory of spaced repetition.-Partial bibliography:Academic articles he has authored include:...
.