Introduction
There are two main things that you must implement to learn better, spaced repetition and active recall. Spaced repetition is a learning technique that involves spreading out studying over a period of time to increase memory retention. This is done because we tend to forget things fairly quickly after learning about something the first time. But if we revisit that thing again then it takes longer to forget the second time. Active recall on the other hand is a learning technique that utilizes questions and other recall activities to help the learner remember and understand material. This is superior to simply rereading something as it engages a different part of your brain.
Benefits
Spaced repetition is all about beating the forgetting curve. Everyone forgets things overtime and we can estimate using various equations just how quickly we will forget something given how many exposures to that piece of information we have had and how long it has been since our last exposure.
Luckily we tend to forget things slower after only a few exposures to that topic. Tools like Anki, flash card software with spaced reputation built in, are great for storing information that you want to learn and master. Anything from school notes, vocabulary from a foreign language you want to learn, or just memories that you want to cherish for longer can be put into Anki. Its algorithm will show you the front of the card and you have to recall what is on the back. It then asks you how difficult recalling that information was and will adjust the next time you see that card accordingly.
This brings us to active recall. Many students think studying is simply going over their lecture notes or rereading passages from their textbook. But research shows that this is not an efficient use of time. You really want to create some sort of note taking system that follows a question answer structure, and you want to use a medium or app that allows you to separate the two. You can use excel sheets, toggle drop downs on apps like Notion, Anki or regular flashcards, anything that allows you to ask yourself a question so you can attempt to recall the answer. I would go as far as saying you should never simply reread notes. Notes are the first stage in learning, but once you take your notes you need to formulate questions off of them.
Improve as a Developer
You can use these methods to improve as a developer. You can take Leetcode questions and write their tricks on the back, or big O time complexities. Language syntax is another area that easily benefits from these two techniques. When you see a cool way to do something in a language you can add that to your Anki deck. Really anything and everything that you struggle with as a developer can usually be improved using these techniques, you should not only use them while in school they can help you throughout your life!
Conclusion
In conclusion, both spaced repetition and active recall are essential techniques for learning and remembering information. Spaced repetition helps to beat the forgetting curve while active recall engages a different part of your brain to help you recall and understand the material. Both techniques should be used in combination in order to maximize the effectiveness of learning and to ensure that the material is retained over time.
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