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Spaced repetition for study and learning

gwern.net

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Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#81

Post by cicatriz »

zxcvvcxz wrote: post #61

I've been considering making spaced repetition software to help reteach and remind me of technical concepts I've learned over college that I don't recall too well. Stuff like fluid mechanics, microelectronics, thermodynamics, control systems, complex analysis, computer architecture, etc. Basically I have access to a lot of relevant course notes I took over the years (and digitized), but I don't remember it, so I woul…

I've been thinking about this for a while--I created a spaced repetition system to digitize and learn material in college (alas, I don't use it anymore). I have a philosophical approach to the question here (also cited in Gwern's article): http://blog.learnstream.org/2012/08/spaced-repetition-in-nat...

Your distinction between learning facts and learning ways of thinking is interesting. Most of the spaced repetition research and design is around fact recall--what's called "paired associates" because you recall some response paired with some stimulus. I don't have any evidence for it, but I'd say that the schema can be lost just as well as facts can be.

One thing I will say is that spaced repetition is generally known for the repetition--that you retain something over time, and the spacing is more thought of as convenience. But the truth is that spacing is also part of better learning--when recall is difficult it's learned better (called "desirable difficulties"). I thought of that because Robert Bjork does that research with skills as well as facts. (See http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/01/everything-about-learni... for an overview.)

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#82

Post by gwern »

biot wrote: post #64

Gwern, how long does it take to put together a comprehensive document like this? Also, what motivates you the most in compiling the information? Is it a rabbit hole of fascinating discovery which you joyfully explore until your knowledge is satiated or does something else compel you?

> Gwern, how long does it take to put together a comprehensive document like this?

This particular page is one of the most citation-stuffed pages on my site, and I read everything I link if the fulltext is available (which is currently almost all of them after my last batch of requests)... I know I spent at least 40 hours compiling the core of the literature review for the LW contest, and I feel like that was less than half the time I spent writing the rest of it, updating it with new papers, that sort of thing, so I would guess this took somewhere upwards of 80 hours.

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#84

Post by sheepmullet »

steveridout wrote: post #9

I think spaced repetition software, which typically involves flashcards, is great for memorising a large quantity of facts. E.g. for learning foreign language vocabulary, anatomy, etc... For this kind of learning it can really save you time, especially when you have 100s or 1000s of items to remember. Using flashcards to learn mathematics, computer programming, physics, or anything requiring more creative or analytic…

I'm currently using SRS software (Anki) to learn more about software development. Instead of trying to memorize facts I am using cards as a cue that it is time to revise and deepen my understanding of a particular topic.

Every time I learn about a new topic/concept/technique I will add a card to my anki deck with the topic name. E.g. Today I have added JS Promises.

Then when a topic comes up for review I spend 10-15 minutes reviewing my knowledge and trying to probe my mind for parts I do not understand and trying to link it to, and see how it can be used with, other related techniques.

After reviewing I then spend 30 minutes to 1 hour investigating the technique in more depth. At this point I'll try and implement an aspect of it in code or see if I can answer a few problems people are having with the topic on stack overflow.

Then I will add a few notes to the card detailing what I have done so that I can make my next "review" of the card more challenging.

All up each review for a card takes close to 1.5 hours. I tend to have 1-2 cards come up per day to review.

I find it has given me a broad, and usable, understanding of software engineering practice and principles and has made me a better developer. The downside is I feel you will never become a master at these topics using this technique as the time investment per topic is just not enough.

I started using it because I found I had an experts understanding of some topics and a very weak understanding of other fundamental areas of computer science and software engineering. E.g. 1000+ hours of crafting complex regular expressions but lacking a proper understanding of the relational model and how a database table join works.

I would be really interested to see if there is any literature that examines using SRS in this manner (as opposed to learning simple facts).

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#85

Post by victorf »

mjmahone17 wrote: post #67
joelhooks wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Power of Habit and http://tinyhabits.com/ are both great.

That sounds like such a scam, the wording is the same as every "With these easy steps, you'll feel better and be more fit!" program I've encountered. Not saying it is a scam, but I'm weary of clicking through.

Wow it sure does. Only slightly more plausible than "one weird trick".

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#86

Post by indubitably »

Danieru wrote: post #41
Sukotto wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you use it for kana too? How did that work for you? I downloaded a nice kana set (with audio) but somehow they just didn't click. Anki eventually classed most of them as leeches and I stopped trying.

I must admit to not remembering how I handled kana. I know I did not start it until I was a decent way through the heisig book. I only remember even that because my mother was doing a masters in the university's German/Japanese department and one of the Japanese professors mentioned how odd the order was. Don't worry too much about kana. It feels impossible now but it will become second nature. At some point you will…

I’ll second this vote, this book is very good. When I learned from it there were two separate editions, now they are together, which is great.

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#87

Post by enraged_camel »

victorf wrote: post #85
mjmahone17 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like such a scam, the wording is the same as every "With these easy steps, you'll feel better and be more fit!" program I've encountered. Not saying it is a scam, but I'm weary of clicking through.

Wow it sure does. Only slightly more plausible than "one weird trick".

Well, I took one for the team and registered. The world hasn't ended yet. I'll let you guys know. :)

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#88

Post by jordwest »

I combined spaced repetition with machine learning to attempt to predict memory recall for my thesis. Turned out fairly effective, correctly predicting recall up to 70% of the time.

Spaced repetition is pretty amazing. Adding records feels like you're entering them into your brain, provided you use it every day. I managed to go from knowing almost nothing to scoring 99% in a Japanese kanji exam once, entirely thanks to Anki.

My thesis is available here: https://github.com/jordwest/Thesis-Report/raw/master/report....

The online SRS I built is also available: https://github.com/jordwest/Membit

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#89

Post by btilly »

tunesmith wrote: post #48
dxhdr wrote: post #16

Spaced repetition, also known as rote memorization, is a terrible way to "learn" anything. The trouble is, you aren't learning at all, you're hacking your brain to force information into it that has no relevance and really doesn't want to be there. It's not a useful or pleasurable activity. It definitely won't make you smarter. Even Mr. Supermemo himself admitted that after FIVE YEARS of constant daily marathon memor…

That's funny because you can write a deck to help you learn concepts of critical thinking. Necessity, Sufficiency, Contributory Causes; Propositional Logic, Predicate/First-Order, Modal... the deck won't TEACH you critical thinking, but it will make it much easier for you to learn it.

Learning the names of things is not learning those things. This is particularly true when you're learning ways of thinking.

What is important is not that you can identify and name methods of reasoning. It is important that you can apply the appropriate reasoning method to problems in your life.

Re: Spaced repetition for study and learning

#90

Post by moultano »

tunesmith wrote: post #42
moultano wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! Have you published those?

No... I got hung up on the idea of whether I wanted to try charging for the music decks, and never fully decided. Plus I want to clean up my git repositories before I consider releasing them. One of those low-priority todo items that nags at me once in a while. :-) The Coursera decks I would absolutely release but I need to finish a course first, and I need to make sure they don't have assignment answers in them I gu…

Put them out there one way or another, free or not. That sounds too cool to stay cooped up! :)
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