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High · d = 0.80
Practice Testing
Active retrieval rebuilds neural pathways. Significantly outperforms rereading at university level.
How it works: Pulling information out of memory forces the brain to reconstruct knowledge rather than just recognize it. Each retrieval strengthens the neural signal.
How to apply: Replace passive rereading with flashcards, practice questions, blank-page recall, or teaching the material aloud from memory.
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High Utility
Distributed Practice
Spreading study sessions over time. Benefits persist for months or even years after initial learning.
The spacing effect: A small amount of forgetting between sessions makes retrieval more effortful — and that effort produces more durable memories.
How to apply: Three 30-minute sessions across a week beat one 90-minute cram. Build a review schedule that revisits material at growing intervals.
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Moderate
Elaborative Interrogation
Asking "why is this true?" to integrate new facts with existing knowledge.
Best for: Learners with solid prior knowledge in the domain. Discrete factual material rather than abstract concepts.
How to apply: After encountering each new fact, pause and generate a reason it makes sense given what you already know.
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Moderate
Self-Explanation
Verbalizing your reasoning while working through problems or texts.
Where it works: Math, logic puzzles, reading comprehension. Generalizes well across domains.
The cost: Explaining every step can roughly double study time. Use selectively for the hardest concepts.
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Moderate
Interleaved Practice
Mixing different problem types within a single session instead of blocking by topic.
Why it helps: Forces learners to discriminate between problem types and choose the right strategy — a skill that blocked practice never trains.
Caveat: Requires baseline proficiency in each individual technique first. Not for absolute beginners.
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Low Utility
Rereading
Creates fluency that masquerades as mastery — recognition is not recall.
The illusion: The second pass feels easier, so students mistake that ease for understanding.
Better alternative: Read once, then close the book and try to recall the key points before checking.
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Low Utility
Highlighting
Feels productive but can hurt higher-level inference and synthesis.
The trap: Marking text fragments leaves the brain passive. Most students over-highlight and create no real hierarchy.
If you must: Highlight after a first read, sparingly, and then test yourself on what you marked.
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Low Utility
Summarization
Effective only after extensive training in how to summarize well.
The problem: Most learners produce summaries that miss the structural hierarchy or copy verbatim.
To make it work: Summarize from memory, not from the open text. Then check.
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Low Utility
Keyword Mnemonics
Limited to imagery-friendly material. Weak long-term retention.
Where it can help: Vocabulary in foreign languages, anatomy terms, paired associates.
Why it fades: Without ongoing retrieval practice, mnemonic links degrade quickly. Pair with spaced testing.
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