THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING
Regular study techniques won’t cut it for the bar exam. To give yourself the best chance of passing, you need to use the science of learning.
A Better Way to Learn
Human memory has been studied for over 100 years, beginning in large part with Herman Ebbinghaus. His research created the now famous “forgetting curve” (shown left) that depicts how much a person can expect to remember after first being exposed to new knowledge.
After 6 days, you will forget roughly 75% of what you learned if you do not make efforts to stop the memory bleed.
Our custom algorithms can help you remember everything you need to know to pass your Florida bar exam through the use of the science of learning.
42%
The amount of knowledge your will forget after you first learn it.
67%
The amount of knowledge you will have forgotten after one day of learning it.
25%
The amount of knowledge you will retain after 6 days of learning it.
Maximize Your Learning
Science has taught us that there is a right way and a wrong way to learn. Unfortunately, these study techniques are not taught properly — or at all — in undergraduate or legal education. Our Florida flashcard product is designed to take the guesswork out of these methods by using a computer algorithm to optimize your study schedule for you.
The science of learning tells us that spaced repetition, interleaving, and retrieval practice are three of the most beneficial methods to improve on your mastery of knowledge and memorization. But why are these techniques needed? Can’t you just cram the information you need to know a few days before the test?
Unfortunately, no. Research shows that cramming is one of the worst ways to learn a subject and undermines learning. Here’s why:
This chart is a visual representation of the forgetting curve. While Herman Ebbinghaus first discovered this relationship over 100 years ago between how much information we retain after we first learn about it, modern day scientists have obtained very similar results.
Within 20 minutes of learning something new, only 58% of what you learned is retained. This means that 42% has already been forgotten. Within an hour, only 44% of that knowledge remains. After a day, the average person will have forgotten 67% of what they learned. After 6 days, you can expect to retain only 25% of what you learned.
This isn’t good for studying in general. It is worse for the bar exam where you have over 20 subjects that you need to master before exam day.
Reshaping the Forgetting Curve
Fortunately, the science of learning has taught us that we can reshape the forgetting curve so that we do not forget material as quickly as Ebbinghaus discovered.
This chart shows what can happen to the forgetting curve by utilizing the science of learning techniques we utilize in our algorithms.
When you first learn something, you will begin to forget it, just as Ebbinghaus discovered. However, by engaging the science of learning, your knowledge of material you need to remember for the bar exam is reset back to or near 100%.
This is where the magic happens. If you notice on the graph, you will again begin to forget some information, but the rate at which you forget it, i.e. the slope of the line, becomes shallower. This means that you do not forget it as quickly as before.
This process continues, and the more you repeat engage with this science, the shallower the forgetting curve becomes. After the 5th time recalling your knowledge, the forgetting curve barely register a decline in memory of that information.
Our flashcard software uses the following scientifically validated techniques to help you stem the ill-effects of the forgetting curve and takes the guesswork out of doing it yourself.
Spaced Repetition
Spaced repetition involves creating a study schedule that spaces out studying over many days rather than short cram sessions. Many studies have shown that spaced repetition is one of the most successful methods of improving retention of knowledge. It also makes clear that cramming doesn’t work.
Spaced repetition, however, takes practice. While studies show that this method is invaluable, they also note that students find the process challenging because of the need to recall information that was previously learned days or weeks ago. As discussed below in the retrieval practice, this is a desirable difficulty that actually improves learning.
Our algorithm spaces out your practice depending on how well you are doing on a particular subject and flashcard. The better you do, the less frequently you will see the material. Conversely, the less well that you do, the more you will see the material because the algorithm will shorten the period between when you see the flashcards.
Interleaving
Interleaving is a technique whereby multiple subjects are studied during a study session. Rather than concentrating on one subject for an hour, interleaving tells us that multiple subjects should be studied in that hour and that you should switch between those subjects during your study hour.
As long you tell our algorithm that you want to study multiple subjects at a time, our algorithm will interleave your study session with multiple subjects so you realize the maximum benefit of this technique.
Retrieval Practice
Retrieval practice is a study technique where information previously learned is retrieved from long-term memory and placed into our working memories. Science has shown that the act of retrieval actually strengthens our long-term memory of the material.
Retrieval practice also creates desirable difficulties. Research tells us that struggling to recall information is highly beneficial to learning. The more you struggle to recall information, the more that information will be encoded in your long-term memory.