How to Use Active Recall With Your Lecture Notes
Practical guidance for Nigerian university students: use active recall with your lecture notes
2 min read
How to Use Active Recall With Your Lecture Notes
Active recall is the practice of closing your material and trying to retrieve information from memory before checking the answer. It is different from repeatedly reading the same page because it shows you what you can actually reproduce.
Turn Headings Into Questions
Use your lecture headings as a starting point. Turn “Causes of inflation” into “What are the causes of inflation?” Turn “Functions of the kidney” into “What are the functions of the kidney?” Specific questions make your progress easier to measure.
Use the Cover-and-Answer Method
Read a small section, cover it, and explain the main idea in your own words. Then check your notes. Mark anything you missed and test yourself on it again later.
You can answer by writing, speaking aloud or typing into your phone. The important part is attempting retrieval before looking at the answer.
Include Class Examples
Keep examples your lecturer used. Ask yourself what each example demonstrates and whether you can create another example. Connecting difficult ideas to familiar situations can make revision easier.
Use It for Calculation Courses
For mathematics, accounting, statistics and physics, close the worked example and solve the problem yourself. Identify what is given, what you need to find and which method applies. Compare your working only after attempting the problem.
Review More Than Once
Test yourself again after some time has passed. Keep a list of questions you missed and make those questions your priority. A short repeated review is more useful than discovering every weak topic the night before an exam.
A 30-Minute Routine
Spend ten minutes reading a small section, ten minutes answering questions without looking, and ten minutes checking mistakes and repeating difficult questions.
Final Checklist
Ask yourself whether you can explain the topic without your notes, define key terms, answer likely questions and solve a related problem. Active recall requires no expensive equipment; your existing lecture notes can become a strong revision resource.
