Flash Card

A flashcard (or flash card) is essentially a note card with a question on one side and the corresponding answer on the other side. You can learn and repeat pieces of information by reading the question and trying to recall the answer. You can then check if your answer was correct by flipping the card.

Flashcards are an application of the testing effect − the finding that long-term memory is increased when some of the learning period is devoted to retrieving the information through testing with proper feedback.

History:

Paper flashcards have been used since at least the 19th century, with Reading Disentangled (1834), a set of phonics flashcards by English educator Favell Lee Mortimer being credited by some as the first flashcards. Previously, a single-sided hornbook had been used for early literacy education.

Purpose using Flash Card:

Flash cards are an age-old method for improving students’ abilities to recall information and understand concepts. There’s a reason flash card is just as popular today as they ever were — they do their job, and they do it well. Teachers often use this technique when introducing a new topic, while many students use it as a go-to method when studying for exams and assessments. When helping the children study at home, flash cards can become a best friend and favorite tool.

When used correctly, flash cards allow students to interact with information in a way that makes it easier to retain. Flash cards are strategically designed to enhance and encourage active recall. Practicing active recall creates stronger neural connections in the brain — making it a very effective method for improving memory. If the child struggles with certain flash cards, we can repeat those questions more frequently than the other cards to establish a better connection. This process is called confidence-based repetition, and scientific research shows it to be an extremely effective way to improve memory.

How Flash Cards Work?

As the child engages active recall and confidence-based repetition, flash cards allow for another process called spaced repetition. This technique states that spacing out intervals between studying the same information again will increase the chances of recalling that information, and flash cards do this naturally. As we run through the deck of cards, there will be a natural space of time before the same card appears again. Repeating that information after a period of time helps create permanent memories, whereas cramming and forcing the information in a short time doesn’t help it to stick. Flash cards also further develop children’s meta-cognition, when they judge their own performance based on the number of cards they “get right” or remember. Perhaps one of the greatest perks of flash cards is that the child can use them without support. Instead of being reliant on another person to ask questions or track answers, we can encourage the child to study independently with flash cards.

Different Ways to Use Flash Cards

Flash cards are extremely versatile, so there’s no one right way to use them. Experiment with different ways of best for the child:

• The Memory Game

• The Matching Game

• The Passing Game

• Digital Flash Card Apps

• Visual Learning

To take advantage of all that flash cards can offer, here are some valuable tips:

• Shuffle the flash cards each time you use them to ensure they are sorted in a different order each time.

• As you test your child, sort the cards into “I know” and “I don’t know” piles. This will help you identify which concepts your child needs to put more attention toward.

• Review the cards your child doesn’t know more than once. Repetition is key.

As future teacher, this is a big help to used this kind of assessment for the learners in order to help them develop their meta-cognition to understand and remember the word, picture & symbols that given to them.