In the era of digital everything, it’s often easy to lose some of the tried-and-true methods of learning. If you’re like me, you used flashcards a pantload while studying for quizzes, tests, the SATs, etc.

But why? Why did you use flashcards?

Because, apparently, they work. According to a new infographic from the folks over at Course Hero, flashcards burn the information right into your brain. It promotes ‘active recall’ which is basically memorization. Active recall is essentially understanding concepts but not context. To put it more bluntly, you focus on what’s on the quiz and not the bigger picture. So you’ll get an A+ but not be able to apply it in the real world.

That being said, flashcards are not just for cramming. They’re helpful for understanding new concepts in a shorter period of time than it’d take to get a complete handle on the larger picture. While I loathe memorization, I like flashcards. Go figure. Enjoy the infographic! Click here to download it as a PDF (a popular request from the Edudemic community; we listened!)

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