Anki Flashcards for a Medical School, an Undergrad, or even a Busy Mother

Last night it was just my son and I at home. It was a lovely evening playing with his tennis ball and stacking his colorful blocks.  I just love my son and it has been an incredible release to come home to him following a grueling day at medical school.

In the midst of stacking blocks I was privileged to talk to my little brother who is working on getting into the Business Program at BYU. He is incredibly busy as a member of the BYU football team and active in a variety of other roles in life. Science classes for him, is what accounting is for me; very meaningless. So, I sat with him and taught him about ANKI, a flashcard app/program that uses space repetition algorithms to plan your studies. The science behind the program is fascinatingly simple.

Here are some highlights:

Why Anki?

Learn a language

Study for medical and law exams

 Memorize people’s names and faces (which I am currently working on for my medical school class)

Brush up on geography

Memorize facts before a business banquet

Master long poems

Even practice guitar chords

What’s the Science Behind ANKI?

Use it or Loose It

We forget about 75% of material learnt within a 48 hour period

This applies to material we’ve studied hard to learn!

Spaced Repetition

 Sebastian Leitner popularized a method of spaced repetition with paper flashcards. By separating the paper cards up into a series of boxes, and moving the cards to a different box on each successful or unsuccessful review, it was possible to see at a glance a rough estimate of how well a card was known and when it should be reviewed again.

Active Recall Testing

 The act of recalling something strengthens the memory, increasing the chances we’ll be able to remember it again

 When we’re unable to answer a question, it tells us we need to return to the material to review or relearn it

Why I Like Anki

 Anki creates a drive to be honest with yourself. In undergrad I often found myself saying things like, “Don’t worry, you’ll recognize it on the test.” Or “You don’t really need to know that.” Statements such as these are KILLERS for your test scores and for your learning.  When I learn by using ANKI, I demand myself to memorize the material no matter how many times I might see that card in a study session. I am compelled to be honest with myself.

Another reason I like ANKI is it’s editing ability. When I study flashcards I especially like to write out pneumonics, silly phrases, or bizarre pictures to help me recall the details more quickly. 

 An example of this tactic is shown by Oligosaccaride Dolicol, That sugar means nothing to me. However, I do need to know it and remember it for the test and for an understanding of what happens to patient’s when it’s malfunctioning. Oligosaccaride Dolicol is in the Endoplasmic Reticulum and flips to the outside to grab glycosolated proteins.  How do I remember that?  I think “Ol go sac” the glycosolated Protein that looks like a “Dol”. That phrase helps me enough to remember the full name, “Oligosaccaride Dolicol” and the function of the protein, “get glycosolated proteins”.  Try it, it’s fun and it works.

To say the least, my brother and I had a good evening figuring out how he can remember the proposed theories of Molecules and Atoms. WE moved from the Continuous  Theory to Brownian motion and more.  I loved helping my brother and I hope you find ANKI helpful as you work on learning and memorizing for your specific class or career.

Go ANKI!

-MLH