Active recall
Try to bring information back before you look.
Do it now
Keep one small piece of authorised school material beside you. Then follow the sequence in order.
- Choose a small target
- Close or cover the material
- Recall by writing, saying or drawing
- Check accurately
- Retry the gap
Retrieval practice makes memory do the work instead of letting the page do it for you.
Make the checking honest
The product does not know what is on the page beside you. Check your attempt against your own notes, teacher feedback, worked example or authorised mark scheme. If the source and your memory disagree, the source—not the app—wins.
- Mark what came back clearly.
- Choose one partial or missing point.
- Correct it from the source.
- Hide the source and retry that point.
When to change technique
A technique is not a personality type. If it does not match the task, change the action. Facts may need recall; a procedure needs a fresh attempt; an extended response may need planning, evidence and improvement against teacher criteria.
Finish with a return
Write down the prompt you used. Come back after a gap and make the attempt before opening the source. A short honest return is more useful than rereading the full page again.
- I attempted before looking.
- I checked against a trusted source.
- I corrected and retried one gap.
- I chose when to return.