A flashcard is a card bearing words, numbers, or pictures that is briefly displayed as a learning aid.

Flashcards can be used effectively

• Factual flashcards can be made for vocabulary words, formulas, equations, definitions, dates, names, etc. The term or key word can be put on one side and the explanation or answer on the other side.
• General principle flashcards might be made for main ideas on a given topic, lists of characteristics, cause-effect relationships, categorizing groups of items, etc.
  

Coding flashcards

• Number flashcards to show original sequence. 
• Color code to indicate categories, relationship between cards or priorities. Coding will make it easier to shuffle or divide the cards for short reviews frequently repeated

.

Remember: While flashcards do take time to make, the writing of the cards is in itself an aid to memory!!

SUGGESTIONS:

1. Prepare the cards well in advance of the test date.
2. Review cards often. Carry them with you to class or work.
3. Break them up into small groups. Learn one group at a time and review all the cards together from time to time.
4. Spend most of your time studying the cards you do not know or are not sure of. You can use the cards as a self-test. Divide them into two piles: the material you know and the material you are learning.
5. Sort the cards by topics or relationships. This helps keep the overall organization of the course in your mind.
6. Ask questions you think will be on the exam and sort for the answers. This will give you practice on retrieving information from different points of view.
7. Shuffle the cards frequently and flip through them rapidly.
8. Test yourself in both directions. First, look at the terms and provide the definitions or explanations. Then turn the cards over and reverse the process.
9. Make the most of last-minute review. Go through your flashcards one last time before the exam. Resist going through your notes or textbook page by page.

Possible uses for flashcards:

Literature courses:

Write the name of an important person or document on the front and the chief characteristics on the back.

Math courses:

Write a term or formula on one side and its definition, meaning, or calculations on the other.

Science courses:

State the theory or scientist on the front and the important principles or hypothesis associated with it or him/her on the back.


Used by permission from "Right from the Start: Managing your College Career" 2nd Edition by Robert Holkeboer, Wadsworth Publishing Company 1996.