Leitner System for Flashcards

One of the most common and helpful tools that students use to study for a test are flashcards. Flashcards have been in use since the early 19th century, and have been proven to increase active recall, which enhances your ability to remember more information for longer periods of time. One of the best and most widely-used methods of using flashcards is known as the Leitner system.

This system involves grouping your flashcards according to how well you remember the contents of each card. Essentially, it helps you spend more time studying the cards you are the least familiar with. I’ll show you how it works.

We start by having three folders, or boxes, labeled “Every day,” “Tuesday & Thursday,” and “Friday.”

Day 1:

Starting on Monday, you’ll want to go through all of your flashcards one by one. I’ve got some flashcards here. Let’s say that you get this first one right; you’ve remembered exactly what was on the other side. Since you remembered this card, you’ll put it in the “Tuesday & Thursday” box.

As you keep reviewing the rest of your flashcards, let’s say you come across one that you can’t remember, or you can only remember part of it. This card will go into the “Every day” box, which means you’ll be reviewing this unfamiliar card more often.

Once you’ve finished reviewing your flashcards for the day, you should have divided them into one of these boxes.

Day 2:

The next day, Tuesday, you’ll need to review all of the cards in the “Every day” box and all of the cards in the “Tuesday & Thursday” box. Starting with the “Every day” box, place all of the cards you get right in the “Tuesday & Thursday” box, and put the ones you still can’t remember back in the “Every day” box.

Then, you’ll take all of the “Tuesday & Thursday” cards out that you did yesterday and review those as well. You will not be looking at the ones that you’ve just put in here from the “Every day” box. For every card that you remember correctly, you’ll put them in the “Friday” box. You’ve got this one right twice now, so you’ll just need to review it at the end of each week. But if you get one of these cards wrong, or you can’t remember all of the important details, it’ll go back into the “Every day” box to be reviewed tomorrow.

Day 3:

On Wednesday, you’ll just be reviewing the cards that are left in the “Every day” box. Same as before, place the cards you remembered correctly in the “Tuesday & Thursday” box, and the ones you can’t remember back in the “Every day” box.

Day 4:

On Thursday, you’ll review all of the cards, starting with the “Every day” box and the “Tuesday & Thursday” box, starting with the “Every day” box. Correct cards go in the next box over, and incorrect cards go back to the “Every day” box.

Day 5:

Then, on Friday, you’ll review the cards in the “Every day” box and the cards in the “Friday” box. Correct cards from the “Every day” box go to the “Tuesday & Thursday” box. Remember, you can only move cards one box over when you get them correct. And Friday cards that are correct stay in the Friday box. But, if you get any wrong, they’ll have to go back to the “Every day” box to be reviewed some more next week.

Using this method of studying flashcards is a great way to make sure you’re studying harder on exactly what you need to and easing up on what you already know well, giving you a balanced and efficient way to study.

Thanks for watching, and happy studying!