Practicing active recall

One of my teachers during freshman year of high school encouraged us to write down at the end of each day what we’d learned that day, as a way to internalize new concepts.

It was a nice idea. Wish I could say I followed through!

Fast forward twelve (!!) years later, and my GMAT instructor emphasizes that keeping an error log and redoing problems is the #1 way to raise your GMAT Score.

This time around, I listened up. In hindsight, I probably could have done an even better job committing to my redo’s.

Problems would pile up on the error log. I would set up an initial redo date, but soon after, redo’s fell by the wayside. Who wants to play with old toys when you get new toys every week? Redo’s were too easy to put off.

So, I made a simple tool to help you make sure you actually redo the necessary problems, when you’re supposed to do them. Think of it as an accountability system for actually learning. The redo’s are scheduled for you, based on the date of your initial attempts at questions. And if you don’t do them, an ugly, red empty checkbox will stare at you every time you begin GMAT studies. YOU SHALL NOT PASS.

Think how much more powerful our learning investments (as both educators and learners) might be if we really devoted the necessary energy to actively recalling new material in subsequent weeks?