Practicing
Flashcards or quizzes: how to study with active recall
Active recall means trying to retrieve information before looking at the answer. After importing your course into Oria, you can practice with flashcards, answer multiple-choice questions or explain a concept in your own words.
Choose a format for what you want to work on
A flashcard asks a question with its answer hidden. Use it for a definition, a step in a reasoning process or a formula you want to retrieve without a hint.
A multiple-choice question asks you to choose between possible answers. Use it to distinguish similar concepts or apply a rule to a situation. Try explaining why you reject the other options.
Ask a question you can actually answer
Avoid putting a whole chapter on the back of a card. A short, focused question makes it easier to compare your answer with the course material.
Try your first session in Oria
Import the chapter you want to work on, then start practicing with its flashcards or quizzes. Answer before reading the correction and take time to understand mistakes.
- With a flashcard, rate what you recalled before you revealed the answer.
- After a missed multiple-choice question, find the course passage that explains the correct answer.
- If a concept still feels unclear, try explaining it aloud or in writing with the Feynman technique in Oria.
Return to difficult concepts over time
Oria uses FSRS to schedule the next reviews of flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Daily review brings together due items; it can also include recall activities and, on iPad, document exercises.
Roediger and Karpicke’s experiments with prose passages found that testing benefited delayed retention compared with certain rereading conditions. This research concerns a learning practice, not an evaluation of Oria.
Your questions
Do I have to choose only flashcards or quizzes?
You can alternate. Use a flashcard to retrieve a concept without answer options, then a quiz or an explanation to check how you apply it.
What if I recognize the answer but cannot explain it?
Close the correction and explain the reasoning in your own words. You can use Oria’s Feynman technique to get feedback and revisit missing points.
Keep exploring
Your turn, with your course.
Import your first course material into Oria to start working with it.
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