Spaced Retrieval Primer

Read the article in the top link (the second and third article are optional, though recommended), and answer the questions below, to be submitted on the first day of class.

Articles

• How To Remember Anything Forever-ish by Nicky Case

• (Optional) Want to Remember Everything You’ll Ever Learn? Surrender To This Algorithm

• (Optional) Gwern Branwen’s notebook on spaced repetition

Questions

1. What are two of the most common ways that students study material in courses?
2. Who was the first scientist to perform an experiment involving spaced repetition and the testing effect?
3. What happens to the rate of decay of a memory each time you retrieve a memory? That is, if the chance you remember something after time \(t\) from last actively recalling it decays as \(S(t) = 1 - e^{-\lambda t}\), what happens to \(\lambda\) after each active retrieval?
4. Sketch what the forgetting curve with well-spaced reviews looks like.
5. What spaced repetition software does Nicky Case mention that we will be using throughout our course?
6. What are three keys to making flashcards effective?
7. When do you plan to use Anki each day?

Pre-class Reflection

Complete the following reflection, to be submitted on the first day of class.

Write a brief (one paragraph) reflection on why you decided to enroll in this course. Some potential reasons, to be expanded on in your reflection:

• I am interested in becoming an actuary because ...
• I am interested in learning more about the mathematics behind actuarial science because ...
• I am interested in learning more about probability and statistics because ...
• I like learning new math, and ...