Active recall

This article is about a review technique or category/paradigm of review techniques. Review techniques involve doing some form of recall or retrieval for material previously learned. The testing effect is a key observed effect that can be used to understand the effectiveness of review techniques.
View list of review techniques | View summary table of methods of recall

Definition

Active recall is a way of reviewing information by actively trying to remember it, without (initially) accessing the answer. For general context, see summary table of methods of recall.

Active recall as an idea

The idea behind active recall is the testing effect, which says that knowledge gets reinforced more by actively attempting to recall it (i.e., by being tested on it) than just by being exposed to it again. In this broad sense, the more one tries to recall, the more "active" one's recall is.

Active recall as a specific place in the spectrum of methods of recall

The term active recall is often used for "depth one" cued active recall, namely trying to recall the answer to a specific, preformulated question (called a prompt). The simplest implementation is quiz and recall using techniques such as flashcards. This distinguishes it from other (in-spirit active) forms of recall, such as recursive recall, algorithmic recall, and exercises that (indirectly) require a recall.