I found that some words hard to recall after several minutes or on next day when learned them from flash cards.
With longer period of time between recalls (5/10/60 min) and after working with another cards I see larger effect of forgetting. Therefore during studying knowledge retains in short memory and doesn't move to long memory.
How long/often should I practice on card within a day to effectively acquire knowledge? Note that I like to preserve card quality and only interested in timing patterns - how many times, how long each time and how long delays between practice.
Is it right to intensively learn card in single day and practicing recall on next day?
What about alternative strategy - to learn cards during several days without requiring 100% recall within certain period?
TL&DR
I have a cards in AnkiDroid made from publicly available VOA Simple English wordlist with definitions. Cards are of moderate quality and explanations sometimes ambiguous. Better quality of study materials improve learning but I interested in repetition patterns itself.
There are a lot of studies on SRS. Common approach is to use geometric progression on repetition intervals: I(n) = I(n-1)*Coef where Coef usually is 2.5 and can usually vary within 1.1 - 3.0 (because of adjustment depending on card difficulty).
Many users of SRS technique missed that SRS only improves comprehension / memorizing. For details see:
- Effective learning: Twenty rules of formulating knowledge - Do not learn if you do not understand. Learn before you memorize.
- Is SRS more effective than traditional study for vocabulary augmentation? - It will make sure you remember what you learn. However, it will not increase your knowledge except boosting comprehension.
I heard a lots of experts said that nearly 30 or 40 repetition of word/idiom/construct (in clear/well defined context) is required in order to memorize word (so you are able to understand specific meaning and able to use word 100% correct).
I found that the article Learning, made joyful nicely mix quizzes with new cards and ask for repetition at point near that I start to forget.
Putting recalling of already learnt words/phrases/grammatic/etc aside how often should I repeat SRS cards or make exercise on specific grammatic/vocabulary in order to remember?
I believe that SRS cards can be used to learn new topics if cards have high quality. I make cards by myself from vocabulary in text form and constantly improve cards if I found them difficult or unclear.
On other hand I think it is more useful to make textbook exercises instead of drilling SRS cards with clozes (sentences/phrases with missing words).
Of course I interested in optimal frequency of exercise repetition on given grammatic/vocabulary/topic. I found that one study at class + homework + exam (3 times in total) is not sufficient to acquire knowledge.
Anki SRS software has two modes: learning and recalling but default learning intervals set to 1 and 10 minutes which I think have no any sense if you learn new material. This and this discussion suggest that you should have between 4 and 6 repetition on the first day and you should have some intervals several hour large.
After private communication with author of Spaced repetition article I understand that I am looking for efficient way to move data to long term memory.
Paul Pimsleur's graduated-interval recall from 1967:
5 seconds, 25 seconds, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, 1 day
Of course these intervals are for his audio-lingual learning method (not for general learning) and given that he died in 1976 may not represent cutting edge in science.
Dr. Pimsleur’s research on memory was perhaps one of his most revolutionary achievements. He discovered that if learners were reminded of new words at gradually increasing intervals, each time they would remember longer than the time before. He documented the optimal spacing for information to move from short-term into long-term, or permanent, memory.
Quotation from his original article shows many guessing in his observation:
Still, the evidence both from my programming experience and from the findings of experimental psychology seems to indicate that there is an "ideal" schedule one can keep in mind and adapt to fit the circumstances. This schedule is exponential in form. That is, if the first interval (between the original presentation and the first recall) is, say, five seconds then next interval may need to come 5² = 25 seconds later, the next one 5³ = 125 seconds (2:05) later, the next one 5⁴ = 625 seconds (10:25) after that, and so on. The first interval can roughly be defined as the time that elapses before the student's probability of remembering the item drops to some arbitrary level, say 60%.
For long runs SuperMemo study suggests E-factor in between 1.3 and 3 with 2.5 as starting point, and definitely not a 5!
