ACTIVE RECALL AND PASSIVE READING:UNLOCKING YOUR BRAIN'S FULL LEARNING POTENTIAL
Keywords:
Active Recall, Passive Reading, Neuroscience of Learning, Long-term Retention, The Testing Effect, Synaptic Plasticity, Hippocampal Consolidation, Long-Term Potentiation (LTP), Neural Encoding, Retrieval-Induced FacilitationAbstract
This article explores the neurological mechanisms that make active recall the gold standard of learning, including the "Testing Effect" and the role of the hippocampus in memory consolidation. By shifting from a receptive to a generative study model, learners can move beyond mere recognition to achieve true intellectual mastery and durable memory.
References
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping. Science, 331(6018), 772–775. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1199327
Antony, J. W., Ferreira, C. S., Norman, K. A., & Wimber, M. (2017). Retrieval as a fast route to memory consolidation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(8), 573–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2017.05.001
Ye, Z., Shi, L., Li, A., Chen, C., & Xue, G. (2020). Retrieval practice facilitates memory updating by enhancing and differentiating medial prefrontal cortex representations. eLife, 9, e57097. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.57023
Guran, C. N. A., et al. (2022). Benefit from retrieval practice is linked to temporal and frontal activity in healthy young and older humans. Cerebral Cortex Communications, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/texcom/tgac009
Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
