Flashcards and spaced repetition: Fending off forgetfulness

This reflective paper explores the concept of knowledge and learning and argues that our current system of higher education is inattentive to the importance of memory encoding, memory retention and does not fully explore the options to ensure that students learn and retain knowledge in their respective disciplines. The literature on memory retention and spaced repetition is extensive, but is not matched by practical implementation studies. It is argued that flashcards combined with spaced repetition afford a viable additional approach to ensuring that students learn knowledge. The author reflects upon a series of studies conducted with law students to implement the use of flashcards in legal education leading to suggestions for future directions in research.