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Glossary

The study terms, explained.

Plain-language definitions of the study methods and AI ideas behind StudyPDF. Each one answers the question first, then shows how Bo puts it to work on your own course.

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • V
  • W
  • Z

A

  • Academic probationA formal warning status a college gives a student whose GPA falls below the minimum, usually 2.0 in the US.
  • Active learningYou do something with the material instead of just reading or listening.
  • Active readingReading with your brain switched on.
  • Active recallA study method where you retrieve information from memory instead of rereading it.
  • AI hallucinationAn AI hallucination is when an AI tool states something false or invented while sounding completely…
  • All-nighterAn all-nighter is a night you stay awake the whole time, usually to study or to finish work before a deadline.
  • Anki exportSaving your flashcards as an .apkg file, the format Anki can open.
  • Annotated bibliographyAn annotated bibliography is a list of sources, such as books, articles and websites, in which each citation…
  • Anterograde amnesiaThe inability to form new long-term memories after an injury or illness, while memories from before it stay…
  • Attention spanThe length of time you can stay focused on one task before your mind drifts or you switch.
  • Autobiographical memoryYour memory of your own life.

B

  • Bloom's taxonomyA ladder of six thinking levels that go from simple to hard: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate…
  • Blurting methodThe blurting method is an active-recall study technique where you read a topic, close all your notes, then…
  • Body doublingWorking on your own task while another person is present, in the same room or on a video call.

C

  • Cheat sheetA cheat sheet is a short sheet of notes for quick reference.
  • ChunkingIn psychology, chunking means grouping separate pieces of information into larger, meaningful units, so your…
  • Cited answerA cited answer is a reply that links straight back to the exact spot it came from, like a page number or a…
  • Close readingThe slow, repeated reading of a short passage to work out what it says and how it says it.
  • Cognitive flexibilityThe ability to switch between tasks, rules or ways of thinking, and to see one problem from more than one…
  • Cognitive loadHow much your working memory is holding at one moment.
  • Cognitive offloadingUsing an outside tool, such as notes, a calendar, a search engine or an AI assistant, to reduce the mental…
  • Concept mapA concept map is a diagram that lays out concepts as boxes and connects them with labeled lines that name the…
  • Concept masteryHow well you actually know one single idea, measured and tracked over time instead of guessed.
  • Constructivism (learning theory)Constructivism is a learning theory which holds that people build understanding by connecting new information…
  • Context-dependent memoryThe way you recall things better when you are in the same place or setting where you first learned them.
  • Cornell notesA note-taking layout that splits each page into three parts: a narrow left cue column, a wide right notes…
  • Course-scoped AIAn AI that only works from your own uploaded course material, like your lectures and notes, instead of the…
  • CrammingStudying a lot of material in one intense session right before a test, usually the night before or in the…
  • Criterion-referenced testA criterion-referenced test measures you against a fixed standard, not against other test takers.
  • Cued recallRetrieving something from memory when you are given a hint, such as the front of a flashcard or the first…

D

  • Dean's listThe dean's list is an academic honor that US colleges give to students with very high grades in a single…
  • Decay theoryThe idea that a memory trace fades with the passage of time when it is not used, so forgetting is simply the…
  • Deliberate practiceWorking on the exact things you keep getting wrong, with feedback, instead of redoing what you already know.
  • Desirable difficultyA desirable difficulty is a study challenge that feels harder in the moment but produces stronger…
  • Diagnostic assessmentA diagnostic assessment is a check of what a learner already knows, and where the gaps are, before teaching…
  • Differentiated instructionA teaching approach where the instructor adjusts what students learn (content), how they work on it (process)…
  • Distributed practiceThe study strategy of spreading your sessions out across days or weeks instead of massing them into one long…
  • Dual codingA learning method where you pair words with visuals like diagrams, sketches, or timelines, so your memory…
  • Dual enrollmentDual enrollment lets high school students take college courses and earn college credit, often high school…
  • Dunning-Kruger effectThe Dunning-Kruger effect is a bias where people with little skill in an area rate their own ability too…

E

  • Eat the frogA productivity method: do your hardest or most dreaded task first thing, before anything easier.
  • Echoic memoryAuditory sensory memory.
  • Eisenhower matrixThe Eisenhower matrix is a four-box grid that sorts tasks by whether they are urgent and whether they are…
  • ElaborationA study technique, often called elaborative interrogation, where you ask how and why a fact is true and…
  • Elaborative interrogationA study technique where you take one fact you are learning, ask why it is true, and answer from what you…
  • Elaborative rehearsalRemembering something by thinking about what it means and linking it to things you already know.
  • Encoding specificity principleThe encoding specificity principle says a memory comes back most easily when the cues present at retrieval…
  • Episodic memoryYour memory for specific events you lived through, with the what, where and when attached.
  • Essay examAn essay exam is a test where you write long, written answers instead of picking from options.
  • Exam blueprintAn exam blueprint is a map of what a test will cover and how it is weighted: which topics appear, how many…
  • Executive functionThe set of mental skills you use to plan, start, keep track of and finish tasks: working memory, planning and…
  • Exit ticketAn exit ticket is a short task students complete at the end of a lesson, usually one to three questions that…
  • Experiential learningLearning that comes from doing something and then reflecting on it, instead of only hearing or reading about…
  • Explicit memoryExplicit memory, also called declarative memory, is memory you can consciously recall and put into words…

F

  • Feynman techniqueThe Feynman technique is a study method where you explain a topic in plain words, like you're teaching a kid.
  • Flashbulb memoryA flashbulb memory is a vivid, detailed memory of where you were and what you were doing when you heard…
  • FlashcardA flashcard is a small card with a question on one side and the answer on the other.
  • Flipped classroomA flipped classroom is a teaching model where students meet new material before class, through a video, a…
  • Flow stateWhen you get so caught up in studying that time flies and focusing feels easy.
  • Forgetting curveThe forgetting curve, described by Hermann Ebbinghaus, is the pattern in which memory of new material drops…
  • Formative assessmentA quick, low-stakes check you do while you're still learning, like a practice question or a short quiz.
  • Frayer modelThe Frayer model is a four-box graphic organizer for learning a word or concept.
  • Free recallRetrieving information from memory in any order, with no hints or cues, like writing everything you remember…

G

  • Generation effectThe generation effect is the way you remember something better when you come up with the answer yourself…
  • Grading on a curveAdjusting student scores according to how the whole class performed, instead of grading each student against…
  • Graphic organizerA graphic organizer is a visual layout that sorts information into boxes, lines or columns so you can see how…
  • Growth mindsetThe belief that you can get smarter with effort and practice, instead of thinking your ability is fixed and…

H

  • HighlightingThe study habit of marking key words or sentences in a text while reading.
  • Honor rollAn honor roll is a list of students whose grades meet a school's bar for a term, usually a B average or…
  • HyperfocusIntense, absorbed concentration on one thing, usually something interesting, that can last for hours and is…

I

  • Iconic memoryVisual sensory memory.
  • Illusion of competenceThe illusion of competence is the feeling that you have learned something when you cannot actually recall it…
  • Image occlusionA study method where you cover the labels on a diagram and recall each one from memory.
  • Implicit memoryMemory you use without knowing you are remembering.
  • Information processing theoryThe view that the mind handles information in stages, much like a computer: it takes in input, holds it…
  • Inquiry-based learningA way of learning that starts from a question, not an answer.
  • InterleavingMixing different topics or problem types in one study session instead of grinding through one type at a time.
  • Intrinsic motivationDoing something because the activity itself interests or satisfies you, not because of a reward or a penalty.

K

  • Keyword methodThe keyword method is a mnemonic for learning foreign vocabulary in two links.
  • KWL chartA KWL chart is a three-column table for learning: what you Know, what you Want to know and what you Learned.

L

  • Latin honorsThe three levels of academic distinction that US colleges print on a diploma at graduation: cum laude (with…
  • Learning stylesThe popular idea that each person learns best in one fixed way, like being a "visual" or "auditory" learner…
  • Leitner systemThe Leitner system is a spaced-repetition method for flashcards that sorts cards into numbered boxes.
  • Levels of processingThe idea, proposed by Craik and Lockhart in 1972, that how well you remember something depends on how deeply…
  • Literature reviewA literature review is a critical overview of the published research on a topic.
  • Long-term memoryThe part of your mind that holds knowledge for days, months, or years.

M

  • Maintenance rehearsalRepeating information over and over to keep it active in short-term memory, like saying a phone number to…
  • Massed practiceStudying or practicing the same material in one block, with little or no break between repetitions.
  • Mastery learningAn approach where you fully learn one topic to a set standard, like 90 percent on a check, before you move on…
  • Memory consolidationHow a fresh, shaky memory turns into a stable one your brain can keep.
  • Memory encodingThe first step of memory, where your brain turns what you see or hear into a form it can store.
  • Memory palaceA memory palace (also called the method of loci) is a memory technique where you place facts you want to…
  • MetacognitionThinking about your own thinking: the skill of judging what you actually know versus what only feels…
  • MetamemoryYour knowledge and monitoring of your own memory: judging how well you have learned something, whether you…
  • MicrolearningLearning in short, focused units, usually a few minutes each, that cover one idea or skill.
  • Mind mapA mind map is a diagram that puts one main topic in the middle and branches out into related ideas around it.
  • MnemonicA mnemonic is a memory aid that ties hard-to-remember information to something easier to recall, like an…
  • Mock exam (mock test)A mock exam, also called a mock test, is a full practice exam you sit under real conditions, timed and…
  • Multiple choice questionsTest questions where you read a prompt and pick the right answer from a list of options.
  • Multiple intelligencesHoward Gardner's 1983 theory that human ability is not one general intelligence but several separate ones…

N

  • NeuroplasticityThe brain's ability to change its connections in response to experience.
  • Norm-referenced testA norm-referenced test ranks your score against a norm group of other test takers instead of a fixed standard.
  • Note-takingWriting down the important parts of a lecture, reading, or video as you go, in a short form you can study…

O

  • Office hoursSet times each week when a professor or teaching assistant is available to answer students' questions, in…
  • Open-book examAn open-book exam is a test where you are allowed to use your notes, textbook, or other materials while you…
  • Outline methodThe outline method is a note-taking style where you write main ideas at the left margin and indent every…
  • OverlearningYou keep practicing a skill even after you can already do it right, so it turns automatic and holds up when…

P

  • ParaphrasingSaying something in your own words instead of repeating it word for word.
  • Pareto principleThe Pareto principle, or 80/20 rule, says that roughly 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of causes.
  • Parkinson's lawParkinson's law says work expands to fill the time available for it.
  • Passive learningTaking information in without doing much with it, like rereading your notes or watching a lecture without…
  • Past paperA past paper is a real exam from a previous year that you work through to practise.
  • Peg systemThe peg system is a mnemonic for remembering ordered lists.
  • Percentile rankA percentile rank tells you the percentage of people in a comparison group who scored at or below you.
  • Photographic memoryThe idea that you can take a mental snapshot of a page and read it back later, word for word.
  • Picture superiority effectThe picture superiority effect is the finding that people remember pictures better than the matching words.
  • Pomodoro TechniqueThe Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method where you study in focused 25-minute blocks, each followed…
  • PQ4R methodThe PQ4R method is a six-step way to study a textbook chapter: Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite and…
  • Practice testA practice test means answering exam-style questions under test-like conditions before the real exam.
  • PretestingTesting before the real thing.
  • Primacy effectThe primacy effect is the tendency to remember the first things in a list or session better than the ones in…
  • Priming (psychology)Priming is when seeing, hearing or thinking about something changes how quickly or how you respond to…
  • Proactive interferenceWhen something you learned earlier makes it harder to learn or recall something new.
  • Procedural memoryYour memory for how to do things, like riding a bike, typing or solving a type of math problem.
  • ProcrastinationWhen you put off studying even though you know you should start.
  • Production effectThe production effect is the finding that you remember words better when you say them out loud than when you…
  • Project-based learningA teaching approach in which students learn by working for an extended time, often several weeks, on a real…
  • Prospective memoryRemembering to do something in the future, like handing in an assignment on Friday or reviewing chapter 4…

R

  • Reading comprehensionHow well you actually understand what you read, not just whether you got to the end of the page.
  • Recency effectThe recency effect is the way you remember the last few things in a list best, because they are still fresh…
  • Recognition memoryThe ability to tell that you have seen or learned something before when it is put in front of you, like…
  • Retrieval cueA retrieval cue is any hint that helps you pull a memory back out of your head, like a keyword, a question…
  • Retrieval practicePulling an answer out of your memory instead of rereading it.
  • Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)A way to make an AI answer from a chosen set of documents.
  • Retrieval-induced forgettingThe finding that practicing recall of some items makes you worse at remembering related items you did not…
  • Retroactive interferenceWhen something you learn now makes it harder to remember something you learned before.
  • RevisionChanging something to correct or improve it, or the new version that comes out of that change, like a revised…
  • Rote learningMemorizing information by repeating it until you can recall it, without needing to understand it.
  • RubricA rubric is a scoring guide that lists the criteria a piece of work is judged on and describes what each…

S

  • ScaffoldingHelp that lets you do something you can't do alone yet, then gets taken away bit by bit as you get better.
  • Scaled scoreA scaled score is your raw score, the number of questions you answered correctly, converted onto a fixed…
  • Schema (psychology)A schema is a mental framework of related knowledge about a topic, object or situation.
  • Self-efficacyYour belief that you can do a specific task, such as passing a statistics exam or writing an essay.
  • Self-explanationA study habit where you stop and explain to yourself why a step, fact, or answer is actually true, out loud…
  • Self-reference effectThe self-reference effect is the finding that you remember information better when you relate it to yourself.
  • Self-regulated learningA cycle in which you plan your studying, monitor how it is going and reflect on the result, then adjust the…
  • Semantic memoryYour long-term store of facts, concepts and word meanings, the things you know without remembering when you…
  • Sensory memoryThe very first stage of memory.
  • Serial position effectThe serial position effect is the way you remember the items at the start and the end of a list better than…
  • Short-term memoryShort-term memory holds a small amount of information for a short time, about 15 to 30 seconds if you do not…
  • SMART goalsGoals written to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
  • Socratic methodThe Socratic method is a way of teaching and thinking that uses a chain of questions instead of explanations.
  • Spaced repetitionA study method where you review material at growing gaps in time, just before you would forget it.
  • Spacing effectThe spacing effect is the well-replicated finding that you remember information better when you spread your…
  • SQ3R methodThe SQ3R method is a five-step way to read a textbook chapter so it actually sticks: Survey, Question, Read…
  • State-dependent memoryThe finding that you recall information better when your internal state at the test matches your state while…
  • Study agentA study agent is an AI that does your study work for you.
  • Study breakA study break is a short rest you take between blocks of studying.
  • Study burnoutThe worn-out, flat state you hit after pushing hard at studying for too long with too little rest.
  • Study groupA study group is a small group of students, usually three to five, who study the same material together by…
  • Study guideA study guide is a condensed, structured document that pulls the key concepts, definitions, and likely exam…
  • Study motivationThe drive that gets you to actually sit down and study.
  • Study scheduleA study schedule is a simple plan of what to study and when, spread out over the days or weeks before an…
  • Successive relearningA study method where you practice retrieving each item until you get it right, then come back to it in later…
  • Summarizing (Summarising)Summarizing means restating the main ideas of a text, lecture or chapter in your own words and in a much…
  • Summative assessmentThe graded test at the end of a unit or course that measures how much you actually learned.
  • SyllabusA syllabus is the document a course hands you at the start of the term.

T

  • Task switchingMoving your attention from one task to another, such as from your notes to a message and back.
  • Test anxietyThe rush of nerves you feel before or during an exam that makes it hard to think clearly, remember what you…
  • Testing effectThe testing effect, also called the retrieval practice effect, is the finding that trying to recall material…
  • Think-pair-shareA classroom routine in three steps: students think about a question alone, discuss it with a partner, then…
  • Time blockingGiving every task its own fixed slot in your calendar, like an appointment, instead of working from a to-do…
  • Time managementDeciding what to work on and when, so the important things actually get done instead of slipping.
  • Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenonThe tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is the feeling that you know a word or fact but cannot pull it up right now.
  • Transfer of learningWhen you take something you learned in one place and use it to solve a new, different problem somewhere else.
  • Transfer-appropriate processingThe idea that memory works best when the way you studied matches the way you will be tested.

V

  • ValedictorianA valedictorian is the student with the highest academic rank in a graduating class, usually decided by…
  • Von Restorff effectThe von Restorff effect, also called the isolation effect, says that an item that stands out from its…

W

  • Worked exampleA worked example is a problem shown with its full solution, written out step by step from start to finish.
  • Working memoryThe small mental scratchpad that holds what you are thinking about right now.

Z

  • Zeigarnik effectThe Zeigarnik effect is the idea that unfinished or interrupted tasks stay on your mind more than finished…
  • ZettelkastenA Zettelkasten is a note system where each note holds one idea written in your own words and links to related…
  • Zone of proximal developmentThe zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the gap between what you can do alone and what you can do with help…

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