Anki spaced repetition or Concept Maps in medical school???

[erythrocyte666]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I've heard a lot about people favoring Anki, but does anyone recommend or have tried making concept maps for med school coursework? While I see the merits of Anki, I've fallen in love with the Cmap software and use it for my ugrad coursework as well as research. The way I see it, each concept map is a concrete visual representation of what I put into my long-term memory when I read, so that even if I forget the memory cues for a topic briefly looking back at the concept map would allow me to remember what I had learned since I would be making them. Another advantage I find is that each concept map is always a work-in-progress - I can continually keep adding new information from anything new I read/learn. In a sense, I would be connecting newly learned info to old info both within my brain as well as concretely on the Cmap.
Anki I feel emphasizes rote learning and would probably be great for topics like pharmacology, but to emphasize the integrated nature of all the concepts Cmaps seem better.
Does anyone use either? What's your strategy for efficiently learning information in med school?

 

[cbrons]

cant find any good concept mapping program that isnt crazy expensive

 

[operaman]

I've seen some students use concept mapping, though for many the maps get incredibly large and hard to manage.

 

[erythrocyte666]

cant find any good concept mapping program that isnt crazy expensive

I've been using the Cmap software, which is free.

I've seen some students use concept mapping, though for many the maps get incredibly large and hard to manage.

True, they do; but that should be easier to manage on a computer program, no?

What study strategy do you use instead?

 

[operaman]

I've been using the Cmap software, which is free.



True, they do; but that should be easier to manage on a computer program, no?

What study strategy do you use instead?

The ones I saw were always on computer; they were just large. The students using them did well so I'm not knocking the approach by any stretch.

Concepts are fantastic and in my opinion absolutely essential to doing well long term, but many professors in med school will ask about tiny points of minutiae (or things that seem like minutiae at the time) and these are the tiny factoids that don't often make it into concept maps. If you do try to incorporate all of them, the map gets pretty bulky. Some still did fine with it; just a heads up as you're thinking ahead to your possible strategies for this fall.

I used a variety of approaches. You'll find that in a class of 150 students, there are honestly 150 different approaches. I never met two students who used identical strategies. We all use a different balance of things that work for us and you'll make adjustments as you refine your own process next year. Keys of successful strategies:

1) Repetition. This is huge. Whatever you do, you'll want to make sure you see and process the info multiple times. Whether this is brute force repetition, concept maps, anki, videos, or whatever, it doesn't matter. Just make sure you see the material a lot.

2) Time. You'll want to make sure you are investing adequate time. Most students who struggle at first grossly underestimate what they need to do. My advice to entering students is always to give it everything you possibly can for the first 2 exams. I'm talking round the clock work, minimal breaks, no trips home/away, with maybe 0.5-1 day off per week. Basically, study like you'll be doing for Step 1 in a couple years. Once you have your exam grades back, you'll have an idea of what your personal maximum can get you and also a sense of how your feel psychologically, physically, etc. This lets you titrate your time/effort to a grade/level of understand you're happy with and ensures you won't undershoot on the first exams and have to play catchup for the rest of the term.

3) Practice questions. your school will have some; tutors will probably give you some. There may even be old exams floating around (only use if these are sanctioned by the institution -- many are [ours were old questions no longer used but similar enough to be worth doing] -- but check so you don't run afoul of any academic integrity rules). Do as many as you can get your hands on.

I used primarly class lectures/handouts and watched lecture videos multiple times on 2-3x speed. Would also read/highlight through course materials. For some classes, I'd read associated textbooks. For others, I'd use ancillary video lectures or web-based resources.

 

[Jabbed]

You're right in that Anki is more about memorizing details, but it is not meant to be a sole study aid. The routine is 1. Powerpoints, lecture, textbook 2. Understand and synthesize info 3. Make Anki cards to retain the details.

I will say that it feels strange re-reading a textbook or any material after I've committed it to Anki but haven't seen it in a while. It's a lot of "I know, I know, I know, oh.. I forgot that's how that tied in together."

 

[erythrocyte666]

Thanks very much for the responses @Jabbed and @operaman . I'll definitely keep the overstudying for first couple exams in mind.
Do you mind sharing a brief example of how you study for a particular exam? Like starting with the first time you see the lecture/presentation to the morning of the exam. Also where in a schedule such as you guys describe of constant repetition and practice would I be able to find time for making Cmaps? And what sort of minutiae on exams are we talking?
Lastly, do you recommend purchasing the BRS Step I review books for each subject and read them as I go along? Or would First Aid, Pathoma, or Rapid Review be better? I'm guessing BRS is the most detailed review of all, so I was leaning towards those.
Thanks again

 

[operaman]

Thanks very much for the responses @Jabbed and @operaman . I'll definitely keep the overstudying for first couple exams in mind.
Do you mind sharing a brief example of how you study for a particular exam? Like starting with the first time you see the lecture/presentation to the morning of the exam. Also where in a schedule such as you guys describe of constant repetition and practice would I be able to find time for making Cmaps? And what sort of minutiae on exams are we talking?
Lastly, do you recommend purchasing the BRS Step I review books for each subject and read them as I go along? Or would First Aid, Pathoma, or Rapid Review be better? I'm guessing BRS is the most detailed review of all, so I was leaning towards those.
Thanks again

Whoa man, so many questions at once!

BRS books - yes/no - I think the physio is a definite buy; maybe anatomy; didn't like the rest personally, but others did
Path/RR(goljian's book) are more 2nd year material unless your school does pathology in M1. Save them for later.
FA is probably of minimal use early on.

Make your class ppts your primary source since these are what you'll be tested on. Don't get too wrapped up in boards review stuff just yet unless you're merely using them as ancillary materials to reinforce class knowledge.

I've posted more detailed study schedules before, but in brief:

1) Pre-read lecture handouts night before; google anything especially confusing. Aim for a general understanding of what's coming.
2) Attend lecture (I encourage everyone to attend classes at first just to make sure you see everything. You can start experimenting with self-study as you get settled)
3) After lecture, re-read ppt again, highlighting, taking more time to understand
4) Google/textbook/ancillary sources covering same material to make sure you understand
5) Make anki cards, if applicable.
6) Watch video of lecture at 2x speed
7) During week prior to exam, review ppts and re-watch video

That's a very generalized sketch; lots of variation depending on the lecture, density of material, my understanding of the topic, etc. But just illustrating how you can build lots of repetition into your approach. Not sure where you would put Cmaps, but it could probably count for one of your repetitions.

Minutiae...hmmmm, how about this -
Undergrad exam question: Which of the following represents an active form of an enzyme?
a) trypsinogen
b) pepsinogen
c) chymotrypsin
d) chymotrypsinogen

NBME style med school biochem question:
A researcher is conducting a study of bioactivity of pancreatic enzymes, specifically chymotrypsin. After purifying the enzyme from a preparation of bovine pancreatic tissue, the researcher sequences the peptide and assembles the primary sequence. Which of the following amino acids is most likely present in the active site of the enzyme?
a) Tyrosine
b) Phenylalanine
c) Serine
d) Methionine
e) Taurine

Sorry for the hastily written questions, but you get the idea. that's actually not really minutiae at all, but may appear so. REal minutiae:

In a ciliary doublet, which subunit is the dynein protein fixed to and which one does it "walk" along?
a) fixed to alpha; walks on beta
b) fixed to beta; walks on alpha
c) fixed to delta; walks on alpha
d) dixed to alpha; walks on delta

That kind of thing. Man i'm out of practice writing these! I used to be much better! Too far removed from M1 I guess. Hope this helps!