Flashcards are digital decks of cards that students click through to learn or review key terms, theories, concepts, formulas and equations, and other quick bits of information:
- One side of each card shows an item, which could be a term, a name, a category, or a concept.
- The other side of the card provides corresponding information, which could be in the form of a definition, a description, a formula or equation, or a brief biographical statement.
Flashcards support students in working toward achieving course goals of recalling information, defining terminology, and describing ideas. For example, they can be used to review terms and definitions, terms and examples, or categories and examples. They are useful in many contexts, especially in introductory and foundational courses that present unfamiliar concepts. More broadly, they provide value to any class that requires memorization of discrete facts or implementation of a subject-specific vocabulary.
Examples by Discipline
- Behavioral & Social Sciences: Recall the date ranges and characteristics of each prehistoric era.
- Business & Management: Remember the calculations used for forecasting cash flows.
- Science, Math, & Engineering: Recollect the atomic numbers of common elements.
- Humanities & Fine Arts: Review the movements to which different artists belong.
Additional Resource: See Flashcard Development Guide