Welcome to the Pocket Prep Guide for Effective Product Use. Our goal is to empower you, as an Educator, to make the most of Pocket Prep. You’ll gain insight into how our app was designed, and how to provide a structured approach to student usage.

Our app is designed with the proven learning science principles of interleaving, spaced repetition, retrieval practice, and micro learning seamlessly integrated into our quiz modes and prep structure to help students learn and retain information effectively. This guide will help you understand and leverage these powerful learning science principles to enhance your students' study effectiveness, with the goal of achieving better results as they prepare for their exam.

Interleaving involves mixing different topics or concepts during study sessions rather than focusing on just one subject at a time. This technique helps the brain make stronger connections to the content. By switching between concepts, students improve their ability to transfer knowledge and distinguish between different types of problems, and apply the appropriate strategies to solve them.

Benefits of Interleaving:

How to incorporate: Quick 10 (questions automatically pull in from multiple subjects), Level Up (switch between subjects), Build Your Own (select multiple subjects)

Chunking is a technique for organizing similar information into "chunks" to make it easier to remember. Students can incorporate chunking when they focus on one subject at a time.

Benefits of Chunking

How to incorporate: Level Up or a custom subject specific Quick 10 quiz mode.

Spaced repetition is a learning technique that involves learning and reviewing information at increasing intervals. This method helps transfer knowledge from short- to long-term memory. For example, a student may learn a new concept in class on Tuesday, and then take practice quizzes on the concept 1, 2, 5, and 9 days later. This method is proven to greatly improve long-term retention.

How to incorporate: Make a study plan that spaces out the subjects you study in increasing intervals in the Level Up quiz mode

Retrieval practice involves actively recalling information from memory rather than passively reviewing notes. This technique not only improves memory but also reinforces learning and identifies knowledge gaps.

Benefits of Retrieval Practice:

How to incorporate: Explain your answer to yourself before checking to read Pocket Prep’s answer explanation, and then compare yours to it.

Micro learning breaks your learning from a big task into small, manageable chunks. Instead of trying to learn everything at once, you focus on short, specific lessons or activities that you can complete in a few minutes. Think of it as studying in bite-sized pieces.

Benefits of Micro Learning:

How to incorporate: Take the Question of the Day or Quick 10 on your mobile device instead of checking social media.

Is a method that seeks to motivate students by using elements of game design to maximize enjoyment and engagement in learning.

How to incorporate: Take a Level Up quiz, where the challenge and achievement of unlocking levels can motivate you to keep studying. Additionally, tracking your studying streak in the calendar. Motivate yourself to keep your study streak going.

To get the most benefit from Pocket Prep, students should incorporate Pocket Prep into their daily study routine, set weekly goals (e.g., 100 questions per week), and practice consistently. A simple recommendation is for students to complete the Question of the Day and take a Quick 10 to start their study sessions, and then focus on Level Up or a Build Your Own custom quiz each day. Then conclude the week with Weakest Subject, Missed Question quiz, or a Mock Exam to assess progress and identify gaps.

To ensure your students get the most out of Pocket Prep, we've provided a suggested weekly study plan to share with them. This plan provides a structured approach that seamlessly integrates interleaving, spaced repetition, retrieval practice, and micro-learning for effective learning.

By following this plan, you’ll incorporate interleaving, spaced repetition, retrieval practice, and micro learning into your study sessions. You'll maximize your study efficiency using all four learning science principles, leading to better retention and understanding of the material.