Leitner system
The Leitner System is a methodology for Spaced repetition
- Flashcards are sorted into groups according to how well the learner knows each one in the Leitner’s learning box(es)
- The student try to recall the solution written on a flashcard
- If they succeed, they send the card to the next group
- If they fail, they send it back to the first group
- An alternative is to only move the card into the box in the preceeding level (i.e a box that will be review more often than the one it just came from) instead of the first box
- Each succeeding group has a longer period of time before the learner is required to revisit the cards.
- In Leitner’s original method, published in his book So lernt man Lernen (How to learn to learn), the schedule of repetition was governed by the size of the partitions in the learning box.
- These were 1, 2, 5, 8 and 14cm.
- Only when a partition became full was the learner to review some of the cards it contained
- if they remembered it correctly, the card will be moved into a box for later review
- if they did not remember it correctly, the card would be moved into the box for daily reviews
- In Leitner’s original method, published in his book So lernt man Lernen (How to learn to learn), the schedule of repetition was governed by the size of the partitions in the learning box.
# Intervals
So each box has a defined interval of time for when the student will review them. The amount of time is not fixed, but here are some guidelines:
- Box 1 is for daily reviews
- Box 2 would be for slightly longer intervals (2 to 5 days for example)
- Box 3 would then be for even longer intervals (6 to 14 days for example)
If you use more than 3 boxes, each new box would be a larger increment of time than the previous ones.