Understanding the Spaced Repetition System

This document explains how our learning system works and how it helps you learn more effectively.

Core Principles

The Spacing Effect

tip

Learning is more effective when you review information at increasing intervals over time, rather than cramming everything into one session.

Our system automatically:

Starts with short intervals for new or difficult cards
Gradually increases intervals as you show you know the material
Adjusts to your individual learning pace
Returns to shorter intervals if you have trouble with a card

The Forgetting Curve

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We all naturally forget things over time. Our system shows you cards just before you're likely to forget them, helping strengthen your memory.

How Rating Cards Works

When you review a card, you rate how well you remembered it:

Rating	Meaning	When to Use
Again	Complete Blackout	When you can't remember at all
Hard	Incorrect Response	When you made a mistake
Good	Correct with Difficulty	When you got it right but had to think
Easy	Perfect Recall	When you knew it instantly

tip

Use Enter to flip cards and number keys (1-4) to rate them quickly.

How Ratings Affect Review Timing

Your rating determines when you'll see the card again:

Again: Very soon (30 seconds)
Hard: Soon (90 seconds)
Good: Longer interval (180 seconds for new cards)
Even longer intervals (based on reviews and ease factor)

The system remembers how easily you recall each card and adjusts future intervals accordingly.

Learning Phases

1. Initial Learning

When you first see a card:

You'll give it an initial rating
This helps form the initial memory
If you have trouble, you'll see it again very soon
Quick repetition helps build strong memories

2. Reinforcement

As you successfully recall a card:

10 minutes
1 hour
4 hours
1 day
3 days
Longer intervals based on your performance

3. Summary

Once you know a card well:

Intervals get progressively longer
Poor performance returns to shorter intervals
Good performance leads to longer intervals
The system maintains efficiency by showing you cards only when needed

Progress Tracking

Phase 1: Initial Completion

When you start with a new deck, the progress bar shows completion progress:

Blue progress bar tracks the percentage of cards you've seen at least once
Shows remaining number of unseen cards
Focus is on getting familiar with all cards in the deck
Progress increases as you study new cards

Phase 2: Mastery

Once you've seen all cards in a deck, the progress bar switches to tracking mastery:

Green progress bar indicates you're in the mastery phase
Mastery score is calculated from three factors:
1. Review Count (40%): How many times you've reviewed each card, maxing out at 5 reviews
2. Ease Factor (30%): How well you consistently recall cards, reflected in their ease factors
3. Error Rate (30%): How often you make mistakes with cards

A deck with 100% mastery would mean:

All cards have been reviewed at least 5 times
Cards have high ease factors (close to 2.5) from consistent good performance
Very few lapses relative to total reviews

Study Session Organization

Card Types

New Cards: Material you haven't studied yet
Review Cards: Previously seen cards that are eligible for review
Due Cards: Previously seen cards that are due now

Smart Card Mixing

The system creates an optimal study session by:

Including the right mix of new and review cards
Prioritizing cards that are due for review
Adding some variety to keep sessions interesting

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The system automatically adjusts to what's available, ensuring balanced learning.

You can change the ratio of new and review cards, new cards per session and total cards per session in your Settings.

The spaced repetition system prioritizes reviewing existing cards over learning new ones. To maintain optimal learning, focus on reviewing previously learned material more frequently than introducing new cards.