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Student glossary & dictionary

All definitions of key learning, cognitive-science and study-organisation terms.

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Active recall: Technique of actively reconstructing information from memory rather than passively rereading. Multiplies learning efficiency by 2 to 3x.

Brain plasticity: Brain's ability to reorganise its neural connections throughout life. Biological foundation of learning.

Chunking: Technique of grouping several pieces of information into meaningful blocks to reduce cognitive load.
Cognitive load: Amount of information working memory can process at once. Overload slows learning.
Cornell method: Note-taking technique split into three zones: notes, keywords, summary. Highly effective for fast revision.
Cramming: Last-minute intensive revision. Effective short-term for an exam, ineffective for lasting memory.

Feynman technique: Learning by teaching: explain a concept in simple words as if to a child to validate your understanding.
Flashcard: Two-sided learning card (question / answer) used to memorise a specific point. Key tool of spaced repetition.
Forgetting curve: Ebbinghaus's mathematical model (1885) showing that up to 70% of new information is forgotten within 24h without review.

GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation — 2018 European law protecting the personal data of European residents.
Generative AI: AI capable of producing new content (text, image, code) from a large language model.

LLM: Large Language Model — AI trained on massive text corpora, able to understand and generate natural language.

MCQ: Multiple-choice question: one question with several possible answers, one (or more) being correct.
Memory consolidation: Biological process of transforming a fragile memory into a lasting one. Happens mainly during sleep.
Memory palace: Ancient mnemonic technique of associating information with familiar places along a mental path.
Metacognition: Knowledge of one's own mental processes. Knowing how you learn allows you to learn better.
Mind map: Tree diagram linking a central concept to its sub-concepts. Eases overview and associations.
Mnemonic: Memory aid: acronym, phrase or mental image that eases retrieval of information.
Multisensory encoding: Memorising information via several senses (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) to multiply retrieval paths.

OCR: Optical character recognition. Allows software to read text inside an image or scanned PDF.

Pomodoro technique: Time-management method: 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. Keeps attention level high.
Primacy effect: Tendency to better remember the first items of a learned list. To leverage when organising revisions.
Procrastination: Tendency to defer a task, often through fear of failure or perfectionism. Fought with the 2-minute rule.

Recency effect: Tendency to better remember the last items of a learned list. Justifies the efficiency of a review right before an exam.
Revision plan: Forward-looking calendar distributing subjects to review across the days and weeks before the exam.

Sleep hygiene: Set of behaviours fostering quality sleep: regular hours, no screens before bed, cool room.
Spaced repetition: Method of reviewing information at increasing intervals (D+1, D+3, D+7, D+14...) to lock memory in for the long run.
Student burnout: Physical and mental exhaustion from excessive study load. Prevented by regular breaks and adequate sleep.
Study sheet: Synthetic document condensing the essentials of a chapter: definitions, concepts, formulas, key dates.

Working memory: System that temporarily holds and manipulates the information needed for ongoing cognitive tasks.