A downside to making flash cards that have multiple definitions on it?

[Hunter's Moon]

I thought I might ask this here.

 

I have index cards but it would seem such a waste to use it for only one word and definition or concept.

 

Are there any downsides to putting multiple words on one flash card?

 

For example, say I have a group of similar words: Biology, Cell, Cytoplasm.

 

If I put those three words on the front with numbers and on the back I put the three definitions with the numbers next to them, is there any downside?

 

I suppose I am asking if it seems less effective or more confusing or the focus isn't as intense as it would be if each card had its own word.

 

Any advice, or maybe even ideas of what you did for index cards?

[Matryoshka]

Good question. I just set up an Anki deck (free flashcard software that can track how well you know terms and give you new cards accordingly) for Spanish, and I've listed homonyms on one card - but actually that's a bit different than what you're doing - I have for example "el banana, el plátano" for "banana" or "andar, caminar" for "to walk"- not three different terms with three different meanings.

 

The Anki deck was really quick to set up - you might think about using something like it or Quizlet instead of index cards. Both of those also have pre-existing decks others have made that you might be able to either modify or even just use as-is.

[Kuovonne]

I can think of two problems from putting multiple related terms on the same flashcard.

 

1) If you remember only 2 of the 3 terms, what do you do? Do you schedule the card for earlier review? If so, you'll wasting time on the 2 terms you remembed. Do you pretend that you really got all three terms? If so, you run the risk of not really remembering the missed term.

 

2) If you always see the three terms together, will you remember each term individually, out of the context of the other two? For example, you might not remember what "cytoplasm" is when you encounter it without the context of "biology" and "cell."

 

I also like Anki. It works very well for us. When you get into hundreds or thousands of cards, a computer based system is really the only way to manage all the cards.

[Twigs]

You can also cut your index cards in half so you get twice as many cards and each word can have its own card.

[Dmmetler]

What I did was to get a box of blank business cards from Vistaprint (just added them as a "free" item to an order I was doing anyway), and I use those for flashcards. They're a great size for one term on one side and the definition/English word on the other.

 

As an added bonus, I've gotten them with different colored/typed backgrounds-so my daughter's Greek words are on cards with rainbows, Latin has Unicorns, and so on. She loves them!

 

I also get blank magnets the same way, and just write on them with a sharpie.

[Food4Thought]

You can also cut your index cards in half so you get twice as many cards and each word can have its own card.

 

:iagree: I do this with a lot of ours. The smaller size seems more manageable too.

[Mallory]

Like Kuovonne, I think the big disadvantage is that you can only "get rid" of that card when you know all the definitions that are on it.

[ThreeBlessings]

Have you seen tunza cards? They're reusable/rewritable index cards. Very cool and very handy. I ordered two sets and am using them for vocab, Latin, Math, and early learning.