ISA Exam Flashcards: How to Use Spaced Repetition

Note: For the master overview, see our Complete ISA Certified Arborist Exam Study Guide.

Arboriculture is a language. To pass the exam, you need to speak it fluently. You need to know that deciduous opposes evergreen, and that excurrent opposes decurrent. The most efficient way to learn this is Spaced Repetition.

What is Spaced Repetition?

Your brain is designed to forget. If you learn a word today, you will forget it in a week unless you review it.

• The Trick: Review it just before you forget it.
• The Schedule: Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, Day 14, Day 30.

Analog System: The Leitner Box

You don't need an app. You need 3 shoeboxes (or labeled rubber bands).

• Box 1: Every Day. (New cards go here).
• Box 2: Every 3 Days.
• Box 3: Every Week.

The Rules:

1. Study Box 1. If you get it right, move it to Box 2. If wrong, keep it.
2. Study Box 2. If right, move to Box 3. If wrong, move it back to Box 1.
3. The goal is to get all cards to Box 3.

How to Make Good Cards

Most people make bad flashcards.

• Bad Card:
  • Front: Tree Biology.
  • Back: [Copy of a huge paragraph].
• Good Card:
  • Front: What is the function of Xylem?
  • Back: Transports water and minerals UP.

Top 5 Terms to Card Immediately

1. Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC): Ability of soil to hold nutrients.
2. Meristem: Undifferentiated tissue where growth occurs.
3. Codominant Stems: Stems of equal size usually with included bark (weak).
4. Included Bark: Bark trapped in a crotch, preventing wood union.
5. Drop Zone: Area under a rig where wood will land.

Summary

Flashcards are for facts, not concepts. Use them for definitions, numbers (safety zones), and ID features. Use the book for the big picture.