“Across experiments, user-generated flashcards yielded significantly better delayed criterial test performance than pre-made flashcards. The user-generated advantages of ds = 0.45 and 0.29 for definition and application questions, respectively, are educationally meaningful” … “generating content prior to retrieval practice enhanced learning over retrieval practice alone”
“most participants did not exhibit a strong metacognitive awareness of the benefits of generating flashcard content”
“it is possible that generating content increases the rate of successful recall during retrieval practice, which in turn improves learning. In that scenario, retrieval practice in the pre-made condition is less effective, at least initially, due to a low rate of retrieval success”