Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.07.30
Across the tools in this module — sleep, taking breaks, the Pomodoro timer, Cornell notes, SQ3R, handwriting-vs-typing, mind-mapping, and Zettelkasten — which are STRONGLY supported by evidence versus only PRELIMINARY?
Strong: sleep-dependent consolidation. Moderate: the general "breaks help" principle, Cornell notes and SQ3R (structured note-taking/reading routines that smuggle in retrieval). Preliminary/contested: the 25-minute Pomodoro interval, laptop-vs-longhand, mind-mapping, and Zettelkasten as memory methods.
A quick honesty map:
- Well replicated: sleep consolidates memory (Diekelmann & Born); breaks counter the vigilance decrement.
- Moderate / works because it forces retrieval: Cornell (the two-column note format with a cue/recall column you later self-test from) and SQ3R (Survey–Question–Read–Recite–Review — a reading routine whose Recite step forces recall).
- Preliminary or contested: the specific 25/5 Pomodoro timing; "handwriting beats typing" (failed replication); mind-mapping as memory aid (beaten by retrieval); Zettelkasten as a memorisation method (no controlled evidence).
The pattern: tools inherit their strength from retrieval, spacing, and sleep. When a method helps, it usually helps because it quietly delivers one of those.