Retain training content better: Five methods

According to the learning and forgetting curve of psychologist and pioneer of cognitive-psychological research Hermann Ebbinghaus, we can recall only 34 percent of what we have learned after just 24 hours if learning is not actively continued. After only 30 days, we have forgotten up to 90 percent of what we have learned if we do not try to reinforce what we have learned and remember the key elements. There are scientifically proven methods that can be used to store knowledge from training and continuing education in the long term and that can be combined with today's learning opportunities. Five of these methods for better retaining training content and recalling what has been learned are compiled here.

Learn more sustainably

• Distributed Practice and Spaced Repetition - In this learning strategy to combat the forgetting curve, exercises are divided into several short sessions over a longer period of time. People learn and remember content more effectively when it is studied in multiple sessions rather than in exercises within a very short period of time - a phenomenon called the spacing effect. This finding by Ebbinghaus was also reiterated by scientists such as Alan Baddeley and Longman in the 1970s and 1980s.
• Information retrieval (Retrieval Practice) and practice exercises. - So-called retrieval exercises are a learning technique that involves repeatedly recalling learned material without seeing it in front of you. An effective and common method of studying for practice exercises is flashcards. The Leitner system is a widely used method of using flashcards that was popularized in the 1970s by German science journalist Sebastian Leitner. It is a simple implementation of the principle of spatial repetition, in which flashcards are repeatedly queried at specific intervals.
• Interleaved practice or nested learning - Today's learners often need to build multiple skills simultaneously. With Interleaved Practice, a learner switches between multiple topics in the same session. Interleaving has been shown to be more effective than larger blocks of practice on a single topic and leads to better long-term recall of what is learned as well as. The ability to transfer learned knowledge also improves. This method forces the brain to constantly ask questions because each practice attempt is different from the last. Cognitive psychologists believe that the interlocking of learning topics improves the brain's ability to distinguish between concepts and strengthens memory associations.
• Teach A Friend (Feynman Method) - The Feynman Method mental model aims to convey information using concise information and simple language. It is a simple approach to self-directed learning based on distilling one's existing knowledge by imparting it to someone else. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman bases his approach on the assumption that if you can't describe an idea in simple terms, you don't really understand it. The ability to use this technique to explain a subject can prove and solidify one's understanding.
• Reflection or self-declaration - In education, the concept of reflection dates back to the work of John Dewey (1933). He defined it as "active, persistent, and careful reflection on any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of the reasons that support it and the further conclusion to which it tends." In the scholarly article, "Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance," researchers from HEC Paris, Harvard Business School and the University of North Carolina found that reflecting immediately after a lesson increased individuals' performance the next time they returned to the material.

Application in everyday work

Many of these methods can be easily integrated into everyday work. Active reflection or the trick of explaining what has been learned to a colleague offer additional benefits for the learners' environment. Some also retain content better if they actually write it down by hand on index cards, but there are also apps that can be used to implement this method digitally.

Modern learning platforms also support the implementation of some of the methods. Small learning units and microlearning make distributed and nested practice easily possible. Ideally, digital learning tools also have so-called learning reinforcement functions, with which course participants and users of the learning content are automatically prompted to deepen the knowledge, test it again in an exercise, or repeat it in a different format. Thanks to mobile access to modern learning solutions, this reinforcement of knowledge and memory can be easily implemented anytime and anywhere in everyday life.

"In summary, the cornerstone of learning reinforcement is based on: retrieving, remembering, reflecting and refining (Retrieve, Recall, Reflect, Refine) what has been learned. We have also built our Percipio Learning Reinforcement capabilities on this principle, where we bundle all these learning techniques," explains Andreas Rothkamp, VP DACH at Skillsoft, an education technology company that produces software and content for learning management systems. "Skills and competencies are the basis for the success and growth of companies today. Therefore, effective training programs that help employees not only build necessary qualifications and learn skills, but also internalize and apply the knowledge in the long term are key."

Source: Skillsoft