For many years, training professionals have faced the challenge of improving learners’ retention after they leave the classroom or through online training.
The problem is often observed due to the phenomenon of learners forgetting information they have been exposed to during the training experience once they have been released into their job roles. This issue was hypothesized and studied by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885. He discovered that information is forgotten exponentially beginning from the time learners consume it.
The forgetting curve illustrates the decline of memory retention in time — how information is lost over a period when there is no attempt to retain it.
A related concept is the strength of memory that refers to the durability which memory traces in the brain. Basically, the stronger the memory, the longer the period of time that a person is able to recall it.
A typical graph of the forgetting curve shows that humans tend to halve their recall of newly learned knowledge in a matter of days or weeks unless they consciously review the learned material.
The forgetting curve substantiates one of the seven kinds of memory failures: transience — the process of forgetting which occurs with the passage of time. Ebbinghaus studied the memorization of nonsense syllables, such as “WID” and “ZOF,” divorcing any associations of meaning with the words from the act of recalling them. By repeatedly testing himself after various intervals of time and recording the results, he became the first to describe the shape of the forgetting curve.
The Speed of Forgetting
The speed of forgetting depends on several factors, such as the difficulty of the learned material, how meaningful it is, its representation, and physiological factors such as stress and amount of sleep.
The basic forgetting rate differs little between individuals, and the difference in performance can be explained by mnemonic representation skills.
Increasing Memory Strength
Basic training in mnemonic techniques can help overcome those differences in part. However, the best methods for increasing memory strength are:
- Better memory representation (using mnemonic techniques)
- Repetition based on active recall (spaced repetition)
Ebbinghaus asserted that each repetition in learning increases the optimum interval before the next repetition is needed (for near-perfect retention, initially, repetitions may need to be made within days, but later they can be made after years).
The Memory Debate
There is some debate among researchers today about the shape of the forgetting curve for events and facts that are more significant or meaning to the learner. For example, some researchers have suggested that memories of shocking events such as the Kennedy assassination or the terrorist attacks on 9/11 are vividly imprinted in memory (known as a “flashbulb memory”).
Other researchers have compared contemporaneous written recollections with recollections recorded years later, and found considerable variations as the subject’s memory incorporates after-acquired information. There is considerable research in this area as it relates to eyewitness identification testimony.
For example, most students remember only 10% of a typical schoolbook application, such as learning word pairs after three days, thus proving that 90% of what was learned is often forgotten.
By trainingindustry.com