Have you ever asked this question to yourself – “Why do I forget what I have learned so quickly?”
Students spend an entire term going over various subjects and invest hours on learning the different materials. But then, due to limited memory space, they tend to find themselves forgetting whatever they’ve learnt just a few hours after finishing their final exams.
The explanation is pretty simple.
The Forgetting Curve
According to German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, this is due to the decline of memory retention in time. The forgetting curve is the steepest during the first day and if you don’t review what you’ve recently learned, you are more likely to forget most of it. If you don’t revise it in the consequent days, your memory of it will continue to decline and ultimately leaving you with just a faint memory of it.
Deep Knowledge Vs Temporary Understanding
All of our learning can be broadly classified into two divisions. One – where we invest a lot of time and put in all the hard work to learn our subjects of interest. Second – where we just rely on last-minute mugging just for the immediate purpose of clearing exams. The first kind of learning will result in you attaining a deep knowledge of the subject. The second isn’t going to take you anywhere, it is just a temporary solution for you to crack the exams.
So, how exactly can we retain the things that we’ve learned?
Time to Digest
The first and foremost step would be to give yourself time to digest the things you’ve learned. It is important that you keep revisiting the pieces of information that you wish to keep with you for a longer time. If you are learning a new concept in Science, make sure you spend some time daily (at least for the next 2-3 days) revising it. Gradually, you will get a stronghold over the topic.
Relate your Learning to real-life situations
If you could relate the subject concept that you learned to a real-time situation or to a practical application, the learning tends to stay for a longer-term. Say, for example, you learn the topic “Speed” from Mathematics in a theoretical way. Would you be able to remember the formula and the steps to solve the problem just with the verbal explanation?
You will have to relate the implication of this concept to a real-life situation and only then will you be able to retain what you’ve learnt for a longer time. This style of learning will help you successfully build not only in your academics, but also your career.
Revisit your learning
It is important for kids to give yourself a few hours’ time and try to recall the topics that you learned that particular day. The more you practice this technique, the more likely you will be able to retain this information in the future. Do you know what else helps you effectively revisit your learning? – Online Learning!
There are plenty of online learning platforms available across the globe. Most of them have become so advanced that they let you learn anytime-anywhere and help you become an expert in individual topics of concern. With online learning, you can always go back to the video and revisit your learning. You can take up tests frequently online and evaluate your learning. You can check the videos before your exam and gaze through the important points. All these are effective ways to retain the information you learn for a longer duration.
Lately, a lot of experts are putting the blame on the Internet for the state of “Just-in-time learning”. They say that the internet serves as an externalized memory for people where they can search for information when they need it and then immediately forget it because they know it is always going to be on the net. As a result, they put less effort into memorizing and fully understanding concepts. As Albert Einstein says, “The human spirit must prevail over technology.”, we have to be masters of technology to work it to our advantage, and not let it get the better of us.
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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