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“I learned so much at my course – but I
didn’t get to use it right away. Two months later, I
can’t remember anything.”
It’s a great feeling to complete a course and be proud of
everything you’ve learned. But if that “pumped”
feeling sags a couple of months later when you can’t remember the
skills or concepts, it’s hard to see the value of doing the
training at all. And it’s even harder to get excited about
doing it again… and again.
Today’s training methods set us up for failure, unless we
actually get to use our new skills immediately after training (and keep
using them). Research shows that if people don’t
immediately start using their new skills, they will forget up to 95% of what they’ve learned.
But there’s good news - it doesn’t have to be that
way. The same research also shows that “spaced
learning” drastically improves retention, helping you retain 80% more information. That's more like it!
Spaced learning is a learning process
as opposed to a one-time experience. Students learn the concepts
as is usual in the conventional learning methods. Then, after a
break of a few days or weeks, the same concepts that they learned
initially are reinforced with additional teaching and/or testing.
For the best results, this process gets repeated several times.
You use your short-term memory to learn concepts while in class.
Ideally, you want to transfer what you’ve learned into your
long-term memory, so that it’s there when you need it. That
process only occurs one way: through repetition.
The process of learning, partially forgetting, and then re-learning,
cements the concepts in your long-term memory. To get the maximum
benefit from your training experience, carefully consider how you can
provide the repetition and relearning that you need after the initial
training session.
If you know you’ll be using your new skills right away, and
you’ll continue to use them regularly for several weeks after the
course, you can confidently choose a one-time training
experience. Learn the concepts initially, and they’ll stay
with you as you provide the follow-up repetition through your daily
activities.
If you may not be able to use your new skills right away, help yourself
succeed by implementing a follow-up strategy. Make sure that you
can receive additional coaching or follow-up through the trainer, or
else create your own personal follow-up plan. You can devise
little tests for yourself, consciously create opportunities to use your
new skills, and/or review your course material regularly for several
weeks or months after the training.
You’ve probably heard the expression “It takes 21 days to
build a new habit”. With that in mind, make sure that you
give yourself at least 3 weeks
of intermittent reviews. Depending on the complexity of the
concepts, and how soon or how often you’ll be using them, you may
want to continue the follow-ups for 8 or 12 weeks – or
more. And use your new skills whenever you can. It really
does come down to “Use it or lose it”.
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By: Diane Henders, Bright Ideas Personalized
Learning Inc. Bright Ideas Personalized Learning Inc. is a
Calgary-based mobile computer training company that provides on-demand,
cost-effective training to corporations and individuals. For more
information about this topic, or to schedule a training session, please
call (403) 269-2347.
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