We all make mistakes. However, our amnesia follows a pattern. People forget faces and names they learned just a week prior, yet we recall characters from a video we saw decades ago.
We tend to forget the dates we studied in history class in elementary school, yet we recall every detail of a chemical test from the same time span. Some stories we forget, while others stick with us even years after we’ve read them.
We acquire a great deal of information, but if we can’t connect it to the preexisting brain structure, it will have fewer connections. As a result, a tried-and-true strategy for teaching abstract topics is to connect them to and build on more tangible or recognizable notions.
One strategy is to use examples or comparisons. For instance, strengthening a brain cell strengthens it in the same way that adding strands to a rope thickens and strengthens the entire thing.
It is vital for the effectiveness of any training program to ensure that learners remember the information until they have the opportunity to use it. However, this is harder than it sounds.
1) Match Content to Learner Needs
People will not care if the topic is irrelevant. That is a universal fact. Aligning materials with learners ’ needs establishes the training program’s relevance. As a result, you guarantee that participants are equipped and ready to take advantage of any chance to use their knowledge and abilities in the workplace.
2) Stay Away From Information Overload
Whenever it comes to the quantity of information you disclose online, more is not necessarily better. Yes, cognitive load exists, and this is one of the major reasons why individuals fail to collect primary data.
The cardinal rule of preventing cognitive overload is as follows: do not overload your course with the material. To reduce the mental burden on the learners’ minds, filter out all the belief-based aspects of the course and construct the learning so that it is easily absorbed and assimilated. Include a material only if it is crucial to the learning result, such as when the learner must memorize process steps.
3) Sprinkle Samples All through the course
Mixing dry facts, intricate language, long-winded explanations, and formalities with examples is one of the finest methods to make information stick in a person’s mind. Examples assist learners in determining the similarities and contrasts between numerous items and concepts, as well as in comparing and categorizing them. Examples assist learners in making sense of a new notion of an unfamiliar thing by associating it with a recognized element.
4) Encourage students to discuss the information and create action plans
Reflection provides learners with an additional opportunity to cognitively review what they have learned. LMS vendors like Acendre create chances for introspection by empowering learners to brainstorm action items that they may work on after returning to their workplaces.
These steps will encourage them to focus on the information they have gained and to continue learning even when they’ve left their online courses until they have the opportunity to apply the knowledge.
5) Categorize the Learning Sessions
Packing too much content into an eLearning course can just confuse the learners. They’ll become lost trying to understand all of the information, statistics, terminologies, and lingo you throw at them. As a result, learning becomes unpleasant, irritating, and demotivating.
Make sure to spread out your learning. Incorporate practice tasks throughout the course modules to provide breathing room, allowing the material to soak in and become ingrained in the mind. As this piece demonstrates, spaced-out learning triumphs overcrowded learning.
6) Encourage learners to explore the content on their own
Individuals learn best with experience. That is a proven fact. We learn better and retain more information when we find it on our own rather than when it is “told” to us. As a result, make sure to provide an adequate chance for learners to explore and “find” the information on their own.
If you want your learners to be able to transfer their learning from the lecture to the workplace, you must push them to think and act in the manner that they are required to perform in reality and at their jobs. This suggests that rather than merely passing on knowledge to learners and hoping they will find “some” value in it, convert your learning into meaningful learning experiences.
Conclusion
The information retention tactics listed above are helpful since they make your classes more relevant and dynamic. These methods draw people into the learning experience. In the long term, this leads to enhanced engagement and information retention.
