WATCH: Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

In this episode, I’d like to talk about “Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve”. Back in the late 1800’s, Professor Hermann Ebbinghaus was studying a lot about Memory and Retention. And, he wanted to know how to improve retention over time.

So, what he discovered was that memories weaken quite rapidly and there’s a sudden drop immediately after the learning experience.

Learning Experience

That has a lot to do with the way that we make the learning mean something for us. So, how well we’re able to make meaning from the learning and attach it to other things that we already know. He also discovered that the way that the information is presented and whether it matches our learning styles has a big impact on our ability to memorise it.

Stress

Stress has a huge impact on learning and retention because the more stressed we are, the less we’re able to use our prefrontal cortex and the parts of our brain that are important with memorising and retention.

So, what he did was, he did a number of experiments to find out how to improve this. And, it was interesting to see that in 2015, another team replicated a number of his experiments and found very similar results. So, what he discovered was that it’s all about.

Spacing The Learning

in smaller doses and reviewing regularly over time. For example, after a learning experience, it’s really important, perhaps the next day, to review the material and ask yourself

“What have I retained?”

“What have I remembered from the  learning?”

Review The Notes

And the materials to boost that memory and remember all the stuff that you did learn. And, then about a week later, do a similar exercise, ask yourself

“What have you learned?”

“What have you retained?”

And, go back to your notes

Review the Material

And then finally , after another month or so. Ask yourself the same question, go back, review the material, Ask yourself

“What have you retained?”’ And then over time, regularly review again. A good time to do it is six months after the learning. So, that you’re embedding the learning and each time you’re improving the retention and making sure that you get real value from the learning. So, what I’d like you to do is to consider, as a manager or as a learner, is if you’re doing any learning, to regularly review the material. Because, otherwise, your brain will not be able to retain it. And, if your people are doing learning, regularly review the material with them. So, they’re able to retain it and you’re ensuring that they’re doing the reviews. Because, it’s often too easy to be too busy to do this review process. And, yet it’s so fundamental to getting a return on investment.

Because, when it comes to learning,

Stay curious!

With best regards,

David Klaasen

Talent4Performance help business leaders clarify complexity. We inspire people and drive continuous performance improvement, so they can convert thinking into action and results.

©David Klaasen – 2023