In vocabulary
acquisition, students do not only have to deal with the difficulties that come
from the process of learning the vocabulary from the target language, but also
in retaining their memories of what they have learned and known.
What is retention?
An ability to retain
things in mind
Specifically: a
preservation of the aftereffects of experience and learning that makes recall
or recognition possible
What is an example of
retention?
What are examples of
customer retention strategies?
Offer a discount for returning customers. Run retention email marketing campaigns. Encourage customers to join a subscription program.
What Is Learning
Retention?
Learning retention is a
person’s ability to transfer
new information into their long-term memory so that it is easy
for them to recall and put that knowledge to use in the future. In simpler words, learning retention is all
about making new knowledge
stick for a long time.
1. Interest and motivation
The interest and
motivation of a learner behind a learning program are of uppermost importance.
When learning is accompanied by a motive, it is often retained for a long time
because the human brain tends to focus more on matters of interest.
For example, a sales rep would be more
motivated to learn about a CRM (Customer relationship
management) than a marketing automation tool. If trained in both, the seller is more likely
to retain the CRM tool knowledge for
a longer time compared to the
automation tool knowledge.
2. Repetition
Repetition of the
learning material plays an essential role in learning retention. The more an
individual repeats or practices a
task, the better it is retained in their memory.
For example, it’s hard
for most kids to learn mathematical times tables. That is why they are advised to write the tables on paper and stick
them to the study board to revise and repeat throughout the day.
3. Association
Paying attention to the meaning and significance of the content
or associating it with real-life scenarios helps individuals learn quickly and
retain the information longer.
4. Use of multiple
channels
Different people prefer
different learning styles – some
are visual learners, some need hands-on experience, some require an instructor
to guide them, etc. Therefore, it’s important
to choose the appropriate learning method or technique to boost learning
retention for an individual.
What Is the Learning
Retention Pyramid?
The learning pyramid,
also known as the “cone of learning,” was developed by the National Training Laboratory during the 1960s. It is a theoretical model that illustrates
various learning methods of learning along with their expected retention
percentage. The pyramid
illustrates how well one can retain information based on the different
techniques such as listening to a lecture, reading a book, watching videos,
etc.
Lecture
According to the
learning pyramid, “Lecture” is one of the most ineffective methods for learning
and retaining information. A lecture is a passive form of learning where the
learner simply sits back and listens to information being spoon-fed to them by
the teacher or professor.
Reading
In comparison to a
lecture, reading is marginally more effective when it comes to learning
retention. The advantage of reading over listening to a lecture is that it
provides the learner with reference material to recall the information.
Audio/visual
Audio and visual
learning content make it easy for learners to absorb information. Learning a
new skill by watching a quick video is more convenient and less time-consuming
than reading lengthy, text-heavy documents.
Demonstration
Learning by
demonstration involves a teacher or mentor showing the learner how to perform a
task by walking them through a step-by-step process. The demonstration provides
information more clearly than passive study methods and helps understand and
retain complicated details better.
Discussion
Discussions offer an
active, cooperative learning environment that leads to greater retention of
information. Discussions stimulate a learner’s thinking and increase
participation and engagement.
Practice by doing
Getting “hands-on”
experience is one of the most effective learning methods. This
learning style allows learners to apply their knowledge to practice every day,
which helps them retain the information long-term.
Teaching others
According to the
learning pyramid, teaching others is the most effective way to master a subject
and retain knowledge for a long time. If one can accurately and correctly teach
a subject to others, they’ll have a good mastery of the concepts and superior
knowledge retention.
Let’s discuss a few
strategies to improve learning retention.
1. Spaced learning
Spaced learning is
an effective learning retention strategy that helps people learns quickly and
efficiently while providing the added benefit of minimizing the loss of
knowledge that occurs with one-time learning. It’s based on the concept that
learning is enhanced when knowledge is repeated after certain intervals.
To implement spaced
learning in corporate training, break down the extended employee training programs into several
sessions or modules of shorter durations with spaced intervals. Reintroduce parts of these sessions multiple
times over the next few days or weeks for learners to recall and retain
information long-term.
2. Blended learning
Blended
learning combines the better of two training environments – traditional
face-to-face learning and eLearning – to enable learning retention for new-age
learners.
Blended learning makes
it possible to access training
resources both online and offline. It engages all types of learners – those who learn better in a
traditional classroom environment and those who work best with semi-autonomous,
computer-based training.
Implementing blended
learning for your corporate training programs will help ensure that you reach all of your
employees, whether they are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners. It only makes sense that reinforcing training
by activating more senses helps retain information longer than in a traditional
approach.
3. Micro learning
Micro learning is
defined as breaking down learning content into small, bite-sized information
modules. Micro learning helps
with learning retention as it is much easier for people to retain knowledge by completing a single 10-minute learning module
daily than watching a 1-hour webinar or taking a long comprehensive course in a single sitting.
Because of the dwindling
attention spans of millennial employees and the continuous distractions
employees face while working from home, corporate trainers must incorporate microlearning
in online training programs to ensure that employees are engrossed in training.
This approach will not overwhelm the learners by not delivering too much
information at once and will help boost learning retention.
4. Video learning
Video learning is an
effective way to deliver knowledge and consume content in the digital age. This
is because visual
representations make learners easily perceive and store the information in
their memory longer.
Implementing video
training for your employees helps cater to various learning needs of all
employees, increases knowledge retention with engaging knowledge transferring,
and reduces learning time. In fact, a study conducted by the SAVO (Seismic
acquire) group confirmed that presenting learning
materials visually increases knowledge retention by up to 65%. You can get started with video training by drawing inspiration
from these best examples of training videos.
5. Interactive and
engaging content
An excellent way for
corporate trainers to bump their learning
retention statistics is by creating interactive and engaging content for their
employees. Some examples of this include:
Creating a narrative
with situations and characters that employees can relate to
Creating animation
videos to illustrate complex processes interactively
Making the content
relevant to the job
Adding interactive
quizzes, surveys, Q&A
Using eye-catching
visuals
Adding personality,
honesty, or well-placed humor to drive home key points
6. Apply learning to the
real world
The human brain finds
it harder to memorize things that seem unrelated or irrelevant to its
environment or needs. Therefore, it’s
beneficial to create learning units directly applicable to your learners’
working lives as it helps them understand how training will impact their work.
As a result, learning retention is far more likely.
You may improve this and
turn learners into active participants by encouraging them to discover the
usefulness of the concepts they are studying for themselves.
Simulations are an
excellent method to demonstrate how your learning objectives apply to the real
world. They allow learners to see the benefits or consequences of taking
particular actions in a risk-free learning environment before applying their
new skills in the real world.
7. Teach others
Another way to improve
learning retention is by teaching others. Teaching others can include assisting
a peer in their studies, discussing what you’ve learned with a colleague or
friend, or participating in online discussions.
By engaging with the
learning material enough to explain it clearly to others, one can reinforce
their own learning. Teaching helps retain more information by allowing learners
to interact with the learning material in new and creative ways.
8. Learning in the flow of
work
Learning in the flow of
work is an effective learning retention method, especially for corporate
training programs. It enables employees to quickly access answers to their
queries – or a piece of learning material – in the moment of need.
When learning is
visible, present, and always-on in the systems that employees use daily, it
becomes part of their daily life and bridges the gap between learning and
doing. Learners can make more informed decisions faster and address any challenges
with the embedded access to information they have at the precise time of need.
Learning in the flow drives productivity, increases engagement, and improves
learning retention.
With a digital adoption
platform (DAP) like Whatfix as your learning in the flow of work
solution, you can create bite-sized training programs in engaging formats for
your employees to access at the moment of need, with in-app guidance and
self-help support, all overlaying on to your applications and digital
processes.
9. Take tests
The next suggestion to
boost learning retention is taking tests. Getting tested on new information
helps retain the information and monitor progress.
It is a good idea to
incorporate quizzes, tests, or assessments into your training courses for corporate
training. If the pre-test is meant to challenge your employees, the
post-training tests should be designed to help learners retrieve the knowledge
and keep track of their progress.
10. Learn from mistakes
Apart from information
retrieval and progress monitoring, testing is effective because it allows you
to make mistakes. Mistakes are vital for learning retention.
The human brain pays
attention to mistakes, making the event memorable and preventing future errors
in the same area. Making a mistake is an opportunity to learn and improve. Use
mistakes to identify areas of improvement and spend extra time for further
retention.
11. Use a mix of learning
formats
Workforces are made up
of many personality types that all have unique styles of learning. While one
person may find video training a more effective learning format, another may
prefer job shadowing. It’s important for L&D professionals to implement
various types of employee training and learning programs to accommodate
different styles of learning.
Multimodal
learning programs bring together different employee training methods to
build custom learning strategies for different types of learners – increasing
knowledge retention, training engagement, and ROI for training programs. This
kind of learning is designed to make use of a number of human senses, including
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VARK) – all to enhance understanding and
help learners remember concepts better.
No comments:
Post a Comment