Forgetting What You Learned? It’s Not Your Fault
Are you one of those people who learn something and then forget it? Well I’ve got news for you, that happens to everyone! Today I’m going to explain why that happens and what you can do to make sure you remember your learning.
You may have heard me talk about the forgetting curve, well this is what it’s all about.
When you learn something you forget 50% of it within an hour
That’s right, 50%. That’s huge. So it doesn’t matter how much your young person learns in school they are going to forget half of it very soon!
So how do you make sure you don’t forget it? Use the spacing effect
When you go back over the topic, the fall in learning is a less steep curve, So what you want to do is within a few days do a couple of questions on the topic. Then a bit later do another few. Each time you go over it, it is embedded over time.
This is where the principles of revision come from, it’s about going over and over again.
So should we revise just before exams so we don’t forget?
NO! It’s better to regularly over time go over the topic. That’s partly why Maths is taught in a spiral. Each time you visit a topic you should go over what was taught before, then build on it slightly.
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Next time your child says they don’t remember tell them it’s okay
Tell them about the forgetting curve. Get them to understand that it’s okay that they had forgotten, but this time they will forget less. Come up with a plan, don’t just leave the topic at that. Get some practice questions and go over the same topic a few times. School’s just don’t have the time to go over the learning regularly, so it’s important that there is an opportunity for your child to go over topics, whether that’s with a tutor, or doing some real life maths, keep encouraging them and pointing out how much they now know!
If you’d like to know more about how to help your child remember their learning then get my free e-book, and watch out for my upcoming workshop.