Retrieval practice during study is important to help students embed and access the information stored in their long-term memory. It is essential to keep revisiting information by doing retrieval practice (revision) to try to fight against the ‘Forgetting Curve’.
Hermann Ebbinghaus developed the ‘Forgetting Curve’ to illustrate how information is lost over time when there is no effort to retain it. In other words, he discovered that memory retention decreases significantly shortly after learning. Overall, the key findings were that individuals tend to forget a substantial portion of newly learned information within the first few days or weeks unless they actively review the material. Moreover, the curve shows that while forgetting occurs quickly at first, the rate of forgetting slows down over time. This means that after the initial drop, the amount of information retained stabilises.
So, why is this so important? This research emphasises the importance of being consistent with your studies and not relying on last-minute cramming. This is where retrieval practice can help.
“Retrieval practice is a learning strategy where we focus on getting information out. Through the act of retrieval, or calling information to mind, our memory for that information is strengthened and forgetting is less likely to occur. Retrieval practice is a powerful tool for improving learning.”
Retrieval practice should be active. Simply reading your notes is not very effective at helping you retain the information. Some ways to engage in active retrieval practice are: testing yourself by writing out as many notes as you can, asking someone to test you aloud, explain the topic to someone else, doing revision questions, or taking online quizzes on the topic to test your knowledge.
