Case in Point  

Ten3 SMART Learning – Fast Learning Without Forgetting

In 2005, Ten3 Business e-Coach introduced a revolutionary concept of Ten3 SMART Learning fast inspirational learning without forgetting. In this title, SMART stand for Synergistic, Motivational, Achievement-oriented, Rapid, and Technology-enabled.

Learning through repetition is the one aspect of studying that most people know – and dread. Without repetition, by Day 2 we forget 50% of what we've learned. By Day 30, we retain about 2%-3% of the original knowledge! With no reviews, you virtually have to re-learn the material after about a month.

With Ten3 Smart Learning packages, learning, repetition, and memorizing occurs fast, continuously and effortlessly. Ten3 Smart Course materials provide well illustrated executive summaries of various concepts which makes learning fast and effective. Ten3 Smart Screen Savers display educational and motivational slides periodically to help you "reactivate" your knowledge and inspire new ideas. This is just-in-time inspiration as slides appear when your PC falls asleep and your mind opens to new discoveries!

Clients of Ten3 training programs are amazed at the difference Ten3 Smart Screen Savers make in how much they understand, how well they understand and retain material, and how effectively they apply the knowledge gained.

The most important main idea in learning and forgetting is to understand that both processes are activity dependent. The less knowledge is used, the greater the forgetting. Similarly, the more something is repeated, the better the remembering.

Memorizing through Reviewing

Short reviews will help you retain the lecture information. With no reviews, you virtually have to re-learn the material after about a month.

In his article "Fundamental Concepts of Forgetting and Learning," C. Frank Starmer from Medical University of South Carolina writes:

The Curve of Forgetting describes how we retain or forget information that we learn/memorize. This example is based on memorizing that occurs during a one-hour lecture.

On Day 1, at the beginning of the lecture, you go in knowing nothing, or 0%, (where the curve starts at the baseline). At the end of the lecture you know 100% of what you know, however well you know it (where the curve rises to its highest point).

By Day 2, if you have done nothing with the information you learned in that lecture, didn't think about it again, read it again, etc. you will have lost 50%-80% of what you learned. Our brains are constantly recording information on a temporary basis: scraps of conversation heard on the sidewalk, what the person in front of you is wearing. Because the information isn't necessary, and it doesn't come up again, our brains dump it all off, along with what was learned in the lecture that you actually do want to hold on to!

By Day 7, we remember even less, and by Day 30, we retain about 2%-3% of the original hour! This may account for feeling as if you've never seen this before in your life when you're studying for exams – you may need to actually re-learn it from scratch.

You can change the shape of the curve! A big signal to your brain to hold onto a specific chunk of information is if that information comes up again. When the same thing is repeated, your brain says, "Oh-there it is again, I better keep that." When you are exposed to the same information repeatedly, it takes less and less time to "activate" the information in your long term memory and it becomes easier for you to retrieve the information when you need it.

Here's the formula, and the case for making time to review material: Within 24 hours of getting the information – spend 10 minutes reviewing and you will raise the curve almost to 100% again. A week later (Day 7), it only takes 5 minutes to "reactivate" the same material, and again raise the curve. By Day 30, your brain will only need 2-4 minutes to give you the feedback, "Yup, I know that. Got it.“¹ >>>