Use Retraining Techniques to Retain Important Information in Long-Term Memory.
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Do you want to truly learn the material you’re studying? I’m not talking about learning enough to pass an exam, but rather learning it for life. Then you need to relearn . One learning theory holds that relearn will make you automatic—that is, allow you to do something without thinking—and ultimately, allow you to retain more knowledge. Here’s what relearn is and how to achieve it.
What is overtraining?
You know something is serious when the American Psychological Association has a definition , and this is exactly the case: according to the American Psychological Association, overlearning is “practice that continues beyond the point where a person knows or performs a task as well as can be expected.” The American Psychological Association states that the benefits here can include “increased retention of knowledge over time or better retention and recall.” The terminology makes sense: once you’ve learned something beyond what’s necessary, it becomes second nature.
Simply put, overlearning involves memorizing something even if you’re confident you know it. This is why this method is often underrated, and frankly, it’s a bit annoying. It’s logical that once you’ve mastered the information, you won’t want to waste time reviewing it, but according to this theory, that’s when the magic happens. Don’t stop reviewing or studying just because you’ve memorized something. Instead, keep going, absorbing it deeper and deeper into your brain.
Hermann Ebbinghaus, the researcher who introduced us to the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve , studied memory in the 1890s, finding that memories deteriorate over time. (This is essentially the essence of the forgetting curve, and it’s a fairly common-sense phenomenon you’ve likely experienced in your life.) Overlearning, he said, occurs when you keep repeating something well past the point where you can recall it with 100% accuracy. Think of a story you’ve told many times throughout your life. If you hadn’t started telling it at parties and on first dates, the details might have become fuzzy, but since you’ve done so, at this point, it’s practically a well-rehearsed performance.
You see, recall requires effort. The goal of retraining is to achieve automaticity, retrieving information from long-term memory effortlessly and freeing up space in working memory.
How can you retrain?
Next time you study, review the material you already know from beginning to end. For example, using the Leitner method (which involves spaced repetition of flashcards, with the frequency of each repetition depending on how well you did on the task last time), always review all the cards you were assigned on a given day, even if you feel tempted to skip them because you answered correctly last time. Repeated review of familiar material is the key to relearning and, ultimately, automatic memorization.
Flashcards are a great way to study in general, and they’re ideal for this, especially if you’re following the Leitner Method. Just because a flashcard has been moved to a section you study less frequently doesn’t mean you shouldn’t return to it. In fact, if you’re trying to learn more material, this is one of the few times I wouldn’t recommend using the Leitner Method—at least not right away. During the first few days of studying the flashcards, review them all and don’t sort them by correct or incorrect answers. Simply review the same information over and over.
Another useful tool is word-of-mouth practice, which involves writing down or speaking out everything you can remember about a topic. This stimulates active retrieval —or consciously retrieving information from long-term memory—and trains you to quickly recognize key details in your memory. Practice word-of-mouth at the end of each week, even if you perfectly remembered all the details last time.
Set aside time each week to review previously mastered material by scheduling distributed practice . This could be something simple, like rereading a chapter or your notes, or something complex, like taking quizzes or using flashcards. Constantly reviewing familiar ideas will help you cement them deeper into your long-term memory.