7 Useful Tips to Boost Knowledge Retention in E-Learning

Human minds are hardwired to forget. Information that is not immediately required is forgotten and replaced by newer information. When it comes to learning, this forgetting trend is more apparent. The forgetting curve by Hermann Ebbinghaus shows that learners forget 90% of what is learned within only days after learning it.

You may find it curious though because we tend to remember a movie scene or dialogues from it long after we have seen it. Or some songs get stuck on our heads. But that happens because a movie or a song engages a person far beyond what learning does. They have an emotional engagement factor that course materials do not possess.

So, teaching something that will be well-remembered requires that you put some genuine efforts in making the course more readily absorbable. As a course designer, you'll find these tips helpful in creating content that is not only learned but also retained.

Learn Less Remember More

When it comes to e-learning bombarding your students with a gargantuan amount of information at a time will not work well. This is also true in any general learning. Processing a huge amount of information at a time is tedious to the brain and what is learned will probably all be forgotten.

Instead, develop bite-sized learning modules that can be completed within minutes. That way a learner will find it easier to learn new concepts and ideas. And what is learned well is also remembered well.

So, strip off all the superfluous details from your lengthy modules and go for small chunks of content addressing a specific objective.

Tell a Story

An easy way to boost knowledge retention in learners is by using the fact that we remember something more easily when we are emotionally attached to it. A way of doing that for your students is by telling them stories.

If you are preparing some academic modules, like this Master of Business Administration (MBA) Top-Up, you can inform your students about how the subject applies to the real world by telling them a nice story. If you are creating an e-learning module for your employees, you can tell them real-life scenarios of how a particular challenge was overcome by applying what you are teaching. Just don't drift too far and stick to what your objectives are, i.e. to make the modules more emotionally engaging.

Always Test

Testing what your learners have learned is as important as teaching itself. So, test always and test often. Integrating quizzes are a great way of assessing your students. It will also help the students to assess themselves. Quizzes will help them figure out how much they have learned and how much they have retained.

But this testing, as mentioned, is to be carried out often. Just a single test at the end of the course is not enough. Testing on specific modules is what you should do. That way, learners will be going through what is learned more often, and thus chances of them remembering it will also increase.

Add Diagrams and Unique Images

Explaining a concept using words is good. But what works better is using diagrams and creative images. So, use diagrams wherever possible. This will give the learners a visual representation of what they are learning and thus will help them learn better. Also, recalling an image is much easier than recalling words. You can use diagrams particularly in the summary of educational courses like this MSc Accountancy & Financial Management Top-Up, but the best practice would be to incorporate diagrams and images throughout the course.

Integrate Games

Learning is best when we are engaged. And what can be more effective in engaging your learners than integrating some gamified elements in your course? This is not only a fun way of learning but also creates a healthy and fun competition among learners.

Use leaderboards, badges, or serious games to help learn something more actively. Using gamification help motivate and engage the learners the result being boosted retention and easy recall of that which is learned.

Give Importance to Sensory Details

Words are the primary tool in teaching. But neither are they the only tool nor should you rely just on written content to create something engaging. Instead, use several and mixed media for teaching. Use videos, infographics, and diagrams, to make a lasting impact on the students' minds.

Creating content in such a manner will help the learners attach an emotional value to it. And it is known that we remember something more easily and in detail when our mind emotionally attaches with something. So, use photographs, videos, and illustrations to add on to your content.

Use Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition is a way of designing an e-learning module so that learners are exposed to the same concept multiple times during the course and they get to review constantly as the course progresses. The frequency of reviews is dropped and more spaced with time.

This simple structuring makes use of the fact that we remember more of what we are more often exposed to. So, design your e-learning course keeping this fact in mind.

Wrapping it up

Online education is a great way to learn and it also arms us with more colorful and comprehensive teaching tools that can help students remember something easily. So, make the best use of them and follow the tips given here to boost knowledge retention in your e-learning course.