Interesting Ways to Encourage Retention Among Learners

Almost everybody has forgotten something at least once in their lives. Nobody does this on purpose. But the fact of the matter is, a variety of ways to encourage retention and influence our ability to remember things. Regular physical exercise, a good night’s sleep and eating a balanced diet can all affect our memory power. As teachers, you hardly have any control over what your students do outside the classroom. You cannot control their diet or sleep pattern either. What you can do, however, is incorporate some interesting strategies into your course. These strategies can help boost retention among learners. Let’s take a look at five quick things you can do to help your students remember what they’ve learnt:

1. Repeat Yourself

It may seem counter-intuitive, but repeating information will actually help your students. When learners encounter the same material over and over, they are more likely to remember it. You don’t have to repeat the exact same information. That might become monotonous. Instead, sprinkle the same idea throughout the course. This is known as spaced repetition. You can start by reminding students what they learnt about the previous day. Then perhaps, you can do a monthly recap where you touch upon important points once again.

2. Make Use of Mnemonics

Mnemonics are powerful memory devices. They make use of acronyms, imagery and chunking to help learners recall larger pieces of information. The most famous mnemonic is VIBGYOR. This acronym helps us recall the order of colours in a rainbow – Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red. Chunking is typically used to help people remember numbers. For example, the phone number 9889765989 can be broken down into three chunks – 9889-765-989. This makes it easier to remember the number. You can create your own mnemonics to help learners remember all kinds of information.

3. Add Music and Rhymes

We all know that it’s important to use videos in online learning. But, even simple music and rhymes can make it easier for students to remember information. When you design your online learning course, you can include sounds and wordplays. Students should be exposed to music and sound patterns regularly. This will help them quickly commit the information they’ve learnt to their long-term memory.

4. Let Learners Learn

You may create the most interesting and engaging course possible. But, your students may still find it difficult to remember everything you’ve taught them. This is partly because students learn better when they learn by themselves. You can encourage this by providing them with extra reading material. This allows them to learn more about subjects or topics that interest them. As they explore, they will experience ‘Aha!’ moments. These moments will help them remember information better. You should also encourage students to ask questions or debate topics among themselves. This makes them familiar with the subject matter, which encourages retention.

These simple steps can boost the memory power of your online learners. If you’re looking to transfer your course online, you can sign up with TG Campus. Our platform makes it easy for educators to share videos and other learning materials with their students. We also offer interactive whiteboard and live classrooms facilities. You can make use of these features to encourage retention among learners. With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s become clear that online courses are the future of education. When you partner with TG Campus you can teach at a place and time that is convenient for you and your learners.