Knowledge Retention: Strategies to Supercharge Your Memory

But how come we often struggle to keep the newly obtained skill or lesson in our memory, while we can sometimes replay a scene from a movie word for word? For example, I can recite all the country names and capitals in the exact order in which they were taught in primary school. Is the level of interest and focus the key here? Or maybe it’s some secret technique we need to learn? Whether you're a student striving for expertise in your studies or an employee aiming to improve your professional skills, mastering knowledge retention in today’s advanced world is more than important. This article will disclose the concept of knowledge retention, explore its benefits and challenges, and offer us practical strategies to supercharge our memory.

What is Knowledge Retention?

The human brain is amazing! It can store an estimated 2.5 petabytes of information, which is equivalent to all the knowledge in Earth’s largest library. Incredible, isn’t it? But still, we humans are so forgetful. 

Knowledge retention is a 3-step process: first, we absorb information, next, we store it in long-term memory, and, finally, retrieve it when needed. There are different aspects of knowledge retention. For a student, it is about learning and transferring it from a short-term memory to a long-term one; for an employee of an organization, this process includes capturing and preserving information about the workforce, practices, and products related to the company’s activity. 

Benefits of Knowledge Retention

Knowledge retention is a core thread of every learning curve, which has a positive impact on personal and professional growth. Here are some general benefits it offers for those who are still in the middle of their academic journey and those who are paving their career path:

• Improved academic performance and productivity: The ability to effectively retain information helps students perform better in exams and assignments. In turn, employees can work better when they have a clear understanding of the procedures and duties.

• Better decision-making and faster problem-solving: By retaining relevant information about previous experiences we can avoid mistakes and make proper decisions or find better solutions in both academic and professional settings.

• Continuous improvement: Ongoing retention and application of knowledge allow us to come up with creative innovations and promote continuous growth.

• Customer satisfaction and competitiveness: A deeper knowledge leads to stronger competence, which results in customer satisfaction. Awareness enhances qualification and thus gives us the advantage of competitiveness.

• Cost-effectiveness: The ability to retain information releases us from the necessity of conducting additional training, thus cutting on extra expenses. It also refers to the prevention of serious mistakes, which can lead to excessive reputational costs.  

The Importance of Knowledge Retention
 

Knowledge retention is not a one-time act. It is established and then strengthened on every level of a learning pyramid through learning, practicing, and actively using. Retention of knowledge is like a safeguard that guarantees our ability to preserve valuable skills and expertise even after graduation or moving on to another career page. Our knowledge has very little value unless it cannot be implemented upon necessity. It is, therefore, crucial to develop knowledge retention skills to support deeper learning and understanding and to ensure that experience improves current practice.

Why is Knowledge Retention Difficult?

When mastering a new discipline or onboarding an organization as a young specialist, we are naturally concerned about how will it go. Everyone has faced a situation when capturing and retaining new information has become challenging. So what are the factors that disturb us increase attention span and make knowledge retention difficult?

Information Overload

The digital age we live in attacks us with multiple information sources. According to a recent survey, information overload makes it hard to filter and choose data that is really valuable.

Ineffective Learning

When the material cannot capture our interest, we involuntarily use cramming or rote learning. This method prevents information retention and has merely a temporary effect (i.e. knowledge is never used after course completion).

Cognitive Overload

Simultaneous informational flow overwhelms our cognitive capacity, which results in poor retention since the huge data volume cannot be stored in long-term memory.

Low Engagement

A lack of interest or engagement in the learning material can negatively impact the ability to retain information.

The Forgetting Curve

With the years (or even days), we realize that certain events or facts drop out of our memory. This process was first described by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in a theory of the forgetting curve, which illustrates how easily we forget newly acquired knowledge unless we undertake measures to reinforce it through review and application. As it turns out, half of the learned material leaves our memory within the first hour; 70% disappears within 24 hours; and almost everything, i.e., 90%, is dropped within a week. Even though it is sad to acknowledge this, the process of forgetting has a practical purpose - our brain filters information that really matters. 

Cognitive Principles of Knowledge Retention

Whether you are obsessed with details or a big-picture thinker, there is always a demand for managing our daily tasks and keeping the most significant ones in mind. Several cognitive principles can help with knowledge retention:

• Repetition: This is the first and simplest way of keeping information in long-term memory. Repetition techniques include note-taking, rewatching or reviewing video material, redoing an exercise, and so on. 

• Active searching: The process of retrieving information reinforces neural connections, making memories stronger.

• Interleaved Practice: The same information can be introduced in different ways and memorized better by mixing them during study sessions. You can rewrite the data in your own words, present it visually with charts or mindmaps, or practice and reinforce the material by teaching someone and quizzing yourself.

• Elaborative interrogation: Don’t leave any questions unanswered. Asking "why" questions about the material promotes deeper processing and better retention.

The Neuroscience of Knowledge Retention
 

Thanks to the role of neuroscience in education, we can understand how different areas of the brain participate in memory and knowledge retention processes. These areas are:

• The hippocampus provides the transfer of information from our short-term memory to our long-term and is responsible for new memory formation.

• The neocortex is in charge of perception, emotions, and cognition. This is a kind of knowledge library where our brain stores long-term memory data.

• The amygdala is a processing center for our emotions, located inside our temporal lobe. This structure emphasizes our emotions, thus strengthening our memories. 

Now that you know how it works, it is time to find out the ways of exploiting these areas in our favor!

5 Ways to Enhance Knowledge Retention

Use Spaced Learning

Spaced learning is about separating the study sessions into 10-minute intervals alongside reintroducing these sessions multiple times within the course. This method is supported by the use of flashcards or repetition software and helps learners recall information and develop long-term knowledge retention.

Maintain a Culture of Continuous Learning

Continuous or active learning promotes better retention since it motivates individuals to regularly engage with new information. This can be achieved through workshops, seminars, and eLearning platforms.

Gamify Knowledge Sharing and Retention

Gamification in eLearning establishes a leading position in education as it provides a more engaging and enjoyable learning process and breaks the boredom of theory learning. Games and quizzes reinforce learning through repetition and provide instant feedback.

Choose the Right Learning Platforms

The selection of learning platforms is essential. To ensure productivity and enhance retention a suitable platform should offer interactive and multimodal learning experiences. Platforms that combine text, audio, video, and interactive elements cover different learning styles and improve engagement.

Practice Testing

Studies show that regular testing not only assesses knowledge but also increases the strength of our memory. Through testing/self-testing and quizzes, we actively recall information in memory and identify areas that need further review.

Knowledge Retention for Enterprises

In the corporate world, knowledge retention is vital since it helps transform learners into experts. Organizations have to implement all the necessary tools for individuals to learn and assess their knowledge. This includes strategies like mentorship programs, experience-sharing platforms through knowledge management systems (KMS), and continuous professional development courses. The engagement of field experts who can provide effective training and instruction ensures employees retain and apply crucial information effectively.

Conclusion

As we can see, mastering knowledge retention is essential for both students and employees to be successful in their respective fields. Our brain is like a muscle, so the more we train it, the more productive knowledge retention becomes. By understanding the cognitive processes responsible for memory and applying practical strategies, individuals can significantly improve their ability to retain and use information. Hmm, I guess now I understand why I remember the scenes from my childhood better than a boring political economy course from my university days. It's all about experiencing different kinds of emotions! But if serious, although knowledge retention is challenging, it can be achieved through the integration of relevant learning techniques and neuroscientific methods.