How fast do students forget what they learned? The old saying “Use it or lose it” describes the knowledge and skill erosion that rapidly begins after students complete training, especially for tasks that are difficult, infrequent, or they do not immediately perform due to delayed application (e.g., transfer). Combining spaced repetition of key content/objectives from a training program can significantly foster retention of new skills and knowledge. Spaced repetition (approximately 5 minute question/learning interactions delivered over a 5-6 week period) significantly increases a student’s ability to retain what they learned in training without the need for lengthy just-in-time job site training, hard to schedule/deliver refresher courses, or mobile training teams that pull the recipient from normal duties. The author will describe an approach that increases memory recall while simultaneously supporting a more effective retention and transfer of new knowledge and skills from training to the job site. This process is based on proven research about memory: Knowledge and skills that are not quickly applied after initial training significantly erode. Spaced repetition of previously learned info/skills in small chunks repeated over time greatly improves retention. Spaced repetition is delivered directly to the performer as part of their normal daily routine. Spaced repetition is not a refresher course or a short form of an existing course. Instead, key performances and their associated knowledge and skills are reinforced via a simple direct targeted multi-week campaign. The result: Improved long-term knowledge and skill retention with a subsequent boost to performance, especially for challenging tasks (i.e., infrequent yet complex systems repair, language training to reduce erosion/provide easy practice, safety and security tasks that are a function of a non-primary duty, new system training, and competency development). The paper will include supporting industry research regarding the concept and A/B test research to compare post-training student performance with/without the spaced repetition methodology.

Richard Arnold

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How to Make Military Training STICK (Superior Task Implementation of Core Knowledge)