How To Eliminate The Forgetting Curve

The modern age continues to present us with challenges and opportunities when it comes to being at our most productive point. The speed at which technology is advancing means that many companies and brands are faced with very real productivity challenges. How do you stay competitive in a market that is constantly undergoing change and evolution? At the same time, we’re presented with a myriad of ways that people can be more productive, both personally and professionally. The challenge for the modern learning professional is how to present workers with the right knowledge and the 'know-how', at the right time, so that their performance and productivity are enhanced.

The Forgetting Curve

In light of this challenge, one of the theories that most learning professionals will be familiar with is Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve [1]. Ebbinghaus was able to show, during the 1880s, that a failing of the human condition is that we quickly forget new information we learn if we don’t do anything useful with it in a very short amount of time. It presents quite the conundrum for learning professionals because we don’t want people to forget the knowledge and skills they experience and practice during programs that have been so heavily invested in.

The strength of Ebbinghaus' theory is that it’s something which remains relevant today. In an age where information is at our fingertips, this presents a further challenge of how we help people retain their learning. In fact, the question of Instructor-Led Training is brought into the direct light, and we have to question its usefulness and its utility. That is, if we deliver a solution through Instructor-Led delivery, is that a good use of time, and is it a good use of the medium? And let’s not forget, in L&D we’re not in the business of knowledge transfer or even learning delivery [2], we’re in the business of improving performance and capability.

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