2021-05-15 Expose Yourself Multi

If the first key to learning is practice, the second is repetition. Memories tend to diminish in strength over time, quickly at first and more gradually later. This is known as the forgetting curve, and its relentless erosion of our memory is the bane of all students.

Yet there is a strategy that causes memories to be retained longer — spreading out your exposure through time. If you can be exposed to a fact, idea or procedure multiple times, you’ll retain it far longer than if you experience it only once. Even better if these exposures are spread out over weeks instead of just hours.

The lesson: avoid cramming if you want to learn things deeply. Whenever possible, test yourself throughout your classes, not just on the current unit, but on previous ones. This sounds tedious, but it ends up saving time needed to learn everything right before the exam.