Curve of Forgetting

For many school-going students, it's the time of the year again when exams are just around the corner. Orchard Road gets less crowded while McDonalds observes increases in beverage sales!

We try and review one whole year's worth of academic workload in the hope that we can recall them and apply them cometh the hour.

Hopefully, while it's not too late, I'd like to share with you a little something called the Curve of Forgetting.

The Curve of Forgetting describes how we retain or get rid of information that we take in. It's based on a one-hour lecture.

Day 1
At the beginning of the lecture, you go in knowing nothing, or 0%, (where the curve starts at the baseline). At the end of the lecture you know 100% of what you know, however well you know it (where the curve rises to its highest point).

Day 2
If you have done nothing with the information you learned in that lecture, didn't think about it again, read it again, etc. you will have lost 50%-80% of what you learned. Our brains are constantly recording information on a temporary basis: scraps of conversation heard on the sidewalk, what the person in front of you is wearing. Because the information isn't necessary, and it doesn't come up again, our brains dump it all off, along with what was learned in the lecture that you actually do want to hold on to!

Day 7 onwards
By Day 7, we remember even less, and by Day 30, we retain about 2%-3% of the original hour! This nicely coincides with midterm exams, and may account for feeling as if you've never seen this before in your life when you're studying for exams - you may need to actually re-learn it from scratch.

Changing the shape of the curve
You can change the shape of the curve! When you are exposed to the same information repeatedly, it takes less and less time to "activate" the information in your long term memory and it becomes easier for you to retrieve the information when you need it.

Here's the formula and the case for making time to review material: Within 24 hours of getting the information - spend 10 minutes reviewing and you will raise the curve almost to 100% again. A week later (Day 7), it only takes 5 minutes to "reactivate" the same material, and again raise the curve. By Day 30, your brain will only need 2-4 minutes to give you the feedback, "Yes, I know that..."

Often students feel they can't possibly make time for a review session every day in their schedules - they have trouble keeping up as it is. However, this review is an excellent investment of time. If you don't review, you will need to spend 40-50 minutes re-learning each hour of material later - do you have that kind of time? Cramming rarely stores information in your long term memory sucessfully, which makes it harder to access the material for assignments during the term and exam preparation.

Depending on the course load, the general recommendation is to spend half an hour or so every weekday, and 1.5 to 2 hours every weekend in review activity. Perhaps you only have time to review 4 or 5 days of the week, and the curve stays at about the mid range. That's OK, it's a lot better than the 2%-3% you would have retained if you hadn't reviewed at all.


Reference: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/study/curve.html

10 places to study other than at home

1. You friend's home
If it's conducive, why not? It helps to study in a group too.

2. School (duh!)
Places like the school library, canteen, designated study areas, corridor benches...etc are more peaceful than other places listed here. The downside is that some students may live far away. (But hey, who says you have to be studying in your own school)

3. Community Clubs
Common benches or study rooms http://www.centralsingapore.org.sg/site/voices/voices6/page10.shtml

4. Starbucks

As what Howard Behar said, they're in the people-business serving coffee, not the coffee-business serving people.

5. Changi Airport

Remember to bring a jacket though.

6. Fastfood restaurants
Good news is that some of them are 24 hours. Bad news is that they tend to be a little noisy.

7. Void decks
Some of the newer flats in Toa Payoh for example have even roof gardens and sky gardens. No air-con though.

8. National Library Building

Study room at level 5

9. Parks

Can be quite quiet but you're subjected to the elements of the weather.

10. Just don't study
Ha ha! Kidding!

Must teachers be good students?

Must good teachers have been good students? Can a teacher who was always an A student understand a student who has never gotten better than a C?

Studies have shown that there is little relationship between course grades and teaching performance.

Not every good student goes on to become a good teacher because as a teacher, knowledge alone is not enough. While being knowledgeable allows one to achieve good grades in school, teaching requires a further aspect of actually imparting that knowledge.

Two different teachers may be able to solve the same maths problem. But the difference is not whether which teacher can solve the question faster, but which teacher can deliver the solution with clarity, while ensuring that his/her students understand the relevant content.

However, achieving a certain level of knowledge proficiency is still without a doubt, an essential pre-requisite for all teachers.

But being sufficiently articulate, and able to communicate effectively are more important tools for effective teaching.

Happy Teachers' Day

To all the teachers/tutors who made a difference in our lives at one point or another, thank you for being our continuous source of wisdom and knowledge! Have a Happy Teachers' Day.