Memory
It’s not simple!
If it is not backed up it won’t work very well. This is why in tutoring students are taught to overlearn.
What does this mean?
Hermann Ebbinhaus studied memory and through experiments showed that memory is lost most rapidly straight (within the day or hour) after learning the new information, and that the loss slows down after that.
You can see in the diagram below that a substantial amount of information is forgotten shortly after learning, especially within the first hour. This demonstrates the importance of reviewing the information as mindful review and reinforcement can help to retain information longer. Spaced Repetition is one way of doing this as by revisiting information at increasing intervals can be an effective strategy for long-term retention.
Overlearning is a learning strategy where you continue practicing a skill even after you have achieved proficiency. Continuing to practice the skill can lead to automaticity, improved memory recall, and enhanced long-term retention of the learned material. This means that the learning is firmly in place.