When I was a child I learned to play the piano. I have an enduring memory of that time. Being made to practice for a whole hour felt like a counterproductive chore, whereas short and frequent bursts of practice felt like progress.
There’s a good reason for this. Neuroscientific research suggests that the best way to ensure long-term knowledge retention is with study spaced at increasingly large intervals. The knowledge that begins as bitesize chunks and is built up over time is ultimately more effective and memorable. As Dr Tom Perry, Assistant Professor in the Education Studies Department of Warwick University stated on a 2022 SecEd podcast: “Repeatedly in research, we find that rather than doing a whole hour at once, you are best off doing 15 minutes four times.”
At sub-10 we design learning differently. Our solution aligns with how people learn. We partner with you to create a progressive, continuous experience where content is consumed, and knowledge builds over time. It’s an approach that’s both personalised and progressive.
Our intelligent platform prompts learners to revisit key concepts, ideas, or skills over long periods of time during which content is often forgotten. In this way, we can improve learning retention, just like a classroom teacher does.
This may not seem like a big deal but most digital platforms are missing the human element that ensures learning is differentiated for individual needs. Most of the content management systems out there are clunky and archaic. And most of the content tends to be in the ‘one-off, one-size-fits-all’ mould. The outcome is a waste of time and money. Learners don’t learn anything and organisations don’t benefit.
Meanwhile, the learning gains associated with spaced learning are well documented. According to Lyle et al in the Educational Psychology Review (2020), “Students for whom some retrieval practice was spaced, compared to those for whom all practice was massed, performed better in class and in final exams.”
Retrieval practice, not re-reading, learning materials enhances long-term retention. And sleep plays an important part too because sleep provides the optimal conditions for consolidating knowledge.
sub-10’s intelligent platform is built around our progressive approach and the concept of spaced learning. You can find out more about how that all fits together in the fourth stage of our learning journey…coming soon.
Author: John Webb