Reviewing Helps Long-Term Memory

Kekich Credo #64 - Review the basics of your profession at least once per year.

To review means to examine or study again.  As a retired teacher and current math tutor to adults, reviewing material already taught is something I seem to do everytime I meet with my students. 

If you have ever taken a course, read a book, or been shown how to use something new, you probably discovered that just a few weeks later you can’t remember any of it. If that is so, you probably didn’t do anything with your new knowledge for quite a while.  

Most learning needs to be repeated several times before it sinks in.  Reviewing what you have learned regularly and strengthening your memory is important if you want your new knowledge to stay with you. We remember things best immediately after we heard, read, or watched them.  As time passes our memories begin to fade. Reviewing information regularly allows us to transfer new knowledge and skills from short-term memory to long-term memory.

How can we review effectively? Spend a few minutes reviewing the new material immediately.  Look through the material again and add to your notes. Schedule further review.  It is vital to revisit material frequently in order to move the information into your long-term memory.  Try to review your learning at regular intervals.  After your initial review, schedule another one after a day or two, then after a week, two weeks, a month, and at longer intervals after that.  This credo statement says to review the basics of your profession at least once a year. 

Every time you review something, try and test yourself. This will help you identify any gaps in your knowledge and highlight the key areas you need to focus on. Rewrite your notes.  This way you can improve or add to them each time. This helps keep information fresh and clear.

Why is it important to review the basics of your profession?  A profession is any type of work that needs special training or a particular skill. You want to review the special training or skills you have learned to keep up to date with the skills you need to improve your overall performance.  Taking time to review is the perfect opportunity to find areas that need attention.

Doing a self-evaluation serves to increase your commitment to goal setting and achievement.  Here are some questions to ask yourself.  What were your top three accomplishments this past year? Describe a mistake you made this past year.  List three areas of personal growth you would like to focus on this year. Name three goals for yourself this year and finally where do you see yourself this time next year?

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