How soon after a training session do employees start forgetting new information? Why does this happen and how can it change? In a recent LinkedIn discussion, Charles Henderson asked the question, “In 10 words or less, why do you think learners forget what they’ve learned so quickly?” The question has since garnered over 900 responses. Join Charles and our CEO Carol Leaman as they explore this question and also discuss what the latest in brain science has to offer on the problem of forgetting. Get the Webinar recording here: www.axonify.com/forgetting

1. Why Do Employees Forget?

2. Carol Leaman
CEO
Axonify
Charles Henderson
L&D Professional
Agenda & Speakers
• The question “Why Learners
Forget so Quickly?”
• The analysis
• What the latest in brain
science tells us
• An example
• Q&A

3. Key Takeaways
1. Insight into what the L&D
community thinks about
why learners forget
2. The latest in brain science
and what it tells us about
learning retention
Axonify Confidential3

4. Charles Henderson
L&D Professional

5. Axonify Confidential

6. Axonify Confidential6
10 words or less
turned into
47,379!

7. Axonify Confidential
Maybe it’s the request to keep comments
to 10 words or less. Maybe it’s the
northern hemisphere summer down-time
that gives some LinkedIn members more
opportunity to contemplate this kind of
question.
I think it’s more likely that this is a
question that cuts deeply into the psyche
of educators and trainers.
The Performance Improvement Blog
Dr. Stephen Gill
Co-Founder of Learning to be Great

8. Analysis of Reponses from the L&D Community
900+
responses
analyzed!

9. Analysis of Reponses from the L&D Community
Occurrence: At what point in
the learning process do
respondents believe the
mistakes and failures which
lead to “forgetting” occur?

10. Poll #1
At what point in the learning process do you believe
retention problems occur?
A. Pre-Training
B. During Training
C. Post-Training
D. Not Related to Training

11. Pre-Training
4%
Intra-Training
58%
Post-Training
32%
Not Related to
Training
6%
At what point do we believe that
retention problems occur?

12. Some Common Themes
• Poor facilitation
• Boring or lecture-only
delivery
• Lack of attention-
getting stories
• Unmotivated learners
• Overwhelming amount
of material
Axonify Confidential12
Intra-Training
58%

13. Some Common Themes
• Lack of immediate
application of the skills
and knowledge learned
• “Use it or Lose it”
• Lack of reinforcement
Axonify Confidential13
Post-Training
32%

14. Analysis of Reponses from the L&D Community
Responsibility: Which party
or parties do the respondents
believe are responsible for
retention failures?

15. Poll #2
What do you believe is the main reason for lack of
retention?
A. The Curriculum
B. The Facilitator
C. The Learners
D. Organizational Leadership

16. Learners
22%
Facilitator
20%
Curriculum
34%
Leadership/Ac
countability
24%
What do we believe to be the main reason
for lack of retention?

17. Carol Leaman
President & CEO
Axonify

18. Employees aren’t
remembering and applying
what they need to know to
do their jobs and it is
expensive.
The Fundamental Truth

19. The Forgetting Curve

20. Traditional
Corporate
Learning

21. 21
Let’s start with
the brain.

22. Scientists know more
about the brain and
memory than ever
before.

23. Brains Need a
Break from
Continuous Input
Emotional Events Get Our Attention
We Process
“Gist” before
Details
We Are Incapable
of Multi-Tasking
Posner’s Theory of Attention

24. 24
3Cognitive strategies
that can be used to
improve memory.

25. 25
3Cognitive strategies
that can be used to
improve memory.
Repeated Retrieval
Spacing
Deep Encoding

26. Repeated Retrieval
Repeated retrieval is
more effective for long
term retention than
repeated study.

27. 0.18
0.38
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
Study Repeated Retrieval
ProportionRecalledFact: Repeated retrieval leads to better learning

28. Fact: Retrieval practices produce better learning
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
Study Repeated
Study
Concept
Mapping
Retrieval
Practice
ProportionCorrect
Source: 2011 study by Jeffrey D. Karpicke, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University

29. Spacing
Long-term retention is
improved as the
spacing between
repetitions increases.

30. Fact: Spaced (vs. crammed) practice leads to better
learning
0.55
0.72
0.78
0.62
0.93
0.97
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 4 12
%Recalled
Intervening Items
Re-Study Condi on
Retrieve Condi on
ProportionRecalled

31. Fact: Spaced (vs. crammed) practice leads to better
learning
0.55
0.72
0.78
0.62
0.93
0.97
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 4 12
%Recalled
Intervening Items
Re-Study Condi on
Retrieve Condi on
ProportionRecalled

32. Deep Encoding
The more deeply and
meaningfully you process
information, the more
likely you are to
remember it.

33. Fact: Deep encoding leads to better retention
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Case Rhyme Sentence
ProportionRecognized
Source: Craik & Tulving, 1975
Level of Processing

34. Take Home Messages
1. Spacing combined with retrieval leads
to better learning
2. Practicing retrieval is particularly
beneficial to learning when it:
• is followed by feedback
• occurs multiple times
• requires effort
3. Retention is better when information
is processed deeply.

35. Axonify Confidential35
Incorporating Brain Science into
Corporate eLearning:
• Retrieval Based Learning
• Spaced Repetition
• Bite-sized Learning

36. Retrieval Practices
(Questioning Format)
Spaced Repetition
(Interval Reinforcement)
The Next Generation of Corporate eLearning

37. Add Engagement….
Badges
Prizes
Constant Feedback
Timed Play
Surprise Elements
Increasing Difficulty
Goals
Community Recog-
nition
Peer Visibility
Leaderboards –
Individual & Team
Avatars
Game Choice
Achievement Levels
Question Styles
Personalized Social Fun Rewarding
…to maximize learning

38. Results

39. Bottom-Line Results at Pep Boys
LOSS PREVENTION HEALTH & SAFETY

40. Learning woven into the
workday, driving behavioral
change, resulting in improved
financial performance.
Content
Reinforcement
• Personalized
• Gamified
• Social
Learning
Retention
Operational
Transfer
Behavioral
Change
Cultural
Shift
Bottom-Line Results
• Reduction in Shrink
• Reduction in Safety
Incidents
• Increase in Sales
• Improved Service

41. Thank you
Learn more: Axonify.com