Lesson 2.
3
Module No. 2 COGNITION OF LEARNERS
and Title
Lesson No. 2.3. Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve Model
and Title
Learning Explain the process of retaining or forgetting information received through
Outcomes the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve Model.
Time Frame 1 hour
Introduction Welcome to Module 2 Lesson 3! You are now set to learn another theory
on Cognition. This time, you will be introduced to how forgetting occurs
in learners and what can be done to help them retain the information
learned.
Activity ‘Lest You Forget!’
Describe the past two lessons on cognition. Give brief descriptions for
each based on what you can remember.
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Multi-Store __________________________________
Memory
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Dual Coding __________________________________
Theory
Let us talk about the activity above.
Analysis In which theory were you able to remember much information?
Why?
How do you rate yourself in the activity above?
What could have affected why you remember the information
learned?
Did you know that there are certain periods that allow you to retain
the lessons learned and there are periods that you start forgetting
most of them?
Abstraction Today we shall learn about the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve Model
As sure as the sunrise, human beings tend to forget things learned in the
past. This lesson will help us understand how fast we forget.
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The ‘forgetting curve’ which refers to the loss of learned information has
been a product of a series of experiments conducted on memory by
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909).
‘The theory is that humans start losing the memory of learned knowledge
over time, in a matter of days or weeks, unless the learned knowledge is
consciously reviewed time and again. A related concept to the forgetting
curve is strength of memory, which states that the time period up to which
a person can recall any memory is based on the strength of the particular
memory.’ (Shrestha, 2017)
In an article by Wadsworth (2019), he mentioned in particular its
implications to college students who after a day or two of attending
classes, will have forgotten 75% of what was learned and that forgetting
occurs within the first hour. Interestingly, although this is said to be a
natural process, it is possible to disrupt the process.
Looking at the graph, it can be noticed that our memory starts to fade as
days go by.
Again, simple processes can be employed to delay forgetting and can help
us retain the information needed at a later date.
As mentioned earlier, forgetting can be slowed down or disrupted. It can
be observed in the second graph that forgetting can be overcomed by
spaced learning. What does spaced learning tell us?
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‘While an initial review of material will help you remember in the short
term, reviewing material multiple times and at different intervals will help
you retain it for much longer.’ The graph ‘shows how review affects
memory. You can see that every time you review material you both retain
much more information, and your forgetting curve steadies out at a much
higher level. Each time you review material you take much more away.
Research indicates that the minimum amount of review is three.’
(Whitman, yyyy)
The dramatic increase proves how much review can do to students in
retaining learned information over a period of time. ‘Unfortunately, it also
shows that without additional intervention one day after material is learned
content is lost, and one week after, recall is almost as if the review never
happened at all.’ (Whitman, yyyy)
Fill in the PMI chart with what you learned about the Ebbinghaus
Application Forgetting Curve Model. Write under Plus column all the positive things
you can say; write all the negative things on the ‘Minus’ column and write
all areas you think can still be explored in the ‘Interesting’ column.
Plus Minus Interesting
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5.
Congratulations! You have finished Module 2 Lesson 1.3. You are now
Closure ready to learn further on theories of Cognition.
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