Every educator has seen it: a student who seemed to grasp a concept one day, only to forget it the next. Retention is one of the most persistent challenges in teaching, and it’s not just about repetition, it’s about how students learn. If we want lessons to stick, we need to help students understand how their brains work and give them tools to reinforce learning in effective ways. Let’s face it: every child learns differently. Whether you’re teaching a classroom of 30 or a small homeschool group, tailoring lessons to each student can be tough. That’s why it helps to step back and focus on teaching kids how to learn – so they can take an active role in the way they absorb and retain information. I was amazed at how much this helped with our own children.
Here are five strategies that educators can use to help students retain what they learn.
1. Teach Students How Their Brains Learn
Before we dive into techniques, it helps to give students a basic understanding of how learning actually happens. When students learn something new, their brains form connections between neurons – through structures called axons, dendrites, and synapses. These connections strengthen with use, which is why repetition matters. The Importance of Teaching Our Children HOW to Learn takes takes a deeper dive into this process.
Even young learners can grasp this idea with simple metaphors. For example, you might say: “Every time you remember something, it’s like walking a trail in your brain. The more you walk it, the clearer the path becomes.” When students understand that learning physically changes their brains, they’re more likely to take ownership of the process.
2. Use Active Recall, Not Just Review
One of the most powerful ways to strengthen memory is through active recall – retrieving information from memory without looking at notes or prompts. This forces the brain to re-engage with the material and reinforces the neural pathways that store it.
In practice, this can look like:
- Asking students to write down everything they remember about a topic before reviewing it.
- Using low-stakes quizzes or exit tickets.
- Having students explain a concept to a peer or the class.
Active recall is more effective than passive review (like rereading notes), and it can be built into daily routines with minimal prep.
Workbooks, for example, support active recall by prompting students to reconstruct processes from memory, strengthening procedural fluency over time. Say, for instance, a student has just wrapped up a few weeks of mastering multiplication and has moved on to division. Rather than getting out the division workbook and focusing on that exclusively it makes far more sense to pepper in a couple pages of multiplication practice every few days to really cement-in those previous lessons.
- Active recall typically refers to retrieving declarative memory – facts, concepts, or events.
- But when students repeatedly solve problems using the same method (e.g., multiplication or division), they’re also reinforcing procedural memory – the “how” of doing something.
- Each time a child works through those multiplication problem without prompts, they’re reactivating and strengthening the neural circuits involved in recognizing patterns, applying steps, and checking results
3. Space Out Practice Over Time
Cramming might help students pass a test, but it doesn’t support long-term retention. In fact, even reviewing material too early, before the brain has had time to forget, can be ineffective. The key is spaced retrieval: revisiting material at increasing intervals over time.
Educators can apply this by:
- Spiraling review topics into future lessons.
- Using weekly recap games or challenges.
- Assigning homework that revisits older concepts alongside new ones.
- Recommending supplemental workbooks to revisit lessons over longer periods of time.
Spacing out practice helps students re-strengthen memory pathways just as they begin to fade, which is when reinforcement is most effective.
4. Encourage Sleep After Learning
Sleep isn’t just rest – it’s when the brain consolidates memories. Studies show that sleep after learning significantly improves retention, especially when it follows active recall or deep engagement with material.
While educators can’t control students’ sleep schedules, they can:
- Talk with students and families about the importance of sleep for learning.
- Time study sessions or assignments to allow for sleep afterward.
- Avoid scheduling major assessments immediately after intense learning days.
Even a short nap after studying can make a measurable difference in how well students retain information.
5. Reinforce Learning Through Movement and Writing
There’s a strong connection between physical movement and memory. Writing by hand, in particular, activates more areas of the brain than typing. One EEG study showed that handwriting creates stronger electrical activity in regions linked to memory and learning.
To tap into this:
- Encourage students to take notes by hand when possible.
- Use sketch notes, journaling, or workbook-style activities.
- Incorporate movement into review sessions – like walking discussions or kinesthetic games.
These strategies don’t just help students remember – they also make learning more engaging and accessible.
Helping students retain what they learn isn’t about drilling facts, it’s about teaching them how learning works. When we give students tools like active recall, spaced practice, and sleep-aware study habits, we’re not just boosting test scores – we’re building lifelong learners. And if it makes our lives a little easier along the way, so be it!