Repetition is an effective and natural mechanism for consolidating what has been studied.
The initial explanation of a concept is important but is unable to give the student knowledge without some form of practice. ‘‘You learn by doing and repeating.”
Repetition Is a Process That Appears Very Early in Human Development
Repetition is an innate, natural process that is with us from birth. When we are children we are constantly rehearsing things we learn, see, or try for the first time. How many times do children watch the same film, tap an object to hear how it sounds or have us read the same story before bedtime? They do this to internalize and better understand what they have learned.
Cerebral Circuits Grow and Develop
It is different to repeat something in our minds in order to remember than to actively do it. When doing repeated practice or training, learning is more permanent and consistent – like riding a bike or learning to drive. Feedback prevents us from repeating mistakes and helps us consolidate procedures.
What happens at a neurological level is the creation of multiple neural connections that make up circuits which can only become long term with practice. ”Chunking refers to creating a small neural pattern you can reactivate when needed. Over time, you add more and more chunks to create a neural network… this means taking in just a little bit of information at once and, over time, learning to string those bits into sequences…” (Thibodeaux 2017).
Practice is not the same as mechanic memorization or learning through memorization or association.
Recent studies show that association-based learning methods are even better and last longer. This is because when using association based on the use of the senses, neural connections involved in absorbing this information are greater than those involved in repetition.
Learning Should Be a Voluntary Process
Learning is a voluntary process, in which the individual must take some active part and put some effort into it. Therefore, you have to be motivated, and repeating what you want to learn is the most effective method to do so, to memorize and remember things for much longer.
At Smartick we know the importance that repetition has in order to consolidate new learnings. Therefore, we help training with the repeated practice of basic concepts in mathematics.
References:
- Thibodeaux, Wanda. 2017. “How to Reshape Your Brain and Learn Anything, Based on the Most Popular Coursera Class Ever.” Inc.Com. August 11, 2017.
Other interesting links:
Learn More:
- The Importance of Immediate Feedback in Learning
- Teaching Principles and Learning Phases of Singapore Math
- Repetition Learning, Good Habits and Smartick
- What is Neurodidactics?
- Variety of Series and Patterns in Math
Master’s in International Education from the Universidad de Alcalá– Instituto Franklin.
She has worked as a teacher in three different countries and is now a Translator on the Content Creation Team at Smartick and helps to adapt content for blog posts.
As a native Rhode Islander she loves any activity on the water and when she’s not working you can find her traveling, kickboxing, or trying out a new recipe.
- Master Math! 10 Reasons to Help Your Child do Just That - 05/28/2020
- Why Do Children Believe That Things Happen? - 05/25/2020
- Is Self-Control Linked to Health? - 05/19/2020