Proven Strategies to Improve Knowledge Retention: Boost Learning and Recall for Healthcare Learners

Healthcare learners spend hours mastering complex, high-stakes curricula just to struggle to recall the same concepts just weeks later during boards prep. It’s a scenario that plays out across healthcare education daily, not because learners aren’t capable, but because human memory naturally decays without reinforcement. This phenomenon, known as the Forgetting Curve, represents one of the most significant barriers to long-term success in healthcare education.

Retaining knowledge over time remains one of the biggest challenges in education today. The sheer volume of information, combined with limited study time and competing demands, can lead to cognitive overload and shallow learning. Even when learners perform well in the short term, much of that knowledge can fade quickly if it isn’t reinforced—impacting confidence, exam outcomes, and long-term performance.

To help learners overcome these barriers, educators need proven strategies that strengthen understanding, enhance recall, and improve long-term knowledge retention. With the right approach, they can create learning environments that not only support mastery of content but also encourage continuous growth, self-regulation, and lifelong learning habits.

In this blog, we’ll explore:

• The common challenges of retaining knowledge
• Proven strategies to improve knowledge retention
• How TrueLearn supports knowledge retention through data-driven learning science

Common Challenges Learners Face in Retaining Knowledge

Before exploring how to improve knowledge retention, it’s essential to understand the barriers that often stand in the way. In fast-paced academic and clinical environments, several factors contribute to reduced learning retention, making it difficult for healthcare learners to recall and apply information effectively when it matters most.

Information Overload

With the vast amounts of information healthcare learners navigate daily, the constant influx can overwhelm working memory, limiting the brain’s capacity to organize and store new knowledge efficiently. When cognitive load exceeds its limit, learning becomes inefficient and knowledge retention declines. Without structured strategies or the right learning retention tools, learners may only remember isolated facts rather than develop a meaningful, connected understanding.

Lack of Engagement

Even the most capable learners struggle to retain information when they aren’t actively engaged in the process. Passive study methods—such as re-reading notes or listening to lectures—rarely foster deep understanding or long-term memory formation. Engagement improves significantly when learners interact with material through active methods such as discussion, quizzing, reflection, or problem-solving. By encouraging active participation, educators can help improve knowledge retention, comprehension, and long-term application.

Before exploring how to improve knowledge retention, it’s essential to understand the barriers that often stand in the way. In fast-paced academic and clinical environments, several factors contribute to reduced learning retention, making it difficult for healthcare learners to recall and apply information effectively when it matters most.

The Forgetting Curve

Without regular reinforcement, much of what learners acquire fades quickly—a phenomenon known as the Forgetting Curve. Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus demonstrated how memory retention declines sharply without review or retrieval. In rigorous healthcare programs, this effect can be even more pronounced due to the pace and density of information.¹ Overcoming it requires intentional reinforcement strategies that strengthen long-term recall and promote sustained learning retention over time.

Proven Strategies to Improve Knowledge Retention

To strengthen long-term recall and enhance learning efficiency, educators can leverage several evidence-based strategies rooted in cognitive science. These approaches have been shown to significantly improve knowledge retention and build lasting understanding across healthcare education.

Retrieval Practice

learners to extract knowledge from memory rather than reviewing notes or lectures passively. Research shows that retrieval practice is one of the most powerful strategies for improving long-term learning and memory retention.² Learners who use this method perform better on complex tasks and demonstrate improved metacognition.³

Examples of retrieval practice include low-stakes quizzes, think-pair-share activities, flashcards, and free recall exercises. Learning tools like flashcards make it easier to apply retrieval practice consistently, allowing learners to test their understanding in short, focused intervals that promote durable learning retention. These methods help learners self-assess comprehension, identify knowledge gaps, and strengthen understanding through active recall—an essential process for durable learning retention.⁴

Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition involves reviewing material at increasing intervals over time to strengthen memory encoding and recall. Hermann Ebbinghaus’s foundational research on the spacing effect demonstrated that distributed study sessions lead to stronger memory formation than massed practice.⁵ Subsequent studies confirm that spacing out review sessions allows learners to transfer information to long-term memory more effectively, reducing the need for repetitive re-learning.⁶

Spaced repetition also helps counteract the Forgetting Curve, which shows that memory decays rapidly without reinforcement. By using adaptive learning retention tools that automatically forecast when review is needed, educators can help learners reinforce material at optimal times to maximize retention.

Interleaving

Interleaving involves alternating between related topics or concepts instead of studying one subject in isolation. This approach encourages learners to recognize connections, compare patterns, and apply knowledge more flexibly—skills essential for critical thinking and problem-solving.⁷

Evidence shows that interleaved practice improves learners’ ability to distinguish between similar concepts and enhances long-term recall.⁸ In one study, medical learners trained on ECG interpretation using interleaved instruction demonstrated significantly higher diagnostic accuracy than those who learned using blocked (single-topic) methods.⁹ Applying interleaving in healthcare education helps learners strengthen knowledge retention and develop the cognitive flexibility needed for real-world application.

Practice Tests and Quizzes

Low-stakes practice testing is a powerful, evidence-based method to strengthen memory retrieval. When learners actively recall information—rather than passively reviewing it—they reinforce neural pathways that make recall easier and more accurate. Regular quizzes, formative assessments, and mock exams—such as low-stakes quizzes (LSQs)—provide valuable feedback on strengths and areas for improvement, allowing educators to tailor support and help learners continuously improve knowledge retention.¹⁰

Encouraging learners to retake practice questions reinforces retrieval and helps strengthen long-term memory—transforming assessment into an active learning opportunity rather than a one-time evaluation.

Collaborative Learning

Engagement and interaction are vital for deep learning. Collaborative strategies—such as peer discussions, case-based learning, and group problem-solving—encourage learners to articulate their reasoning, challenge assumptions, and co-construct understanding.¹¹ Methods like Think-Pair-Share (TPS) provide structured opportunities for learners to reflect, discuss, and retrieve information collaboratively, promoting higher-order thinking and durable knowledge retention.¹²

Active Note-Taking

Encouraging learners to process and reframe information in their own words enhances comprehension and memory. Techniques such as summarizing key ideas, creating visual maps, or writing reflective notes promote cognitive engagement and help transfer information into long-term storage. Approaches like brain dumps or free recall exercises can further strengthen learning retention by helping learners identify areas of uncertainty or confusion.

Scenario-Based Practice

Scenario-based or case-based learning enables learners to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems. This contextual application reinforces understanding, builds critical thinking, and enhances recall under pressure. By simulating realistic clinical situations, learners not only consolidate information but also develop the confidence to retrieve and apply it when it matters most.

Each of these strategies outlined above works together to strengthen understanding and promote long-term retention. When applied intentionally, they help learners move beyond memorization to achieve deeper comprehension and flexible knowledge application. 

By incorporating these methods into teaching and assessment, educators can create active, engaging learning environments that improve knowledge retention, enhance confidence, and drive lasting academic success.

How TrueLearn Supports Knowledge Retention Across Curricula

Applying these strategies consistently requires the right tools and insights. A data-driven precision learning tool like TrueLearn empowers educators to integrate these proven methods seamlessly, helping learners reinforce, recall, and retain knowledge more effectively.

Meeting today’s curriculum design challenges requires more than traditional review sessions. TrueLearn, paired with Picmonic, delivers a powerful learning loop that integrates seamlessly into programs to strengthen teaching effectiveness and exam readiness.

Comprehensive Curriculum and Exam Review

By leveraging the TrueLearn–Picmonic learning loop, learners complete a comprehensive review of the material most likely to appear on their licensure or certification exams. TrueLearn SmartBank questions mirror board-style content, while Picmonic’s bite-sized audiovisual mnemonics follow the three steps of the memory process and use retrieval practice and spaced repetition to reinforce knowledge and combat the forgetting curve. Mock assessments in TrueLearn further simulate the testing environment, helping reduce test anxiety and improve first-time pass potential.

Customized and Precision Learning

The learning loop adapts to each learner’s performance, helping them focus on areas of weakness while reinforcing strengths. TrueLearn’s performance analytics highlight knowledge gaps, allowing educators to adjust lessons, provide remediation, and track progress over time. For learners, this means study time is spent more efficiently and effectively, with earlier identification of challenges that might otherwise lead to remediation later.

Active and Engaged Learning

TrueLearn and Picmonic also drive active learning by combining quizzes, videos, animations, and audiovisual mnemonics that cater to diverse learning style preferences. Learners repeatedly engage with content in different ways—assessing with TrueLearn, reinforcing with Picmonic, and reassessing until mastery is achieved. This continuous cycle builds deeper understanding and long-term retention, preparing learners for both high-stakes exams and real-world application.

Together, TrueLearn and Picmonic provide programs with the tools to integrate board preparation directly into the curriculum, support at-risk learners, and improve outcomes—all while helping faculty strengthen curriculum design and meet institutional standards.

By leveraging proven learning science strategies—and deploying them with technology designed to provide learners with consistent, engaging, and evidence-based preparation that improves confidence, strengthens retention, and drives long-term success—educators can significantly improve knowledge retention, strengthen comprehension, and enhance learning outcomes across the curriculum.

References

¹ Wittman J, Stanislaus C. Csustan.edu. Accessed October 22, 2025. https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Writing%20Program/forgetting_curve.pdf

² Roediger HL, Agarwal PK, McDaniel MA, McDermott KB. Test-enhanced learning in the classroom: long-term improvements from quizzing. J Exp Psychol Appl. 2011;17(4):382–395.

³ Roediger HL 3rd, Butler AC. The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends Cogn Sci. 2011;15(1):20–27.

⁴ Agarwal PK. Brain Dump: A small strategy with a big impact – Retrieval Practice. Unleash Learning. 2017.

⁵ Ebbinghaus H. Memory: a contribution to experimental psychology. Ann Neurosci. 2013;20(4):155-156. doi:10.5214/ans.0972.7531.200408

⁶ Kang SHK. Spaced repetition promotes efficient and effective learning: Policy implications for instruction. Policy Insights Behav Brain Sci. 2016;3(1):12–19.

⁷ Rohrer D. Interleaving Helps Students Distinguish among Similar Concepts. ERIC. 2012.

⁸ Samani J, Pan SC. Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics. NPJ Sci Learn. 2021;6(1):32.

⁹ Hatala RM, Brooks LR, Norman GR. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2003;8(1):17–26

¹⁰ Rausch T, Mc Kenna K. Low stakes quizzing: A tool for practice not assessment. Eric.ed.gov. Accessed October 22, 2025. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611620.pdf

¹¹ Johnson DW, Johnson RT. Making Cooperative Learning Work. Theory Pract. 1999;38(2):67–73.

¹² Rowe MB. Wait Time: Slowing Down May Be A Way of Speeding Up! J Teach Educ. 1986;37(1):43–50.