What is the goal of an educational course? To help your students pass and move forward to your next course? Not quite. To weed out students who can't make the cut to focus on those with the most promise? Nope. Instead, it is to deliver the material in a way that improves knowledge retention and deters knowledge decay. To do this, you need to understand how a learner retains a course's material.

Each student deserves a chance to succeed. Improving the ability to retain information will help them do so, whether a learner shows potential in a specific subject or they need help just getting started, improving anyone's retention is possible. Here are a few metrics that can enable you to improve your students' knowledge retention.

Material

Your course material is ground zero for building your program's ability to empower your students and enable them to better retain information. This will show you if your students are simply following the material without truly grasping the important points of your course or retaining the information. Does your course present an in-depth look into the material? Does it offer an optimized system to allow for maximum absorption? Does the course (or the facilitator) simply skim over the points in hopes that students will understand everything by the end? It is important to look at your material, asses the course flow, and judge your course from a student's perspective.

Professional Background

For many courses (including continuing education courses and training programs facilitated by contract trainers), the student body is composed of professional men and women looking to further their careers by developing a deeper appreciation of their industry. Understanding the demographics will allow you to hone your course material into what matters most to these individuals. You want to make sure that it incorporates the appropriate level of expertise and challenges them with new and relevant material. If this happens, they will be able to utilize your material into their everyday work life through very practical means. Practical application is one an excellent way to solidify knowledge.

Competency

Competency-based education is on the rise since the inception of e-learning and course management software. Competency measures the quality of the material and your learner's ability to grasp the concepts presented. The goal is to standardize and further develop the material in a way that has been statically proven to have a deeper impact. Does your course offer interactive learning material such as labs? How about integrative learning methods like virtual training, augmented reality experiences, and other innovative approaches only available thanks to online innovations? If you've said yes, you are giving your class an advantage.

Attendance

Finally, attendance plays a huge factor in your student's ability to retain knowledge. If you are trying to understand why a student is having a hard time grasping concepts, then you may want to check out their attendance rate and see if they were there to grasp the material.

For years, many educators' goal was to challenge the students and put them at a disadvantage, so they can overcome obstacles. Today's goal is much more collaborative and concerned about the future. It is essential to focus on knowledge retention for this reason, and with the right data, you can be a success. With XenDirect, this level of course management is just a few clicks away!

Rick J. Stern

author

Rick Stern is an entrepreneur, educator, and dedicated professional. He received his MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. Rick has 20 years of experience managing continuing education programs and over 30 years in registration system development. Xenegrade Corp was founded by Rick Stern with a focus on service to educational organizations. His expertise provides valuable insight into the needs, demands, and trends of the continuing education market.

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