How do you teach a concept in a way that will lead to long-term knowledge retention? The same way you learned how to ride a bike! Keep reading to discover two things you should add to your learning experience so that no matter how much time passes, your learner can remember the content in a way that feels "just like riding a bike."

Using Repetition for Knowledge Retention

When you were first learning to ride your bike, you likely fell off countless times before finally mastering balance and pedaling. All that tumbling and jumping back on the saddle was providing built-in repetition as you kept trying again and again. This repetition strengthens neural pathways in the brain, solidifying the motor patterns required for bike riding.

The same principle applies to memorizing facts, learning a new language, or mastering any new skill. Repetitive recall, whether through flashcards, quizzing yourself, or practicing the same motions over and over, burns the knowledge into your brain. That's why techniques like spaced repetition are scientifically proven to boost retention rates.

In our work with the American Marketing Association (AMA), we developed a comprehensive skills framework outlining the skills marketers need to thrive today and in the future. As part of activating that framework, we provided AMA with a roadmap and tools to engage their subject matter experts in creating dynamic learning pathways.

One key aspect was designing opportunities for repetitive recall and practice around those core marketing skills. The pathways utilized techniques like knowledge checks, scenario-based exercises that prompted revisiting the same concepts multiple times, and periodic stakes to quiz learners on retaining the material over time.

By baking in repetition loops tailored to each skill area, AMA could reinforce those high-priority competencies in a way that cognitive science shows leads to higher retention rates. Learners didn't just read about marketing skills once - they had to recall and apply them over and over through the curriculum in increasingly advanced scenarios.

But repetition alone isn't enough though. The other key ingredient is application.

Applying Knowledge in Context for Knowledge Retention

I don't know anyone who became a bike riding pro by sitting through a lecture or presentation on riding techniques. You had to actually get on the bike, feel what it was like to balance, and learn through experience how to make the pedals go around. Applying the concepts in a real, physical context is what locked in the muscle memory for life.

When partnering with the University of Chicago to design a new leadership toolkit for alumni serving on nonprofit boards, we developed an interactive experience filled with practical exercises and real-world applications.

While the toolkit did provide important foundational knowledge, the emphasis was on giving alumni the opportunity to immediately practice applying those principles to the types of situations and challenges they'd actually face in their board roles.

For example, the toolkit included financial case studies that alumni worked through to apply concepts around financial oversight and governance in context. There were also templates for conducting board self-assessments that alumni could use to evaluate the performance of their own boards.

By focusing not just on imparting knowledge but providing varied scenarios for actively applying it, the toolkit helped transition alumni from just understanding governance best practices to being able to implement them seamlessly. That application-based approach is what solidifies cognition into true long-term mastery.

The more you can mix new knowledge into real-world, varied contexts through practice, the deeper it will stick. Application turns the "aha" moment from repetitive practice into true mastery.

Combining Repetition and Application for Long-Term Knowledge Retention

It's the powerful one-two punch of repetition AND application together that leads to those "just like riding a bike" mastery experiences. This is what solidifies patterns through repeated recalls, while also giving you the deeper muscle memory and contextual reinforcement by applying the skill hands-on. 

That's how true expertise develops - through intentionally designed learning experiences that keep circling back to the core concepts through repetitive study, while also giving plenty of opportunities to try out that new knowledge in real practice scenarios. With that pedagogical balance, you embed new skills so thoroughly that they become second nature, now AND in the future.

So whether you're learning to ride a bike, tackling a new professional skill, or picking up a hobby, keep these dual strategies of repetition and application in mind. With the right mix, you'll be able to create those "aha" mastery moments too - effortless and available to access years down the line, just like riding a bike.