The Power of Twice: Unleashing the Potential of Re-reading and Reviewing

My husband loves to rewatch movies, sometimes five or even six times. I can't quite understand it – once I know the plot, the drama, and the ending, re-watching seems superfluous. However, when I asked him why he does it, his response was illuminating. He explained that, "Watching a movie for the second or third time allows me to focus on different aspects of the plot, and find nuances I missed the first time. It enhances my understanding of the story."

Learn and move on won’t get you anywhere

As an education specialist with extensive experience in studying and understanding the learning process, I've noticed a recurring pattern - students, and even adults, tend to avoid revisiting information. Flashcards, notes, educational material – read or created once, then forgotten. All the hard work you have done, trying to learn something is about to disappear. Renowned educational researcher Robert Bjork once remarked, "We are our own worst enemies in learning. We don't realize what a perfect setup is for forgetting.” Basically, if we study, or learned my husband watches the same movie multiple times, we would be a lot more proficient and expert.

I am not just talking about students. We make the same mistake as adults too. We read a book once and never open it again. Notes taken during conferences are discarded and forgotten. This pattern of forgetting leads to a wasted effort and robs us of the opportunity of deeper learning and retention.

Research in cognitive science has consistently shown that re-reading or reviewing material is an effective strategy for information retention and comprehension. But why is that so?

The First Reading: Acquaintance Phase

When we read something for the first time, our brains are in the "acquaintance phase." We're merely getting to know the information, often focusing on the surface level. It’s like meeting someone for a coffee date, you only had many 30 mins to chat. Unless you found love at first site, you need a lot more time to get to know someone better. It's during the second reading, the "second chance," that we dive deeper and begin to fully comprehend. A research study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology (1985) showed that reading a text twice helps the reader focus on different elements during each reading. During the first reading, we familiarize ourselves with the text and the overall message. This initial familiarity frees up cognitive resources for the second reading, where we can focus on deeper understanding, relate the information to what we already know, and discover nuances we may have missed in the initial reading. The comfort of familiarity during the second reading enables us to relax and engage more actively with the material. We can prioritize what's important, disregard irrelevant information, and uncover new gems of knowledge that we may have overlooked during the initial reading. Similarly, a 2013 study published in the Journal of Memory and Language found that re-reading texts led to better memory recall than reading it just once. The researchers found that the act of re-reading prompts your brain to connect new information to what you already know, thereby improving comprehension and retention.

It's Not as Time-Consuming as You'd Think

Interestingly, reviewing material a second time is typically quicker than the initial reading. According to a study in the Journal of Memory and Language (2010), repeated reading leads to increased reading speed without compromising comprehension. Hence, the investment in time for re-reading is not as demanding as it might initially appear.

Still, many students, and adults alike, view re-reading and reviewing as tedious. More work, more time – why bother? The answer lies in the quest for true understanding and mastery.

Bored already? Try these

Doing the work twice, or even multiple times, might seem tedious and burdensome. However, it's necessary if we want to truly understand and remember what we've learned. Every time we encounter the same information, we create a new perspective, link new connections, and reinforce our memory. It's not about brute repetition; it's about thoughtful repetition. To break with the boredom of repeating something that you’ve learned, try a few things:

• Find Key Words: Now you have the big picture, find key words that resonate with you. You may have highlighted or noted some. If you did, ask yourself if those still make sense to you. Basically, find focus in searching for keywords that you need.

• Seek connections: Ask yourself how all the different parts of the book, material, course, or speech are linked. Find the connections that do not always appear obvious. Be curious about how the person who wrote or delivered the content when from point A to point B. Try to be in their heads, it can be quite fun.

• Be critical: Don’t be afraid to be critical. If you disagree, or even find errors, note it. Share it with someone. You don’t have to absorb the information as is. It is your responsibility to take away what you want. Be selective.

• Apply it: Always try to fit it in real life scenario. Even if you are studying about some awesome gum diseases that occur to only 0.001% of the population, try to think of a scenario that you will encounter it. If you are reading a business book, you can probably find moments that will make you think, “yes, I should have done that.”

Education should not be a race to cover as much material as quickly as possible, but a journey of exploration and deep understanding. So, let's embrace the power of twice. Let's encourage our students to revisit their notes and flashcards. Let's set an example by re-reading our books and revisiting our own notes.

It's ok to say it's not worth it (always)

It does not have to with every single thing we learn, though. I attended plenty of courses in my life that I felt like they were not worth revisiting. I made a mental note to myself that either I am disinterested in the topic or speaker, and just found something that was meaningful to me. But if something is worth it for, if it is important to you, remember, “the power of twic.” With every repetition, we delve deeper into understanding, forging stronger connections and richer contexts in our minds. With every repetition, we get one step closer to mastery.

Key Takeaways

• Reading or reviewing material more than once leads to deeper understanding and more robust memory formation.

• During the first reading, we get acquainted with the material and absorb the overall message.

• The second reading allows us to engage more deeply with the material, focus on what's important, ignore irrelevant information, and uncover new insights.

• Familiarity with the material during subsequent readings or reviews allows us to relax, prioritize, and actively engage with the material.

• Re-studying and spaced repetition are powerful tools for enhancing recall and understanding.