Bold methods for building social-emotional connection and memory that stick in virtual group learning.
Making Learning Stick in the Real World
As clinicians, we’re perpetually learning and gaining new insights from every patient interaction, grand rounds, webinar, team huddle, and case discussion. These formal and informal learning moments, whether planned experiences or impromptu consultations, offer valuable ideas to integrate into our practice, share with colleagues, and reflect upon for future patient care.
But of course, a week later, the details of what we learn can become fuzzy or gone altogether. That’s completely normal and mostly due to how most learning is delivered.
The good news is that there are approaches to learning and the design of educational moments related to your work that help you retain more, apply what you learn, and make it stick.
Whether you’re mentoring a colleague, presenting at grand rounds, or leading a discussion group, the way you engage matters. We’ll discuss here three practical techniques you can use to help learning last, both for yourself and for the people you work with.
Technique 1: Start with a Clinical Dilemma
Attention follows uncertainty. That’s why one of the most effective ways to open a learning session is with a real clinical dilemma, the kind that doesn’t have one obvious answer, and where participants might approach it differently.
Starting with this promotes active problem solving in context, which naturally draws out the very things that make learning stick: curiosity, deep reasoning, and the opportunity to practice justifying decisions using evidence-based logic.
This type of clinical debate invites participants to do more than passively agree. It encourages them to actively evaluate clinical trade-offs, reference current guidelines, and draw on both experience and evidence. It’s structured clinical reasoning in action.
In a session like this, contributions can come from clinicians from different specialties with a range of clinical experience. By surfacing these different perspectives, the group is co-constructing clinical insight. This dynamic sharpens decision-making skills and highlights the nuance in applying evidence to practice. These moments also build trust and collaboration. When clinicians feel safe offering different viewpoints, they engage more fully. Whether it happens in a quick team huddle, a case-based teaching session, or a mentorship conversation, framing learning around real-time clinical judgment keeps the conversation relevant, grounded in patient care, and more memorable than a traditional didactic lecture.
Technique 2: Revisit and Reflect with Spaced Repetition
One of the most effective strategies for long-term learning is spaced repetition, or revisiting information at increasing intervals over time. Rather than reviewing everything at once, this technique encourages brief returns to core ideas after a delay, helping reinforce memory and deepen understanding.
The science behind it is well established. In a widely cited meta-analysis, spaced repetition was shown to improve retention across learning environments, particularly when the spacing allows time for some forgetting, which strengthens recall when the idea is revisited1
In practice, spaced repetition doesn’t require flashcards or apps. It can be built into any learning setting. For example, during a follow-up discussion, a facilitator might reintroduce a concept from a prior session to prompt reflection or add complexity, not just to repeat what was said or done before. Even a quick verbal recap can re-engage prior knowledge and shift it from passive exposure to active recall.
This kind of retrieval strengthens mental models, the internal frameworks we use to understand and act on complex information. For clinicians, reinforcing these models improves pattern recognition, decision-making, and adaptability in real-world situations.
Spaced repetition works because it mirrors how memory functions in real life: not all at once, but over time, and often in connection with new experiences. When integrated into team learning or ongoing education, it helps turn information into accessible knowledge.
Technique 3: Rotate Ownership: Let Others Lead Briefly
You don’t have to carry every part of every session. In fact, inviting others to shape a piece of the learning experience strengthens the impact of collaboration and creates a more social learning environment.
Let’s say you’re running a recurring quality improvement huddle, and during these huddles, you might ask a colleague ahead of time, “Would you be willing to walk us through a case or article next week?” Giving people a heads-up and some room to prepare makes it easy for them to step in confidently.
This collaboration creates space for shared learning. When someone explains a clinical decision they made or walks the group through a case that challenged them, they’re reinforcing their knowledge and helping others reflect, too.
One study published in Academic Medicine found that when senior residents were invited to lead brief teaching segments during attending rounds, it not only improved their understanding and confidence but also enhanced peer engagement, promoted a stronger sense of team learning2, and strengthened the learning culture across the group.
Build Learning That Lasts Together
You don’t have to carry every part of every session. In fact, inviting others to shape a piece of the learning experience strengthens the impact of collaboration and creates a more social learning environment.
The goal of this article is to offer some techniques that you can use effectively in your organization.
Recap:
- Lead with clinical dilemmas to create collaborative discussions.
- Build in small moments of reflection for spaced repetition.
- Share the mic with others because it makes everyone stronger through their way of teaching and helping others to reflect and learn from their experiences.
Explore our peer-led courses and join a learning group or let us know if you are interested in leading a group of your own. We look forward to seeing you on Gather-ed!