FAA Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI)The Learning ProcessMedium
An instructor conducting a stage check on cross-country planning finds that a student remembers the emergency procedures reviewed at the very end of yesterday's lesson far better than material covered earlier in the same lesson. This phenomenon illustrates which law of learning?
- ALaw of Recency
- BLaw of Readiness
- CLaw of Primacy
- DLaw of Intensity
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Law of Recency
The Law of Recency states that things most recently learned are best remembered, which is why instructors often summarize key points at the end of a lesson. The student recalling the last material best is a textbook example.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Readiness concerns willingness to learn, not order of retention.
- C. Primacy refers to first impressions, the opposite of what occurred here.
- D. Intensity relates to vividness of experience, not order of presentation.
Law of Recency
Things most recently learned are best remembered; information taught at the end of a lesson has a stronger impact on retention.
- Basis for lesson summaries
- Opposite emphasis of primacy
- Reinforces need for a strong closing review
Memory trick: Recency = 'Recent' rings a bell last heard loudest