attention educators: how to improve memory

hi, I'm an adult learner, coming to chess late in life. I find myself getting the same tactics problems wrong. Besides repetition, and spaced repetition, and more repetition,...and more.repe.ti.tion. do my esteemed colleagues know anything about how to increase retention? Is there some kind of learning technique, some kind of approach to learning tactics, that is esp suited to the adult learner, a way that will improve retention rates?

I'm imagining I'm not the only person on here wanting to find the holy grail, and although I know there isn't a holy grail, I'm imagining some poeple know more than I do about adults learning new material. Thanks. 

I'm still struggling trying to master the Rubiks cube.

I was one of the non-geeks in high school who had no interest in the rubik's cube, because even then I knew I didn't have the same kind of aptitude for it as the guys who loved solving it. 

Now, the Etch-a-Sketch was more my speed! 

Don't try to memorize them. Instead, try to calculate. If I move here, he moves there, and I do this, ... When you calculate, your mind is more involved. Hence, you are likely to remember it better. I hope this helps.

Are the tactics sets you're using easy or hard? If they're too hard for your level, that might explain why you can't remember the solutions.

Don't worry about the level you set it at, if you need help with level 1000 or below, set it there, and keep doing them until you can do them easily, then raise the level another 200-300 points, and go through them again.

I have heard different things about improving memory, especially later in life.

You have to keep in mind there can always be exceptions, but generally the older you get, the harder it may be to retain certain things that aren't vital in our lives. Because our memory is finite, and we fill it up like a file cabinet. That is not to say we can't learn new things, and ideas.

The way I was taught to learn something new, and to retain it, was to write it down 3 times. The 1st time you copy right from the source, the 2nd time you try to do it from memory, but can peek, the 3rd time is no peeking.

This may not be appropriate for learning 100's of basic patterns for everyone, but it can help on some of the most important ones, and going over them on a board will help a lot. Go over them on a board, having a book, or program will help on that. Don't worry about rating, or time. To learn does take time, devote a certain amount of time every day, or week to it.

Once you learn the basics, you will improve quicker. They are the building blocks you need. It really all depends on how much you want to learn, and improve though. Good luck.

thank yo to Raja, Escher and KrimsonKnight. I will def focus on calculation as per Raja, I will make sure per Escher and Crimson that the puzzles are easy enough. And I decided this evening, before I read CrimsonKnight's post, that I'm going to get a notebook tomorrow, and I'm going to start taking notes about what I want to learn, i.e. write it down, and review what I have written down, along with the online tactics. Thanks guys.