Developing the Learner’s Brain

Most of the way we teach and learn is determined by human cognition. Although research has made considerable progress in understanding the cognitive and social variables that mediate the learning process, very little of this basic knowledge has been translated into practice.

Science is the knowledge gained by careful observation; testing; repetition; demonstration; deduction of the laws that govern changes and conditions; and testing these deductions by doing experiments, refining them, and testing them again.

Understanding conditioning

There are a few diverse learning methods: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Conditioning is the process of changing behavior in such a way that an action formerly associated with a particular stimulus becomes associated with a new and unrelated stimulus.

Neuroscientists have established that the brain has a highly robust and well-developed capacity to change in response to environmental demands—a process called plasticity. This involves creating and strengthening some neuronal connections and weakening or eliminating others.

The degree of modification depends on the type of learning that takes place, with long-term learning leading to more profound modification. It also depends on the period of learning, with infants experiencing extraordinary growth of new synapses. But a profound message is that plasticity is a core feature of the brain throughout life.

Two of my favorite conditioning methods are through semantics and analogy.

Understanding analogy

Analogy is a kind of “seeing” (which obviously transcends any traditional sensory modality). It is the core of the human thought process, and is carried out by the mechanisms of analogy-making. Learning scientists deliberately avoid saying “analogical reasoning” because it is a standard, traditional expression that is loaded with unwanted and misleading connotations.

The making of analogies simply means recognizing in something before us—not necessarily before our eyes, however—what it most centrally “is.” This means making a link between two mental structures: one being the imperfect, crude representation that we have (so far) built up of this situation, and the other being a pre-stored mental representation of a situation from our past (or, just as often, a pre-stored mental representation of a known concept). Analogies, stories, fables, and case-studies are great ways to illustrate teaching, training, and business lessons.

While facilitating learning, you don’t have to teach everything to the learner from the ground up, despite how tempting it may be. In many cases, analogies can be used to create a visual and sometimes even a kinesthetic linkage between an intangible concept and a concrete visual. In reference to the “Cone of Learning” (Dale, 1946), we can observe that visual information has been proven to provide stronger learning retention, but that’s not the only advantage you gain with analogies.

Training and development professionals can discover the power of using analogies to explain your method, rather than using the content and experience of subject matter experts. Analogies, along with metaphors, anecdotes, idioms, and other visual linguistic tools, enable us to tell a story—capture the imagination or ignite a response that can't be achieved with facts and figures alone.

Understanding semantics

The brain is biologically primed to acquire language right from the very start of life; the process of language acquisition needs the catalyst of experience. There is an inverse relationship between age and the effectiveness of learning many aspects of language. In general, the younger the age of exposure, the more successful the person is at learning the new language. Neuroscience has begun to identify how the brain processes language differently among young children compared with more mature people.

This understanding is relevant to education policies, especially regarding foreign language instruction, which often does not begin until adolescence. Adolescents and adults, of course, can also learn a language anew, but it presents greater difficulties.

The dual importance of sounds (phonetics) and of the direct processing of meaning (semantics) can inform the classic debate on teaching reading, between the development of specific phonetic skills, sometimes referred to as “syllabic instruction,” and “whole language” text immersion. Understanding how both processes work argues for a balanced approach to literacy instruction that may target more phonetics or more “whole language” learning, depending on the morphology of the language concerned.

Why this matters

Training and development professionals can benefit from the understanding of the way the human brain reacts to environmental motivation and stimuli. As facilitators of learning, we may wish to revisit our roles and practices as we learn more about the biological basis of learning. Rather than explaining ideas or correcting errors, we may find ourselves more able to trust in learning. This means allowing learners to develop their own representations, theories, and actions instead of attempting to transfer our knowledge to them. Educators cannot give their ideas to adult learners like birthday presents.

Your job is to help learners to enhance their learning capability by providing environmental support to the brain development. Here are 10 tips to develop your learner’s brain and engage them in the learning experience:

1. Encourage them to drink plenty of pure water daily, 8-15 glasses per day.
2. Make sure that the classroom temperature consistently falls within a comfortable range: 70-72F or 22-23C (give or take a couple degrees).
3. Make sure lighting is natural or that “full spectrum” fixtures are used. This increases learners’ visual acuity and perception.
4. Make sure there is a constant supply of fresh, uncontaminated, and highly oxygenated air in the learning environment. The brain gets 20 percent of blood flow (although it is only 2 percent of the body’s weight).
5. Classrooms should be set up to promote ease of physical movement.
6. The presence of positive emotions facilitate neurotransmitter interactions. Use relaxation strategies (for example, “sooner or later this will become easier for you”).
7. Humor has been found to help students feel better, relax, and improve group and individual performance. Jokes will help you to break the ice and engage learners.
8. Colors used in the learning environment should be selected with care. Yellow is the 1st color distinguished in the brain and often recommended for classrooms. Green has been identified as positive for long-term energy and productivity.
9. New information should be presented earlier in the learning experience. Learning retention will easily happen when the brain is fresh and rested.
10. 10.Make sure that learning content and objectives have immediate relevance to learners work and personal lives.

Recent advances in neuroscience have produced powerful insights while educational research has accumulated a substantial knowledge base. A neuroscientific perspective adds a new, important dimension to the study of learning in education, and educational knowledge could help direct neuroscience research toward more relevant areas. Learning is a science!
Resources

• Brown, Peter C; Roediger, Henry L. Roediger, Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Belknap Press; March 2014.

• Sawyer, Keith R. The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology). Cambridge University Press; May 2006).

• Draganski, B., Glaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., and May, A. “Neuroplasticity: Changes in Grey Matter Induced by Training.” Nature; 2004, 427(22), pp. 311–312.