Learning is promoted when learners observe a demonstration of the skills to be learned.
I'm really glad to see this being highlighted, as it's very important. I find myself struggling to fully grasp new concepts when I am not provided with a demonstration. This is why, in many of my courses, I find myself relying on YouTube to better explain concepts from class (i.e. a diagram, a presentation, etc.).
Information alone is not instruction
This is so important for instructors to remember! Simply providing readings or lecture slides and no concrete examples or ways to tie them back to other topics/life examples is extremely unhelpful when trying to learn effectively.
Therefore, teachers who are highly interested in brain research are more susceptible to neuromyths (a result I find depressing).
I wonder if this is correlated to what I learned from the "Backwards Brain Bicycle" video in that people are susceptible to the confirmation bias and look for certain (often false) information to confirm their predetermined ideas.
“The implicit assumption seems to be that, because different regions of the cortex have crucial roles in visual, auditory, and sensory processing, learners should receive information in visual, auditory or kinaesthetic forms according to which part of their brain works better” (Howard-Jones, 2014, pp. 817-818). The brain’s interconnectivity undermines this assumption, and research done on learning styles have failed to support this approach to teaching.
I was taught this all throughout elementary school and always thought that it seemed strange. Although, that might've been because I never identified strongly with any of the styles! However, it's interesting to hear that research has failed to support this idea.
Integrative thinking increases student synaptic plasticity by requiring students to form skills and habits that then can be recalled later in spaced intervals (i.e. iterations) throughout an “Introduction to Neurology” class. Faculty from several core STEM disciplines and those from interdisciplinary neurology positively supported the creation of the course and were happy to participate in it, which, in turn, created an environment for students that was exciting and motivating.
While I agree that more research has to be done before a conclusion is drawn about this, I think the research thus far looks promising. I also think that, personally, I would love to take a course on this. I think it would be beneficial for students to gain a better, more well-rounded understanding of how memory works and how to learn best (also to potentially dispel certain neuromyths).
As previously discussed, deliberate practice, in this case through frequent and active homework, helps build expertise in a domain. Now we know that deliberate practice works to build expertise because it helps build synaptic plasticity. Think-pair-share also increases synaptic plasticity by engaging students’ brains in ways that recall semantic information but also may include the formation of skills and habits, depending on the questions posed. Concept maps rationally encode knowledge, which allows memories to build as synaptic networks. Problem-based learning encourages students in terms of motivation and attention, which in turn increase learning by increasing synaptic plasticity. Using culturally diverse examples in one’s pedagogy helps to alleviate or eliminate stereotype threat, which decreases stress.
I LOVE scientific-based information, especially when it comes to study techniques/effective ways to learn, so this is really helpful for me! I'll definitely be implementing these into my study habits in the future.
Figure 2. Encoding, Consolidation, Retrieval. The three memory-forming processes that interweave to store learning in long-term memory. (Smith, 2019)
It's very intriguing to me that a significant portion of our ability to effectively remember things is based off of the connections we make to past experiences and stored knowledge. I always thought this was more of a quirk of human memory rather than the basis of how it works.
Learning requires building new synapses in the brain to interconnect bits of information/data. These synapses are gaps (i.e. connections) that form between axons that grow from one neuron (presynaptic) to another neuron (postsynaptic). Neurons communicate when a neuron “fires” (an electrical signal response to stimulation) and neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the synapses from the presynaptic neuron to the receptors on the postsynaptic neuron. The new axons formed need to undergo myelination in order solidify the connection between the neurons. Figure 1 provides a visual representation of the formation of synapses.
I learned about this concept in my Introduction to Mind and Brain course at UVic (PSYC 251), which I absolutely loved. I learned a lot in that course and it made me realize that I have a profound interest in the brain and how it works. However, I don't remember a lot of what I learned in that class now because I crammed for most of the exams! I wonder how much I would remember if I had used the study techniques mentioned at the end of this article.
“For optimal learning to occur, the brain needs conditions under which it is able to change in response to stimuli (neuroplasticity) and able to produce new neurons (neurogenesis).
The term "neuroplasticity" always reminds me of a Tedx Talk I watched many years ago about the concept. I had never heard of it before, so I was absolutely floored at the idea that our brains are constantly changing. In fact, I still think it's interesting! I'd never heard of the term neurogenesis before reading this article, but hopefully there's a Tedx Talk I can watch on that too!
This neuroscience definition of learning digs deeper than just a brain changing process: learning entails retrieving information/data after not using that information/data for some period of time (i.e. disuse) and applying that information/data in new contexts. This definition of learning requires so much more dedicated practice and work than simply retrieving information/data after one’s immediately learned it.
The differences between these two definitions is really interesting to me, as I always thought that the formal definition of learning would look something like the latter. I was under the impression that the first definition would be more of an application of learning (like the action of using knowledge that was learned and applying it to different situations if that makes sense).