Theory Review: Mariana

Brain and Mind in Learning Theory Review

Mariana Lane

Ball State University

EDAC 635

Professor Bo Chang

February 9, 2020

Name	Commented On
Mariana Lane	Chris McDonald
Mariana Lane	John Rarick

Many classrooms today are still heavily lecture-based (Sousa, 1998). Advancements in neuroscience in the past twenty years with brain imaging techniques such as the PET and CAT scans have provided us with new information on how the brain functions and from that, new methods to educate students (Craig, 2003). If we as educators can understand how the brain develops and functions, then we can better serve our student’s needs and help them learn material better (Sousa, 1998). The two components that I am going to be focusing on, are the anatomy of memory and learning, and how stress affects learning. These two themes are foundations of what educators like to call brain-based learning (Radin, 2009). 

The Anatomy of Memory and Learning

Craig (2003) succinctly states that “Brain-based learning describes how the brain learns at a cellular level” (p. 342). The brain is composed of billions of neurons, which Craig (2003) refers to as the learning unit of the brain. However, the number of neurons that we have does not determine our mental capacity, it is the connections between them. Neurons are connected together by synapses (Craig, 2003). Collectively neurons and synapses make groups of neural pathways that represent knowledge and memories. The physical act of learning happens when we strengthen connections between neural pathways, groups of neurons and synapses, by repetition or other methods. These connections can also weaken over time when they are not used. (Fathima et al., 2012).

When we learn, neural pathways in our brains are altered (Roberts, 2002). Let’s walk through an example of how this happens. If you were to learn a new word, you make connections between the neurons you use in your temporal lobe to hear how the word is pronounced, and the neurons you use in your occipital lobe to recognize how the word is spelled. Along with other existing neurons, the connections between these neurons become strengthened as you practice using the word, and a memory is created (Fathima et al., 2012). Fathima et al. (2012) states that “Memory is basically nothing more than the record left by a learning process” (p. 9)

This is just a basic example, but you can see how complex the process of learning can be in relation to the anatomy of the brain. The brain requires multiple exposures to information in order to reinforce and strengthen the neural pathways that are formed when something new is learned (Liu & Chiang, 2014). Connecting new information to existing knowledge strengthens both neural pathways and can help to establish a permanent relationship between them (Craig, 2003).

Applications

There is a multitude of strategies that an educator can employ in order to promote learning and memory backed by understanding the anatomy of the brain. One such strategy is providing an overview or big picture of the day’s lesson at the start of class, to help students to make connections to previous material, and strengthen neural pathways. Another strategy is to have students connect new information to previous knowledge and life experiences when discussing reading material in small groups. This also strengthens the groups of neurons and synapses so students can more productively learn. Finally, educators can strive to return graded materials quickly in order to help students correct any incorrect information they may have learned and create new neural pathways with the correct knowledge.

Stress and Boredom

Boredom can have a greater effect on your students than you think. Boredom can shift a student’s thinking into an involuntary state where facilitators may become frustrated with a perceived lack of effort or intentional resistance (Willis, 2014). This is just one example of negative stress that can impact a student’s learning. By understanding how the brain processes stress and boredom by extension, educators can help reduce these high-stress situations which may be impacting a student’s learning. The Reticular Activating System (RAS) regulates sensory input from the outside world to the brain and in turn the brain’s responses to the inputs. The RAS also determines whether our limbic system or our cerebral cortex is directing the brain (Craig, 2003).  

In low-stress situations, our cerebral cortex is in control and the sensory input can be processed and formed into long-term memory (Craig, 2003). According to Willis (2014), our cerebral cortex can perform tasks such as “judgment, goal-directed planning, risk assessment, attention focus, distraction suppression, and intentional control over emotional responses” (p. 29). In high-stress situations, our limbic system is in control, and we respond to situations emotional all but ignoring rational thought. This switch from higher-order rational thinking to an involuntary emotional response is called downshifting. A common example of downshifting is when another person insults you and you could not think of a response until later. The threat of the situation activated your limbic system, and you were unable to rationally process the situation (Craig, 2003: Roberts, 2002).

Applications

            A more common example that is applicable to an education setting, is a student that has test anxiety. They may perform well in class, but because of anxiety perform poorly on tests. This is due to their limbic system switching on because of the high stress of the situation. Educators can look to prevent high stress in students by giving thorough reviews before a test. Also, by letting students know the format of the test (multiple-choice, short answer, etc.), students will be more comfortable, and less likely to have their limbic system toggle on. Another way to reduce stress is to give students several different options in completing assignments. Allow students to pick from a variety of topics for a project and potentially even the format in which they complete it. The overall goal of the educator should be to lower the stress levels of the student, so they keep using higher-order rational thinking and form long-term memories.

Reflection

Highlights

            When we were first doing the topic selection, I was a bit nervous. I was comfortable with a few of the topics but the brain and mind in learning really intrigued me. I was very interested in biology and anatomy in high school and I took the opportunity to see how this could apply to education. I was surprised by how complex the brain is and how learning happens on a cellular level. The two key points that I will take away from this is we need to help students strengthen their neural pathways by making connections to existing knowledge and we need to help students reduce their stress levels, so they are receptive to learning.

Process

I used Ball State’s OneSearch to find fifteen articles that were related to the brain and mind in learning. Then I skimmed through the articles highlighting the main ideas that I found. I created a list of themes and picked two themes that were found in several different articles. I eliminated all the articles that did not contain those themes and annotated them. Finally, I used my annotations and highlights to help build the sections of my paper.

Table 1. Summary of the theoretical ideas

Main theoretical ideas	Summary of how to apply the main theoretical ideas in practice
Connecting new information to existing knowledge strengthens both sets	Introduce each lesson or unit with an overview of what is to come and describe briefly how it connects to what has previously been taught.
Neural pathways weaken when they are no longer used	Educators strive to provide quick feedback to assignments and exams so students can understand what they did wrong and learn the correct information.
Reducing stress prevents students from shifting into involuntary emotional responses and maintains higher-order thinking	-Allow students to pick a project topic to write for an end of term paper. -Provide multiple options for projects. If students had to learn about a certain country for geography class allow them to make a brochure for the country, write a paper, or make a travel blog describing their experience.

References

Craig, D. I. (2003). Brain-Compatible Learning: Principles and Applications in Athletic Training. Journal of Athletic Training, 38(4), 342–350. Retrieved from http://www.natajournals.org/

Fathima, M. P., Sasikumar, N. P., & Roja, M. (2012). Memory and Learning - A Study from Neurological Perspective. i-Manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology, 5(4), 9–14. doi: 10.26634/jpsy.5.4.1683

Liu, C.-J., & Chiang, W.-W. (2014). Theory, Method, and Practice of Neuroscientific Findings in Science Education. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 12(3), 629–646. doi: 10.1007/s10763-013-9482-0

Radin, J. L. (2009). Brain-Compatible Teaching and Learning: Implications for Teacher Education. Educational Horizons, 88(1), 40–50. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/journal/educhori/

Roberts, J. W. (2002). Beyond Learning by Doing: The Brain Compatible Approach. Journal of Experiential Education, 25(2), 281–285. doi: 10.1177/105382590202500206

Sousa, D. A. (1998). Is the Fuss About Brain Research Justified? Education Week, 18(16), 52. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/

Willis, J. (2014). Neuroscience Reveals That Boredom Hurts. Phi Delta Kappan, 95(8), 28–32. doi: 10.1177/003172171409500807