McKay School of Education > News > Learning and The Brain
Learning and The Brain
To help her audience understand, Wolf reviewed the extensive vascular system of the brain and its functions, including synapses--the space between the nerve cells through which nerve impulses are transmitted. "Your brain is sculpted through experiences," she said, "and learning is making and strengthening connections between synapses." At birth a child has the capacity to learn 6,000 languages. As babies babble, certain words are reinforced and repeated, strengthening the synapses. By adolescence the connections that are not reinforced deteriorate. It is, therefore, easier for young children to learn another language than for teenagers or adults. Wolf said we also now recognize mirror neurons that are activated when we see someone doing something. Young brains are more plastic and impressionable than adult brains, so as students watch a teacher's facial expressions they feel and remember the teacher's emotions as well as the instruction. Teachers shape young brains.
Wolf stated that the brain seeks meaningful patterns. She explained, "Every encounter with something new requires the brain to fit the new information into an existing category or network of neurons. If you can't find a connection, the information is dropped because there is no meaning." Teachers bring meaning to their instruction by incorporating similes, metaphors, and analogies or by telling a good story. By finding a similar experience, teachers can hook new information to existing knowledge, or they can create an experience with the student. According to Wolf, it is visuals that are retained by the brain, not lectures.
Within the brain we develop two distinctive memories, Wolf explained. Procedural memory involves skills and habits that have been practiced until they are automatic and unconscious. Declarative memory includes our general knowledge and life experiences that can be recalled on demand. A teacher needs different teaching strategies to develop these two types of memory in the student.
Wolf continued, "Emotions are a primary catalyst in the learning process; whether positive or negative they have an impact." If a student perceives a situation to be threatening, the thinking part of the brain shuts down, and learning is impeded. Wolf added, "Classes must be physically and psychologically safe. When students are engaged and having fun they remember longer."
In a second session, Wolf addressed the adolescent brain, using descriptors such as self-centered, impulsive, hormonal, disorganized, easily impressed, and overwhelmed. She noted that it is "reminiscent of the terrible twos, another period of rapid growth."
Hormones have a lot to do with these descriptions, but during puberty the brain undergoes a major spurt in growth of connections, peaking at different times for males and females. "Because of excessive connections, the natural process of pruning away excess neurons occurs," said Wolf. "The brain is not fully 'installed' until the early 20's, some researchers say not until 25 years of age."
Because of this increased brain activity, adolescents are more apt to respond to experience with a gut reaction than a reasoned response. Wolf describes adolescents as trucks without brakes. They tend to be risk takers, as evidenced by the high incidence of accidents and suicide. Addictions developed during this time can impact the brain for life.
Wolf believes that teaching will improve as we learn more about the brain and relate this knowledge to students and classrooms. We know that the brain is responsible for all activities. Research shows us that what's good for the heart is good for the brain, which implies that in addition to academics, students require recess or breaks, good diets, and school hours that respond to their biological rhythms and natural sleep patterns. However, she cautions educators to be careful about making giant leaps from research to practice.
Wolf suggested that needed changes can be initiated through sharing research on adolescent development with educators and parents. Adolescents also should be taught about the process their brains are going through and the changes that are occurring. Ways should be found to utilize adolescent traits to their advantage in the classroom. Rather than being preached to, Wolf suggests, "Adolescents should be more involved in their own learning. By learning about the brain, we will be better prepared to teach to it."