How the Brain Learns Learning is a biological process invented for survival. P. Wall, SJDC January 2012

Understand Learn

Understand Learn Remember

Understand Learn Remember Put to use

If the upcoming final exam is weighted only 10% and currently I have an 87% average, do I have to take the final exam in order to receive a B in the course?

LEARNING = Growing dendrites…

…and making connections between neurons.

So… why will a student say, “I understood everything during lecture, but when I went home I couldn’t do a single homework problem”?

Messages are sent from one neuron to another as electrical signals across the synapse.

When you learn something well (through practice), the contact area of the synapse grows wider, making a more solid connection.

With even more practice, the dendrites grow thicker and the signals travel faster.

Eventually, dendrites build a double connection—which will last a long time.

Janet Zadina: “Fire until it’s wired.”

If you learn something new but practice it only once or twice, the dendrite connection is fragile and will disappear quickly. ● Within 20 minutes, you remember only 60%. ● Within 24 hours, you remember only 30%.

But if you practice within 24 hours, and then practice again later, you remember 80%.

You grow dendrites for exactly what you are practicing. If you listen or watch while problems are solved, you grow dendrites for listening or watching. If you actually solve the problems yourself, you grow dendrites for solving.

Eventually, knowledge and skill look like this…

Cerebrum

Cerebral cortex (grey matter) = neurons Interior (white matter) = dendrite branches

Corpus Callosum

Experiment: Lift your right foot a few inches from the floor AND Begin moving it in a clockwise direction Now, using your right index finger, try to draw the number 6 in the air

The left side of your brain, which controls the right side of your body, is responsible for rhythm and timing. It cannot handle two opposite movements at the same time, so it combines them into a single motion.

Cerebrum Highest Priority: SURVIVAL and Procreation ←

Frontal lobe Next highest priority: Emotional security

Next: Pedagogical implications Jeopardy game “Brain-based pedagogy” Powerful 5-minute anecdote from Sir Ken Robinson