The Science Behind Learning
Section 1: Memory
Learning BasicsConsider the picture to the left. As Student 2 sits in their seat, environmental stimuli such as the teacher's voice and the images on the chalk board are picked up by their senses. These stimuli travel to their sensory registers where they remain for only fractions of a second. If the student continues to pay attention, this sensory information is transferred to their short-term memory. If given the opportunity to actively process the given information (create interaction between short-term memory and long-term memory), the student with engage in cognitive processing. This process allows for the development and storage of long-term memory.
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Working Memory and Cognitive Load
As a student processes information from their sensory memory to their long-term memory, information is processed in their working memory. This is where all decisions, thinking, making, problem solving, and reasoning practices occur. Working memory is smaller than short-term memory, and optimal learning occurs when it is functioning at its maximum capacity.
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Cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental activity imposed on working memory at a time. Consider Student 1 in the image above. As some of their attention is lost to their cell phone, their cognitive load increases. This increase decreases their capacity to learn, making the lesson less effective. This explains why two students can receive the same exact lesson, yet retain completely different amounts of information.
Making and Retrieving Memories |
Connecting prior knowledge to new information is the key to creating meaningful, sustainable learning experiences.
What comes to mind when you see the word "red"? When was the last time you wore something red? What is your favorite red food?
How many letters does "red" have? How many vowels? Can you spell "red" backwards? |
Review both sets of questions to the left. Imagine a week from now, you are asked to remember the word. Scientifically, you are more likely to remember if asked the first set of questions over the second, as the first set involves elaborate rehearsal: the process of connecting new information ("red") to information in your long term memory (clothes, food). Elaborate rehearsal is the key to creating meaningful, lasting memories.
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"Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and if the doing is of such nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results." - John Dewy
In order for learning to be complete, memories must be made readily accessible through recall cues triggered by targeted circumstances. Active processing: the act of correcting errors or mistakes, is one approach to this. Challenging students to make mistakes and correct their errors has been proven effective, if a balance between deep processing and undesirable frustration is found. Recalls can also occur in two different contexts: cued recall and free recall. Cued recall refers to specific visual or verbal cues, such as a teacher's questions or notes on the board. This approach is shorted than free recall, but results in less effective learning. Free recall refers to less specific cues, questions such as What were the key takeaways from yesterday's assignment? and What are the most important ideas from today's notes?. These questions take longer, but require a level of desirable difficulty that leads to lasting, retrievable memories.
Section 2: Mindset
Creating a Postive Learning Environment
As explained in the cognitive load section above, a student's working memory has a limited capacity and duration (cognitive load). This capacity is constantly at risk of being overloaded, thus affecting the student's ability to retain and retrieve relevant information. The three main goals of a productive classroom are to maximize a students effective load and minimize their ineffective load, while managing their task difficulty load. Effective load refers to the introduction of new information, while an example of an ineffective load would be outside distractions or phone usage. Task difficulty load includes factors such as the difficulty of the material.
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Motivation
In and out of the classroom, students are constantly motivated and de-motivated by both internal and external motivation. While external motivation refers to factors such as praise, grades, rewards, and outside influence, internal, or intrinsic, motivation has been proven the most beneficial in a classroom setting. Intrinsic motivation refers to the motivation gained by feelings of competence, autonomy, relatedness, and purpose.
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3 Effective Learning Strategies
Retrieval Practice: the practice of retrieving information from long-term memory
Keys: feedback required, never graded, struggle necessary |
Spaced Practice: the practice of studying in short intervals distributed over time
Keys: time management, retention time should align with space of gaps, increasing number of gaps increases retention Interleaving: the practice of engaging in spaced practice while switching between different subjects Keys: refrain from switching too frequently, must stay on task between intervals |
Multitasking
It is virtually impossible for the average person to perform two moderately complex tasks simultaneously, unless one process has been automatized through repeated practice. Thus, multitasking is usually just "task switching". As the brain switches from one task to another, a new goal and set of rules comes into play. This repeated introduction slows down the process significantly. Nevertheless, there are a few focus points that can improve the effectiveness of this practice:
- The learner must be free of time constraints. They must be able to slow down and allow enough time to task switch in between processes
- The learner must remain in control of the tasks. They must be able to control the timing of their interruptions, for example the distraction of a peer question.
- The difficulty of the task must be managed. The easier the task, the more effectively it can be accomplished while task switching.