Neuroscience of Learning, Theory of Learning, AGES model of learning, various factors affecting learning process, How people learn?, A new perspective in theory of learning

1. HOW PEOPLE LEARN?
THE NEUROSCIENCE
OF
LEARNING
BY SANTOSH PATHAK

5. “Learning is what most adults will
do for a living in the 21st century”
- Alfred Edward Perlman

8.  THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE AND
INFORMATION, FEELINGS AND BEHAVIOURS
 LEARNING IS LIFE-LONG
WHAT IS LEARNING ?

9.  NEUROSCIENCE IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY
SCIENCE THAT STUDIES STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
NEUROSCIENCE

10.  FACTORS THAT LIMIT OUR LEARNING ABILITY
 WAYS TO OPTIMISE LEARNING
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

11. STRUCTURE OF NEURONS
THE HUMAN INFANT HAVE APPROXIMATELY
100 BILLION BRAIN CELLS, OR NEURONS.

12. NEURAL NETWORKS
NEURAL NETWORKS THE CREATION OF CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN NEURONS FORM NEURAL NETWORKS
NEUROPLASTICITY THE CONTINUAL RESTRUCTURING
AND CHANGE IN NEURAL NETWORKS IS KNOWN AS
NEUROPLASTICITY

13. BRAIN : STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

14. BRAIN : LIMBIC SYSTEM
THE LIMBIC SYSTEM IS THE PORTION OF THE BRAIN
THAT DEALS WITH THREE KEY FUNCTIONS: EMOTIONS,
MEMORIES & AROUSAL (OR STIMULATION)

15.  A NEURON IS A SINGLE CELL, WITH A CELL BODY, OR
SOMA
 EACH NEURON HAS ONE AXON THAT SENDS
MESSAGES AND MANY THOUSANDS OF DENDRITES
THAT RECEIVE MESSAGES
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

16.  DENDRITES APPEAR LIKE THE BRANCHES OF A TREE,
WITH MORE BRANCHES REPRESENTATIVE OF MORE
CONNECTIONS
 THESE CONNECTIONS REPRESENT LEARNING
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

17.  THOUSANDS OF NEURONS COMBINE TO GENERATE
EVERY ACTION, THOUGHT OR MEMORY
 NEURONS, SEND ELECTRICAL SIGNALS ALONG THEIR
AXON, WHICH, UPON REACHING A THRESHOLD,
RELEASE NEUROCHEMICALS INTO THE GAP, OR
SYNAPSE, BETWEEN TWO NEURONS
 IF THE DENDRITES OF THE RECEIVING NEURON HAVE
THE APPROPRIATE CHEMICAL RECEPTORS, A
CONNECTION WILL BE FORMED
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

18.  ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF MODERN NEUROSCIENCE,
DONALD HEBB, SHOWED THAT NEURONS CONTINUED
TO ACTIVATE ONE ANOTHER AND STRENGTHENED
THEIR CONNECTIONS
 “NEURONS THAT FIRE TOGETHER, WIRE TOGETHER”
BECAME HEBB’S LAW AND IS A FUNDAMENTAL
PRINCIPLE TO HOW WE LEARN
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

19.  ATTENTION
 NEURAL NETWORKS ARE FORMED FOR EVERYTHING
TO WHICH WE PAY ATTENTION
 ATTENTION REQUIRES FOCUSED CONCENTRATION
AND IS A PREREQUISITE FOR NEURONS TO BE
ACTIVATED AND NEURAL NETWORKS TO BE FORGED
 FORGING NEW NETWORKS IS ENERGY-INTENSIVE AND
OUR BRAINS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO REMAIN
ATTENTIVE FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

20.  MEMORY
 WHEN WE PAY ATTENTION, MEMORIES ARE FORMED,
STORED AND RECALLED IN A COMPLEX PROCESS
 WITHOUT MEMORY, THERE IS NO LEARNING
 MEMORY IS TYPICALLY DESCRIBED AS A THREE-PART
PROCESS OF ENCODING, STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

21.  RECENT FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE
IMAGING (FMRI) STUDIES SHOW THE IMPORTANT
ROLE OF THE NEURO-TRANSMITTER, DOPAMINE, IN
THE LEARNING PROCESS
 DOPAMINE IS THE BRAIN’S CHEMICAL REWARD AND IS
TRIGGERED IN RESPONSE TO POSITIVE FEEDBACK
DURING THE LEARNING PROCESS
 DOPAMINE REINFORCES THE NEURAL CONNECTIONS
AND STRENGTHEN IT WITH EACH REPETITION
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

22.  THE PROCESS OF ‘NEUROGENESIS’ COUNTERS THE
PREVIOUS BELIEF THAT WE ONLY LOSE BRAIN CELLS
AND NEVER GROW NEW ONES
 NEUROGENESIS IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS MEANS THAT
WE ARE CAPABLE NOT ONLY OF CONTINUALLY
EXTENDING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN NEURONS
AS WE LEARN, BUT EVEN ADDING ADDITIONAL ONES
NEUROSCIENCE OF LEARNING

23.  LEARNING IS NOT ISOLATED TO POSITIVE
REINFORCEMENT
 MUCH OF OUR LEARNING COMES FROM TRIAL AND
ERROR
 BEING ABLE TO FAIL AND LEARN FROM FAILURE IS AN
ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF CONSTRUCTIVE
LEARNING
MOTIVATION, FAILURE &
LEARNING

24.  THE BRAIN NOT ONLY INTERACTS WITH INCOMING
INFORMATION, BUT WITH THE ENTIRE CONTEXT IN
WHICH IT IS PRESENTED
 OUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT MUST ADDRESS THE
PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL ELEMENTS
CONDITIONS OF LEARNING

25.  PHYSICAL
 NUTRITION. THE BRAIN DRAWS APPROX 20% OF THE
BODY’S AVAILABLE ENERGY
 SLEEP. HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS ACTIVATED DURING
LEARNING TASKS ARE REACTIVATED DURING SLOW
WAVE SLEEP, REINFORCING THE NEURAL NETWORK AND
CONSOLIDATES THE LEARNING
CONDITIONS OF LEARNING

26.  COGNITIVE
 LEARNING IS A RESOURCE-HUNGRY BRAIN ACTIVITY
 THERE ARE LIMITS TO OUR CAPACITY TO DIGEST AND
STORE NEW MATERIAL
 IT TAKES THE RESOURCES REQUIRED FOR SOMETHING
ELSE
CONDITIONS OF LEARNING

27.  EMOTIONAL
 EMOTIONS ARE INTEGRAL TO THINKING AND LEARNING
 THE AMYGDALA, IS THE SEAT OF EMOTIONS
 AMYGDALA ACTIVATION DURING THE ENCODING OF A
NEW MEMORY ENHANCES ITS SUBSEQUENT RETRIEVAL
 THIS MEANS THAT EMOTIONAL CUES LINKED TO
LEARNING CONTENT FORGE A DEEPER AND RICHER
NEURAL PATHWAY THAN FACT-BASED CONTENT ALONE
CONDITIONS OF LEARNING

28.  COLLABORATION
 NOT MUCH OF OUR LEARNING OCCURS IN ISOLATION WE
NEED SOCIAL INTERACTION
 WE LEARN AND BEING TAUGHT IN SOCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS,
SUCH AS SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
 WE NOT ONLY CREATE NEW LEARNING, BUT WE TEST AND
VALIDATE OUR THINKING
 LEARNING COMMUNITIES REINFORCE LEARNING OUTCOMES,
INCREASE MOTIVATION AND GENERATE MORE DIVERSE
SOLUTIONS THAN LEARNING ALONE
CONDITIONS OF LEARNING

29.  PREFRONTAL CORTEX CAPACITY
 SEAT OF OUR ‘EXECUTIVE FUNCTION’
 OUR ABILITY TO THINK CONSCIOUSLY, PLAN, ORGANISE,
ANALYSE, MAKE DECISIONS AND COMPREHEND
COMPLEX INFORMATION AND RELATIONSHIPS
 IT’S WHAT MAKES US HUMAN
LIMITATIONS OF LEARNING

30.  PREFRONTAL CORTEX CAPACITY
 NEURONS IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX CAN PROCESS
APPROXIMATELY 2,000 UNITS OF DATA PER SECOND
 THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX OPERATES VIA SERIAL
PROCESSING - ONE STEP AT A TIME
 MEMORY DEGRADATION,OCCURS WHEN WE ATTEMPT
ANY TWO COGNITIVE TASKS CONCURRENTLY
 TEENAGERS’ BRAINS ARE STILL MATURING AND THE
PREFRONTAL CORTEX IS NOT FULLY DEVELOPED
LIMITATIONS OF LEARNING

31.  STRESS
LIMITATIONS OF LEARNING

32. LEARNING – BARRIERS
 CONTENT ENGAGING
 INCENTIVE MOTIVATION
 SOCIAL INTERACTION & SUPPORT

33. “AGES” MODEL OF LEARNING
 THE FIELD OF NEUROSCIENCE IS PROVIDING BOTH
INSIGHTS AND PRAGMATIC GUIDELINES FOR THE
ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICES
 ‘LILA DAVACHI’, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF
PSYCHOLOGY AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, OFFERS
THE ACRONYM “AGES” TO HIGHLIGHT FOUR KEY
CRITERIA THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR EFFECTIVE
LEARNING

34. “AGES” MODEL OF LEARNING
• 111A
G
E
S
ATTENTION FOCUSED CONCENTRATION ON THE
TASK OR CONCEPT WITHOUT DISTRACTION
GENERATION LEARNER TO HAVE DIRECT
INTERACTION WITH THE LEARNING TASK TO
GENERATE THEIR OWN THINKING
EMOTION EMOTIONAL CUES ASSOCIATED WITH
THE LEARNING TASK
SPACING ADEQUATE TIME GAPS FOR NEW
LEARNING TO BE DIGESTED, CONSOLIDATED AND
REHEARSED
AGES

35. “AGES” MODEL OF LEARNING
 ATTENTION
 NEW LEARNING REQUIRES FOCUSED ATTENTION
 NEW INFORMATION, MUST BE OF INTEREST/MEANINGFUL
 THERE MUST BE LIMITED DISTRACTIONS
 NEW LEARNING IS IMPOSSIBLE WHILST MULTI-TASKING

36. “AGES” MODEL OF LEARNING
 GENERATION
 ADULT LEARNING DIFFERS FROM CHILDHOOD LEARNING
 CHILDREN ABSORB EVERYTHING IN AN UNCENSORED WAY
 ADULTS SELECTIVELY CHOOSE
 ADULTS BUILD ON PRIOR LEARNING
 SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING ARE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE IN
ADULTS
 OWNERSHIP OF LEARNING, IS WITH THE LEARNER

37. “AGES” MODEL OF LEARNING
 EMOTIONS
 EMOTIONS BIND MEMORY
 AN EMOTIONAL CUE IGNITES MORE NEURONAL ACTIVITY
IN MORE BRAIN CENTRES

38. “AGES” MODEL OF LEARNING
 SPACING
 SIMPLE, BUT UNDERUTILISED WAY OF IMPROVING
LEARNING
 THE LIMITATIONS TO PREFRONTAL CORTEX CAPACITY
COME INTO DIRECT PLAY WHEN WE ARE LEARNING
 LEARNING PROGRAMS OVER SEVERAL HELPS IN
MEMORY CONSOLIDATION DURING SLEEP

39. 10 %
FORMAL
20%
OBSERVATION
70%
INFORMAL/ON THE JOB
TRAINING
INFORMAL & COLLABORATIVE
LEARNING

40. LEARNING – ‘Aha MOMENT’

41. LEARNING – ‘Aha MOMENT’

42. TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING

43.  NEUROSCIENCE CASTS LIGHT ON:-
 HOW THE BRAIN ACQUIRES, STORES AND USES
INFORMATION ?
 WHAT INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC FACTORS CAN LIMIT US
FROM OPTIMISING LEARNING PROCESS ?
 BY UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT HOW HUMANS
LEARN, EDUCATORS CAN TAP THE LEARNING
CAPACITIES OF THE BRAIN THAT WILL DRIVE THE
LEARNING RESULTS TOWARD WHICH THEY STRIVE
CONCLUSION