Response: Using ‘Brain-Based Learning’ in the Classroom

This is a great question. Neuroscience research keeps providing insights into the way the brain learns, which can easily be incorporated into teaching practice. We know that a key aspect of learning is the strengthening of the connections, called synapses, between particular sets of neurons.

One fascinating result of research in this field is that synaptic strengthening is greatly enhanced when studying or training is spaced out over time instead of amassed during a short interval.

When I was a student I did a lot of cramming during the days and hours immediately prior to my exams. This allowed me to do well, but now we know that I would have learned better and retained information longer if I had studied consistently throughout the semester.

Researchers Tom Carew, Harold Pinsker, and Eric Kandel demonstrated this process 40 years ago, studying the behavior of the sea slug, Aplysia, and how it learned to respond to repeated stimuli. Ann-Shyn Chiang and others have provided a recent demonstration of this effect in the fruit fly, Drosophila, showing the importance for new protein synthesis that we know is essential for strengthening synaptic connections.

The results of spaced training versus “massed” training have been demonstrated for students too, and I now encourage my students to study every day instead of cramming for the tests.

Another striking result of research is the importance of retrieval for learning.

We thought for many years that the best way to learn is to study, study, and study some more in preparation for a test. However, recent research has demonstrated that although studying is good, and indeed is essential, consistently practicing the ability to recall information is even more effective.

Evaluation of long-term retention of knowledge has revealed that a sequence of study-test-study-test-study-test is more effective than a sequence of study-study-study-study-study-test. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it tells us that repeated testing, involving retrieval of information, assists in consolidation of the learning process. Students can use it as a method of studying or teachers can enforce it with quizzes and other informal assessments.

Neuroscience research is a gift that keeps on giving. New findings are reported every week that inform us about how we learn. We can expect to continue to apply these insights to enhance our teaching.

Here are a few important insights from neuroscience about how the brain works.

First, students learn differently and have different interests. Instead of assuming that everyone learns in the same way, teachers do better when they assume that different students are indeed different.

One second-grade boy participated in a study designed to help students learn to read. At the end of the study, the boy’s parents profusely thanked us for helping their son learn to read: “Our son can read. It’s so wonderful. We are so happy he participated in this study.” But they misunderstood.

Here is what really happened:

Jimmy loved lawn mowers. We have come to call him “the lawn-mower boy.” He talked about lawn mowers constantly, and he tried to steal the lawn-mower manual from his parents so that he could learn from it. But his parents wanted him to read the book his second-grade teacher had assigned. Repeatedly they took away the manual and insisted that he read the other book.

What we did to help him learn to read was simple. We told the parents, “Let him read the lawn-mower manual.” When they followed that advice, Jimmy was highly motivated to master the manual, and he worked hard to learn how to read it. He spent hours studying the manual, and in doing so, he learned to read. His parents thought our intervention had helped him learn to read, but we knew from the actual results that the intervention had no positive effect. What helped Jimmy was being allowed to read what he was passionately interested in.

Research by Rosalie Fink demonstrates that this strategy works with many students who have difficulty with reading. She interviewed 60 adults with dyslexia who had become good readers and writers, and found that every one of them learned to read late (around 13 to 14 years). But every one eventually became fluent by working hard to read about topics they were passionate about -- topics such as airplanes, the Civil War, and lawn mowers.

Different students have different interests. Teachers can be most effective not by forcing students to learn from one standard curriculum, but by helping them to discover what they are passionate about, what they are especially interested in. Then learning becomes a natural activity for every student.

There are many ways neuroscience can inform teaching practices. One of the best ways teachers can use neuroscience in the classroom is by helping students to understand what’s happening in the brain when learning takes place.

The connections between brain cells, called synapses, change as we learn new information. For decades, neuroscientists have recognized that synapses grow stronger with practice, and weaker with disuse. In other words, how hard a student works at a task such as studying the multiplication tables or writing essays can make a difference in the circuitry of the brain.

By helping students to understand that studying and working hard brings about physical changes in the brain and related genes involved in learning and memory, they become empowered. It’s not just, “I got these genes from my mom and dad, and I’m a done deal.” It’s really, “I’m the one who has to take this genetic set and do something with it.”

Arming students with information about how one’s effort changes the brain can actually improve classroom performance. Researchers found New York City junior high school students informed about studying-induced brain changes scored higher on the state math exams than those who did not receive the lessons.

While the effort a student puts forth in the classroom is vital to his or her performance, neuroscience has also taught us that teachers must strive to create a classroom environment that is respectful of the knowledge a student brings to the classroom from previous experiences. We know that learning is an associative process at both synaptic and circuit levels. It’s important that teachers understand students’ prior knowledge in order to help them incorporate new information.

Additionally, neuroscience has taught us about the importance emotion plays in helping us remember information. We need an emotional stamp to take an experience and put it into long-term memory so it is important for teachers to strive to make materials salient to students. For instance, when teaching about U.S. history, engage students emotionally with the material, through analogies to current events or role play.