A new look at learning

 

a new look at learning

Learning begins at birth. Step by step, we learn to eat, drink, talk, walk and much more. We learn new things day by day. But we cannot remember everything. But we still remember some songs and poems we sang when we were little. We did not study those things with difficulty. Things used in everyday life. There must be a reason for that. Everything we learn first goes into short-term memory. What we learn goes into long-term memory through practicing. Better learning does not always require more effort or more time. Only 

need is a good method. What is this method? How to learn as effectively and efficiently as possible?  What is human brain? How it learn?

 

   brain and learning

We all learn throughout our lives. We learn how to read, write, and speak and many other things. We all learn throughout our lives. We learn to read, write and speak and much more. But very few people know how to learn correctly. We can even do our O/L, A/L and graduate. But that does not mean that we know the right way to learn. At a 2010 meeting of neuroscience experts, Dr. James Bibb of the University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said, “We have accumulated

enough knowledge about the mechanisms and molecular underpinnings of cognition at the synaptic and circuit levels to say something about which processes contribute”

 

What happens in my brain when I am learning?

We learn with the help of our brain. We have approximately 86 billion brain cells. When we learn something new, the brain changes physically. When we learn something new, some of our brain cells connections with other brain cells to form new networks of cells, this new network of cell represent the new learning that has taken place. This phenomenon is called neuroplasticity . If we regularly use or train this newly learned information, the connections between brain cells become stronger and it became easy to recall that information. That memory become long term memory.

When I was in 2nd or 3rd grade I used to read my textbooks every day. And sang songs many times. So even today I have a memory of those songs and characters like Nayana, Kusum ...

 Long-term potentiation

"In neuroscience, long-term potentiation (LTP) is a persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity. These are patterns of synaptic activity that produce a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between two neurons. The opposite of LTP is long-term depression, which produces a long-lasting decrease in synaptic strength." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_potentiation)

When any new information becomes a more permanent part of our memory, we can easily get it when we need it, even if we don't need it for weeks or months, when we need it.

      PREPARING TO LEARN

Brain use body energy. Therefore the healthy balance diet is essential for learning. The brain uses body energy. It is therefore essential to learn a healthy balanced diet. It causes if we miss our diet, it make the brain work less efficiently.

Not only food but also water is essential for learning. Neurons store water in their vacuoles. Water is essential for the proper functioning of neurons. According to Norman (2010), “Dehydration can lead to fatigue, dizziness, poor concentration, and reduced cognitive abilities. Even mild levels of dehydration can impact school performance.”

Sleep is an essential factor for learning and remembering. The brain is a machine. It needs rest, otherwise it will weaken.

      CRAMMING

Cramming is working hard to absorb a large amount of information in a short period of time. It is mostly done by students in preparation for upcoming exams, especially day before the exam. It's not good. It makes you tired. It does not allow the brain to build permanent memories. Attempting to recall information that has not been properly verified can lead to confusion between all the information.

  

REFERENCES

1       Anderson, J. R., & Pavlik, P. I. (2008). Using a model to compute the optimal schedule of practice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14 (2), 101–117.

 

2       Armstrong, L., Ganio, M. S., Casa, D. J., Lee, E. C., McDermott, B. P., Klau, J. F., . . . Lieberman, H. R. (2012). Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. Journal of Nutrition, 142 (2), 382–388. Retrieved from http://jn.nutrition.org/content/early/2011/12/20/jn.111.142000.abstract

 

3       Barnett, S. M., & Ceci, S. J. (2002). When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 612– 637.

 

4       Begley, S. (2011, January 3). “Can you build a better brain?” Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/01/03/can-you-build-abetter-brain.html .

5    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_potentiation