Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 15
NEUROSCIENCE
Merrill Collier
The Neuroscience
of Learning
S
o what's the brain science behind
learning? Why should we know about it?
Could
neuroscience
be the education
gamechanger?
This year has witnessed a surge of interest to
understand the human brain. President Obama
announced the BRAIN research project, a $100
million collaborative research initiative to
develop new technologies to better understand
the brain and origins of cognition. The European
Union announced a 1.2 billion Euro, 10-year
proposal to computationally simulate the human
brain.
These may be two of the most ambitious
neuroscience initiatives ever proposed. To
understand how the activity of millions of
neurons contribute to complex brain functions
could have a profound impact on neuroscience,
medicine and learning.
Could neuroscience be the education gamechanger?
Brain-Based Learning
Could neuroscience be the education gamechanger? The potential impact of brain research
on education is intriguing. Recently it has
become an area of interest to elementary school
science teachers.
According to one study, performing activities
that have immediate connections to real-world
learning may increase the development or
maintenance of dendrites in the brain. Using real
problems as the basis for investigation promotes
understandings viewed as important and skills
that are viewed as useful, which motivates
students to learn. The brain needs to have
concepts revisited in several different ways to
encourage active processing that's needed to
keep connections, and foster memory.
In another example, a few U.S. schools have
begun to start later in the morning, based on
research that indicates teenagers' brains favor a
later-to-get-going sleep pattern.
Benefits for Corporate Training
What could this mean for corporate training?
How often do we deliver online or in person
trainings and assume they'll result in meaningful
impact? Imagine how understanding more about
the brain, even on a really basic level, could
influence how we approach imparting
knowledge.
The first step is to embrace the possibility that
the way in which we design and deliver content
could impact learning and adoption. If you
agree, then it may make sense to better
understand basic neuroscience principles related
to attention and memory. After all, a common
goal is to impart key learning points so they
'stick' longer in participants' minds. And the
longer it sticks, the more it may impact results.
Next time you train, keep a log if and how
you "grab" that attentional spotlight at the start
and for key learning points. Do you jump that
spotlight around a lot, or do you manage the
cadence of your focus carefully? Are you
delivering information in digestible chunks, and
using workshop practice to encode and move the
key messages from that short-term to longerterm memory?
How will emerging research in the brain
sciences inform educational practices? It's a "no
brainer" to follow and see what we can learn.
(I'm in!) I
Merrill Collier is a principle global training and education specialist at Medtronic's CardioVascular
division. This article expresses the personal views of the author and does not necessarily represent the
opinions of his employer. Email Merrill at Merrill.Collier@Medtronic.com.
FOCUS | SPRING 2014 | www.spbt.org
15
http://www.spbt.org
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Magazine - Spring 2014
Focus Magazine
From the President: Coaching for Success
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Enhancing the Classroom
Front of the Room: Flexing to a Smaller Class Size
Neuroscience: The Neuroscience of Learning
Ethicon's K2: The Summit of Customized Learning
The Secret to Reaching Your Full Potential
Transforming Organizations: Change Agents & Team Coaching
Member Solutions: Developing Leaders: Building a Bench
Deliberate Practice and the Power of eLearning
EQ & You: Building Leaders
Training for Co-Pay Programs
Constructs not Curriculums
Virtual How: Moving from Reactive to Proactive
Member News
Ad Index
Focus Contacts
5 Questions with Jim Trunick
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Intro
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Focus Magazine
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Cover2
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 3
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 4
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - From the President: Coaching for Success
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 6
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Table of Contents
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 8
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Table of Contents
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 10
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Guest Editor: Enhancing the Classroom
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 12
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Front of the Room: Flexing to a Smaller Class Size
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 14
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Neuroscience: The Neuroscience of Learning
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 16
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Ethicon's K2: The Summit of Customized Learning
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 18
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 19
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 20
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 21
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 22
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - The Secret to Reaching Your Full Potential
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 24
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 25
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 26
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Transforming Organizations: Change Agents & Team Coaching
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 28
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 29
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 30
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 31
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Member Solutions: Developing Leaders: Building a Bench
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 33
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 34
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 35
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 36
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 37
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Deliberate Practice and the Power of eLearning
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 39
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 40
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 41
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - EQ & You: Building Leaders
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 43
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Training for Co-Pay Programs
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 45
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Constructs not Curriculums
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 47
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Virtual How: Moving from Reactive to Proactive
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 49
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 50
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Member News
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Ad Index
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Focus Contacts
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 5 Questions with Jim Trunick
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Cover3
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2017winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2017fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2017summer_supp3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2017summer_supp
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2017summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2017spring_supp
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2017spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2016summer_supp2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2016summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2016summer_supp
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2015summer_supp
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2015spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/LtenFocus/2014summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2013summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2013spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2013winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2012fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2012summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2012spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2012winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2011fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/focus/2011summer
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com