Last week Matthew Taylor did a 30 minute broadcast on BBC Radio 4; a segment from a 3-part series on Brain Culture: Neuroscience and Society. In this broadcast he focused on Neuroscience and Education and how new findings in neuroscience are beginning to shape ideas about learning.
The discussion centres around the idea of brain plasticity, which relates to structural changes occuring in the brain, and new neurons forming as a result of learning. An example of this is explained by Chris Frith (a leading neuroscientist in the UK) in the broadcast. He describes how brain scans of professional violinists show that the part of the brain controlling their left hands is much larger than non violinists, demonstrating that their brain has adapted to their learning.
Findings relating to brain plasticity are starting to have an effect on learning in the classroom, with neuroscience looking into video games as a method of learning in schools. Studies have shown that gaming releases dopamine in the brain which makes the brain more receptive. The crucial idea here that Matthew Taylor discusses in the broadcast is that this dopamine isn’t released because the person gaming knows they are going to win the video game, it is exactly the opposite! The result is uncertain and Paul Howard Jones (of Bristol University, UK) suggests that brains that are on alert for new rewards are more likely to absorb new knowledge. So, we are attracted to games of chance, as an uncertain reward can produce a greater response in the brain. In everyday life we go through a lot of uncertain experiences so these findings about brain plasticity relate just as much here as they do in the classroom.
They also discuss in the broadcast how there has also been new light on the common conclusion that the human brain is fully formed by the age of three. This notion has been challenged by the prospect of brain plasticity throughout life. Research on adopted Romanian orphans in the UK has shown that even a poor, malnourished start to life with little to no interaction with others does not mean that the rest of life will ultimately be affected. Due to brain plasticity the brain can actually continue to restructure way beyond these first three years of life.
This idea that the brain is something that can be fed for life reminded me of our work in Learning Transfer. It is important for people to remember that even if you are at the top of your game in a business environment, there is still potential for new neurons to be formed and the brain to restructure as a result of brain plasticity from learning. The research into brain plasticity is still in very early days, but it is a very exciting prospect to consider that the growth of your brain is in your own hands; and with appropriate learning and learning transfer you could dramatically further your own brain plasticity. It will be interesting to see how further findings in neuroplasticity will impact all types of learning in the future.
For more information on this program take a look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017cfkq and feel free to let us know your thoughts below.