The Human Brain and Learning. 17 Jan 2010

In an attempt to learn more about education and the function of the brain in the learning process, the following was revealed to me. The publisher of the journal Learning and Individual Differences, reveal their finding in an article on the 13^th of January 2010. The article stated “selection for cognitive skill acquisition depends on task demands and working memory capacity”.

The involvement of working memory capacity (WMC) in ruled-based cognitive skill acquisition is well-established, but the duration of its involvement and its role in learning strategy selection is less certain. (N=610) learned four logic rules, their corresponding symbols, or logic gates, and the appropriate input-output combinations in three-gate circuit patterns," investigators in the United States report. The team went on to practice 120 repetitions of each rule over the course of ten blocks. They found that the memory load varied between subjects. This study continues on but as Educators we must stay in flow with this type of information. In designing course material this becomes a major player. If I want to have the greatest impact I should design course with the students’ abilities at the forefront.

More research is being conducted at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Their studies have revealed some emerging theories about people learning. Their discoveries in neuroscience and continued developments in cognitive psychology have presented new ways of thinking about the brain, neurological structure and the attendant perceptions and emotions that contribute to learning. In other words how the brain works. We are cautioned that the brain is complex and there is still wide spread debate on these topics. Never the less this research has provided strong possibilities in education. As educator we should continue to follow these studies and improve our development in Instructional design.

The publisher of the journal Learning and Individual Differences can be contacted at: Elsevier Science BV, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Walden Library)

Caine, R. N., and G. Caine (1991). Making connections: Teaching and the human brain. Alexandria, VA (The Web; http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v03n02/brain.html)

Summary of Blog Sites

The first site provides you with insight from the professionals in the field across the country. It provides comments on resources and ideas to assist you in various areas within Instructional Design. It is good to have resources to refresh or awaken a new thought within you. The posts on these sites are very interesting and will help in the view points of others in the field and enable you to see the ideas of others. You may not agree with everything but that can still provide growth. http://www.iddblog.org/ As an Instructional Designer our minds must be toned to new ideas and be able to dream of new ways to keep the attention of the learner. In this fast pace world full of technology and information at every turn, the job of the Instructional Designer became harder. Our eyes send so much information to the brain that we are easily bored. In Cathy Moore’s blog, design takes on a new meaning. Noted that these are views, everyone can see the same picture yet walk away with a different view of the picture. That’s what I see on this site; see design in a different light. Everyone can get into dry place, where the thoughts are not coming as fast as we would like them. Sites like this one could help you awaken something new simply by seeing someone do something out of the ordinary. http://blog.cathy-moore.com/ There is a wealth of information on the internet; however some of them hold your attention better than other. The following site brought something to right to your face. http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/what-everybody-ought-to-know-about-instructional-design/ Did you know that we see everything before our eyes and yet we do not acknowledge some things at all? How often have you said to yourself or someone else that you did see what was right before you. This site demonstrated that we see what we are searching and often miss what is before our eyes. This type of information helps our creativity. As Instructional Designers we need to be productive for their clients as well as themselves. The video on this site show us how easily we can miss what is right before us. The above sites all offer something different; yet can be very helpful to the designer. This enter action would help a great deal for individual that work out of their homes and newcomers looking for help.