The Science of Learning

What is the Science of Learning?

It is the learning in the brain. To understand the science of learning, we need to understand the Cognitive basis of learning. There are three main cognitive systems that are important to learning; Attention, Working memory and Long term memory

Any information received goes through the flow of information which is a three step process

Filtering

Processing

Storage

The information we receive is filtered. Some we skim through, while some we focus upon. Often we lose most of the information or we do not attend to all of the information we receive. Our attention allows us to filter information we sense from our environment. It allows us to concentrate our mental efforts on perceiving and processing the selected information.

Working memory is the mental space where we process information consciously when we think, speak and process incoming information. Working memory is necessary for language, reasoning and combining new information with existing knowledge.

Long Term Memory is the storage space for our past experiences and knowledge extracted in the past. It is inactive but can be retrieved though not always successfully. We generally focus on declarative information which usually is facts and events.

The step in the flow of information is processing. Transferring information from working memory to long term memory is called encoding. The information is actively registered in the system. Consolidation is essential to ensure long term change in what is represented in the brain. Retrieval is the process of transferring information from the long term memory to working memory.

There are different types of knowledge. ?Working memory plays a critical role in the executive functions and self – regulation skills that enable students to plan, focus attention, remember instructions and switch between various tasks that we need to work on a daily basis

Meaning making to enhance learning

We can use Meaning making as a strategy to enhance learning.?Meaning making occurs when students can reflect on, bring order to, and make sense of new knowledge and experiences, enabling the possibility of learning more effectively, applying knowledge to new problems, and making better and more informed choices in the future.

Meaning- making is opposite to rote memorization. Teachers cannot make it happen; students have to build it themselves. Teachers can give students the opportunities to think about what they learn and expand it. They should remember that meaning is contextual.

The process for meaning-making is using previous knowledge before learning, new concept, understanding, mastery

Meaning–making process connects new information to already existing knowledge in a functional way. Various strategies can be used to highlight several stages in the process of mean-making. Some of them are:

Explanation- Teacher explains the new concept/material explicitly and clearly by showing concrete examples, models. This encourages students to see the deeper features of a new concept and encourage them to transfer it to other concepts.

Elaboration- Students turn to practice their understanding by trying to create their own explanation.

Predictions- Testing whether they can build their own hypothesis and predictions, then applying them to identify gaps and missing information that enhance meaning.

Create An Analogy: Asking students to create an analogy, or comparison, challenges them to think about a thing’s qualities or characteristics to explain how it is similar to something else.

Draw a Concept Map or Flowchart: Students to create a flowchart to visualize their learning and make connections. Encourage them to begin by identifying the main concepts covered in a lesson, video, article, chapter of a text, or podcast, and create a concept map or flowchart to show how those concepts fit together. Ask them to connect the dots to understand the relevance with one another.

Teachers can cultivate a learning environment by empowering students to lead their learning by engaging them with meaning-making activities individually and in collaboration with peers. Learning can be maximized when students are provided opportunities to experience analyze and create using previous knowledge with new information

For further reading

https://stem4els.wceruw.org/resources/WIDA-Doing-and-Talking-Science.pdf