A Brain Development During Learning
Have you ever known how a brain develop during learning?
According to research of Dr. Rita Smilkstein, people learning process the natural human learning process and brain development during learning. By researching 10000 people, she said, there are 6 ways of Natural Human Learning Process (NHLP). There are motivation, beginning practice, advance practice, skillfulness, refinement, and topic. First of all, motivation like: fun, interesting, expected of me, had to survive and self interest. Second, trait error, observation, hands-on, and ask questions are called beginning practice. The third, advance practice: practice, practice, practice, focus, experiment, repetition, and work with others. The fourth, skillfulness, how do you know, you are skillfulness? Because I got feedback, winning, become easier, enjoyable, and successful. That’s why I knew, I am skillfulness. The fifth refinement, there are improvement, challenge ourselves with competition, pleasurable, and perform complete. When becoming: mastery, sharing, performance, and high completion, are called a topic, which is the last step.
Through the stages of the NHLP, I have learnt this six steps in my life. For an example, I love dessert, and also interested in making dessert. My motivation is interested in making dessert. The beginning practice, whenever I eat dessert, I always ask myself, “how they make it? and what does it make from?”. I try to figure out how to make it, then I practice it. And sometimes, I search on Youtube first then practice it. All the time I cooked, I always took some for my grandma to taste it and give me some ideas and feedbacks. I try to fix it, and also learned from my mistakes by her feedbacks. Then I made it one more time, and it still not taste right. But I don’t give up, I practice again and again to make it at least 90% taste right. Finally, I got it. I got thumbs up from my grandma, I am so proud of myself.
We have about 100 billion brain cells (neurons). Each neuron has one axon with many tails (terminals). Axon terminal is much like a root system. These axon terminals send electrochemical messages to other neurons across tiny spaces called synapses. Synapses gap between axon terminal bulbs. Myelin is fatty white substance that surrounds the axon of some nerve cells, forming an electrically insulating layer. It is essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. It is an outgrowth of a type of glial cell. Neurons have three basic parts. There are a soma (a cell body ) and two extensions that called an axon and a dendrite. Within the cell body is a nucleus, which controls the cell activities and contain the cell’s genetic material. The axon looks like a cell. Neurons communicate with each other by sending chemicals, called neurotransmitters, across a tiny space, called a synapse, between the axons and dendrites of adjacent neurons.
Synaptic firing is like spark plug firing. Hormone is chemicals produced by the body. When learning, two hormones, which are endorphins and norepinephrine, can be released into the synapses. Endorphins are present when a person feel good. Norepinephrine present when a person feel stress. It means norepinephrine is a bad staff like putting water in a gasoline tank. Endorphins is a good staff like the right fuel in a gasoline tank.
Emotions affect learning. When you feel good, make you concentrate on learning, and also make you do work or task quickly and well. Example, when you do math and listening to music, it makes you feel good because endorphins flowing. Otherwise, when you feel anxious or stressed, you can’t do work well, like it shut your brain down. Example, college students have too much homework to do with too little time. It’s overwhelm. To avoid stress, college students have to use time management and be prepared. Second example, when you feel stress, you are taking test. You won’t do well, even though you already learnt or knew the lesson well. Because stressing shut your brain down, norepinephrine flowing.
Totally, that’s good to learn and know about natural human learning process, because we can control our emotions.