Unlocking the Brain's Potential: 3 Powerful Neuroscience-Backed Strategies to Enhance Your Students’ Learning

 

Tell me if this sounds familiar: class begins and you have decided that before launching into new material, it would be a great idea to start the lesson off with a review. You ask for a volunteer to give a brief recap of what was covered last session and then, suddenly, there is an all-encompassing silence. You focus on your students’ faces and their responses vary. Some are having a deer-in-the-headlights moment, others give you a blank stare, and still others are very obviously trying to look through their notes in search of an answer to give you. As the silence hangs, you think to yourself yet again, “How can I make these concepts stick?” 

Well, to answer this question, we should consider a bit of how the brain works and why it makes the choice to keep or discard information. By the end of this article, we will cover three insights into how your students' brains function and related tips you can use to make your teaching “stickier.” 

Let us ease into things with a suggestion that will seem so familiar to you that you might even consider it to be mundane. Tip #1: Ask questions. 

More precisely, before you launch into a new topic, always ask your class what they already know about it. Why? Because the brain is an amazingly efficient organ. As such, it loves to use existing networks and holds on to new information much better when it can connect it to material it already knows. 

The next one is more unconventional. Tip #2: Set aside the first few minutes of the session for stress-relief. Consider this: your students are going to come into class stressed. There is really no way around it. We are all aware that stress is a fact of life but did you know how damaging it can be to retention? Experts have found that stress damages existing cells in the hippocampus, a complex brain structure embedded deep into the temporal lobe, which has a major role in learning and memory (Anand & Dhikav, 2012). Not only that, but stress can reduce our ability to produce new brain cells as well. So, why not start off your next lesson with a couple minutes of Box Breathing? Your students will thank you! 

Last but not least, Tip # 3: Make abstract concepts concrete. If I ask you to think on the word “synergy” for a moment, do you hesitate for just a bit? Do you feel yourself struggling a little as you reach in the recesses of your brain for a dictionary definition? If so, then I can certainly relate. That is because “synergy” is a bit of an abstract concept and abstract concepts are harder for our brains to grasp. Scientists have found that abstract thinking occurs in our prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that uses significantly more energy than other parts like sensory processing areas. So, make your lessons easier on your students' brains by adding sensory elements to make abstract ideas concrete. Use more graphics and employ visual or physical metaphors, for example. You can also bring other senses into play as well. Utilize sound clips or give students physical activities to do. This will help nebulous concepts to stick! 

These are just a few ideas on how neuroscience can be used to augment your teaching practice. Why don’t you give them a go? Which of the above suggestions are you most interested in trying out during your next session? Let us know in the comments below! 

Citations:

Anand, K. S., & Dhikav, V. (2012). Hippocampus in health and disease: An overview. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 15(4), 239–246. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.104323

Collins, S. (2019). Using Neuroscience for More Effective L&D [Video]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/learning/using-neuroscience-for-more-effective-l-d/using-neuroscience-in-training?resume=false&u=2148617