Unlock Your Learning Potential: The Learning Brain Explained

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by Russell Newton, copyright: 2019

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They may have even done this with fewer hours spent studying. While you were inside highlighting the same passages with red, yellow, and green, they were outside riding their bike or engaging in a hot dog eating competition. Why? How? That’s not fair. This book tries to answer those questions and look not just more closely at the methods for learning and memorization we’ve all been taught, but a little deeper at the neuroscience behind how your brain takes in, organizes, and holds onto new information that you give it. The truth is that we can optimize abstract functions like memory, recall, and information processing by looking at the very concrete, physiological basis they have in the brain itself. Armed with this knowledge, we can work with our brains to their greatest potential, in much the same way as an understanding of anatomy and biology helps an athlete perform at their physical peak.

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er, or in life in general. In: 1953

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New memories were impossible for him to form. He could meet a new person, and if they left the room and reentered, he would behave as if it were the first time he’d ever seen them. Henry Molaison’s long-term memory wasn’t affected. And he kept his personality and skills intact, even learning rudimentary new skills in the moment (most motor-skill based)—he just never had the memory of having learned them. What was a tragic outcome for Henry Molaison was an interesting new beginning in neuroscience. Here was proof that the function of memory was explicitly tied to discrete, physiological areas of the brain. A handful of other patients underwent the same procedure, and in each case the doctors discovered that memory was always affected when portions of the medial temporal lobe were removed. The more of this tissue that was removed, the more extensive the impairment to the patient’s memory.

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This was a turning point in understanding the function of the brain, and it’s integral to our understanding of neuro-learning. It’s many decades later and neuroscientists now know that an important part of the medial temporal lobe, the hippocampus, is responsible for turning our passing perceptions in the present moment into fixed memories that we can later recall. The hippocampus is the structure that creates memories, and without it, we can have a full, rich experience of the present moment—but be able to return to it again in the form of “stored” memories. Let’s return to the question of cramming before an important exam. Knowing that the brain is directly responsible for the extent to which we can remember things, in a physical way even, how can we make sure we’re doing what we can to learn better? How can we understand the process of neuro-learning and how to better cater to what our brains prefer and will accept? What principles can we use to improve our performance on that exam but also transfer to learning in general? It’s important to break down the process of learning into a few distinct aspects.

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Your brain is performing countless complex procedures every time you speak, read, recall a memory, or comprehend a new concept, but in essence, all of learning can be broken down into three functions. The first is information absorption. This is probably obvious. You cannot begin to talk about how your brain retains and processes information if you don’t understand how it’s taking that information in first. Simply, we can’t learn without the first crucial step of absorption. We need to accurately perceive what’s in front of us and be able to pay attention long enough to the relevant details to have it all sink in. For example, if you were trying to learn and master the game of chess, the very first thing you’d need to do is actually hear or read the rules of the game. You’d need to be able to focus and pay attention so that this information could properly be absorbed.

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You need the energy, lack of stress, and engagement. Information just has to make it inside your head somehow first, and then we can manipulate and solidify it. Many people falsely believe they have terrible memories when in fact they would have great memories if only they spent enough time paying attention to the thing they wanted to remember in the first place. If you’ve ever “forgotten” some crucial piece of information, or something someone said, you may have actually failed to absorb that data simply because you were attending to something else in that moment. You might forget your keys on the counter not because your mechanisms of memory aren’t working, but because you were paying attention to your phone at the moment you would ordinarily reach for your keys, and thus you “forgot” to pick them up. We’ll see later on in the book how this step of learning is even more important, and it’s not merely whether you’re paying attention or not, but the state of mind you’re in when you pay attention. The second aspect of how the brain learns is information synthesis, which is how your brain analyzes, processes, manipulates, and understands the information you took in during the absorption phase. In fact, your brain is constantly interpreting the world around you.

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It has to—there is simply a constant, overwhelming flood of information for every sense out there in the world. Our brain’s job is to constantly sift and filter through this, decide what everything means, and put sensations into context. Even as you read these words, consider the whole universe of sensory data out there that you are carefully ignoring so that you can focus on just the few sensations you’re interested in. Consider also how fast your brain must be working to decipher these random black marks into meaning, sifting and sorting, pulling on memory banks so that you understand and can create a picture in your mind of the words “memory” and “bank,” for example. Synthesis is making meaning and attaching significance to information in a way that your brain can understand it. To return to the chess example, you can listen attentively as the rules are explained to you, but at some point, your brain is going to start putting all the pieces together. You might start to wonder if you can move knights a particular way and rooks a particular way or what happens if both pieces encounter one another in such-and-such a layout on the board. Now you’re beginning to actually understand the information you’ve taken in.

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You’re turning those rules over in your head, seeing when and how they apply, testing the limits of the game, and trying to actually comprehend the field of your possible “moves." Of course, chess is one simple example, but we are all doing this all of the time, whether it’s playing chess or learning more complicated “games” like how to pass an exam, how to fill out your tax form, or the best way to drive into town given the traffic jam you know is there. Absorption without synthesis is akin to information that goes in one ear and out the other, while synthesis without absorption is, well, not possible. The final aspect of the learning brain, and perhaps the most important, is information retention (i.e., memory). In effect, we can’t really be said to have learned anything if we can’t remember anything about the mastery we’ve gained. As you look at the chess board, you need to draw on your memory of all the different moves each piece can make, as well as the memory of the games you’ve played in the past and all the lessons and tricks you gleaned from them. Without that knowledge, you can’t play effectively. In fact, no skill or knowledge at all is useful if it cannot be recalled at will outside of the moment you experienced it first.

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Retention without synthesis means incorrect information is probably being acted upon. Thus, learning comes down to these three key aspects, and we’ll devote a significant amount of time to each shortly. Every step depends on the proper functioning of the others - absorption, analysis, and retention. They must work in sequence, or the next step will be built upon a house of cards. And remember, it’s the hippocampus’s roles in the memory aspects of learning that we are interested in with this book. We’ll also be looking at neuroplasticity—i.e., the ability the brain has to change and make new neural pathways when it learns and forms new memories. By understanding the way the brain does this naturally, we can work to enhance the process and generally tap into the learning brain that you already possess. Brain 101 To understand the nature of neuro-learning, it is helpful to have the basic orientation on how the brain is constructed.

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We’ll try to keep this part short and snappy—it’s important for background, but you don’t necessarily need to know the whys if you follow the guidelines later in this book. It’s mostly a battle of two brains, as you’ll read. The cerebral cortex is probably the most recognizable part of the brain, as we’ve seen the brain depicted in biology textbooks—the gray matter that physically resembles a thick sponge. The cerebral cortex is the processor of thought, reason, language, and general consciousness. It may help to assign a so-called avatar to each portion of the brain, and since this portion is focused on analytical thought, this is the Albert Einstein portion. It is further divided into four subcomponents called lobes. •Frontal. The front part of the cerebral cortex processes reasoning, expression, and body movement.

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This is where information synthesis occurs. •Parietal. The middle of the cerebral cortex processes sensory information like touch, pressure, and pain. This is where information absorption occurs. •Occipital. The back of the brain covers visual information we receive through the eyes. This is also where absorption occurs. •Temporal.

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The bottom part of the cerebral cortex handles the interpretation of sounds and language through the primary auditory cortex and also processes memories through the hippocampus. This is where information retention occurs. It may seem that the brain has all the components to make learning effortless and easy, but wait, there’s more. There’s a significant portion of the brain that actively works against our best interests much of the time, and it is known as the limbic system. This is a complex series of parts that conduct all matters involving emotions, stimulation, and memories. It’s often the part of our brain that we want to shut off because it is behind most of our fears and anxieties. As such, we can think of an avatar for the limbic system as an easily spooked and skittish cat who runs from everything and everyone. At this point, it’s pretty tough to absorb, synthesize, retain, or even think straight.

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Major components of the limbic system include the following - •Thalamus. A mass of gray matter resting between the two halves of the brain, the thalamus relays sensory and motor signals, which help regulate the body’s circadian rhythms and functions like sleep. This can create distraction from your learning activities. •Hypothalamus. Positioned directly below the thalamus, the hypothalamus controls responses to hunger and thirst, emotions, body temperature, and the automatic nervous system. How can you focus if you’re too cold or hungry? •Amygdala. A tiny oval inside each of the brain’s hemispheres, the amygdala is the hothouse for emotions, survival instincts, memories, and sex drive.

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Learning and emotion don’t play well together, as one requires focus and the other demands it. Also part of the limbic system is the hippocampus, which we mentioned earlier. The hippocampus’s main objective is the formation and long-term maintenance of memories. As such, a useful avatar would be the elephant, known for its memory abilities. So why is the hippocampus grouped in with the parts of the brain that are counterproductive? Because memories are not only conscious pieces of information; they are also subconsciously coded and contain multitudes of emotion. Learning effectively really comes down to a battle of two brains - the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system. The prefrontal cortex is probably where most of us “exist” in our minds - the conscious and analytical part of us that makes choices based on the information we’ve obtained.

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It’s the hub of “free will” and our personality development, including decision-making, planning, and thought and analysis. It’s like the conference room of the mind. The prefrontal cortex is where we try to organize our behavior and thoughts with the goals we’ve set up. It’s typically associated with “executive function”—where we make judgments and decisions and formulate strategies to align our actions with our “beliefs,” like moral or value judgments (good vs. bad, better vs. best), qualitative assessments (similarities and differences), consequential thinking (what will happen if certain actions are taken, what’s the predicted outcome), and social behavior. We use the prefrontal cortex to predict stock market rises, strategize marriage proposals, figure out if we’re going to dress up like a unicorn, and decide where to get lunch. If we’re pondering the possibilities of neuro-learning, the prefrontal cortex is where we begin and end. Unfortunately, it’s clear that not all of our intentions translate into actions, and our tendency to act against our best interests is due to the other brain. Our prefrontal cortex is in a constant battle with the limbic system—the part of the brain that’s unconsciously dictating our actions by focusing on fear, survival, needs, risks, and desires.

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The limbic system thinks it is still the year 10,000 BC and hasn’t updated itself despite the world around it changing dramatically. The limbic system is always watching out for us, which is great in theory, but it can also be unnecessarily restrictive. Imagine how phobias and anxiety can derail you despite your best intentions—those are both the result of the limbic system not being adequately balanced by the prefrontal cortex. Both the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system very badly want to make our decisions for us, and as such, they’re frequently battling each other for that responsibility. It’s your good old-fashioned conflict between logic and emotion. This struggle is what makes learning so difficult. As your prefrontal cortex is making evidence- and logic-based decisions, your limbic system hijacks that process with its emotional response. When the limbic system overrides the reasoning abilities of the prefrontal cortex, it results in the formation of bad habits or simply distracts you from information absorption.

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One function of the limbic system that can create chaos despite its best intentions is the fight-or-flight response. This subroutine happens whenever the brain encounters a frightening situation and is forced to decide whether to stay and confront the problem or get the heck out of Dodge and seek safety. The fight-or-flight response emerges from several different kinds of threats - an oncoming car (flight), a stovetop kitchen fire (fight, hopefully), a snarling attack dog (could go either way), or a vindictive father-in-law knocking at your door with a shotgun (you’re on your own). In a suddenly stressful situation, the body releases hormones that signal the body’s sympathetic nervous system, which alerts the adrenal system to release hormones that spur the chemical production of adrenaline or noradrenaline. This causes the body to feel certain physical symptoms (high blood pressure, increased heart and breathing rates). The body doesn’t return to “normal” until between 20 and 60 minutes after the threat goes away. Obviously, the fight-or-flight response is key to one’s ongoing survival—but it also has certain drawbacks. Most troublesome is the fact that it doesn’t differentiate between actual threats or just perceived ones.

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Yes, it reacts to a speeding car going through an intersection and heading straight toward you. But it also reacts to misinformation that perpetuates fear of unrealistic events - the recurrence of diseases that have been cured, a swarm of killer bees, a zombie apocalypse, or a piano falling from a tall building. These just don’t happen, not even the zombie apocalypse. And the limbic system’s inaccuracy about such potential events is what leads to the development of phobias, which have an oversized influence on the super-reasonable prefrontal cortex. Additionally, the amygdala, that tiny part of the limbic system, also causes some headaches for the prefrontal cortex. Similar to the fight-or-flight mechanism that calls up our survival instinct, the amygdala processes our emotional responses to outside stimulation. Working from information sent from the thalamus through the neocortex, the amygdala decides what emotion to feel and floods the brain with hormones. This is all fine and well unless the amygdala processes the stimuli as a threat, in which case the thalamus bypasses the filtering neocortex altogether and sends info straight to the amygdala.

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That causes the amygdala to become a fight-or-flight arbiter on the spot, which usually leads to emotion-driven decisions—which can be very bad (though not always). The amygdala encourages a response that’s more reactive than thought-out. This is when we lash out at a friend or loved one for being five minutes tardy or physically lunge at someone who insults our mother. One of your brains wants to help you, and the other one wants nothing to do with critical thinking and the learning instinct. But we still haven’t quite touched on memory itself yet. Memory 101 Memory, of course, is heavily related to learning. If memory is a storage system that exists within specific neural pathways, then learning is about changing neural pathways to adapt one’s behavior and thinking to the emergence of new information. They depend on each other because the goal of learning is to assimilate new knowledge into memory, and memory is useless without the ability to learn more.

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Memorization is how we store and retrieve information for use (essentially the process of learning), and there are three steps to creating a memory. An error in any of these steps will result in knowledge that is not effectively converted to memory—a weak memory or the feeling of “I can’t remember his name, but he was wearing purple…” 1. Encoding 2. Storage 3. Retrieval Encoding is the step of processing information through your senses. We do this constantly, and you are doing it right now. We encode information both consciously and subconsciously through all of our senses. If you are reading a book, you are using your eyes to encode information, but how much attention and focus are you actually using? The more attention and focus you devote to an activity, the more conscious your encoding becomes—otherwise, it can be said that you subconsciously encode information, like listening to music at a café or seeing traffic pass you by at a red light. How much focus and attention you devote also determines how strong the memory is and, consequently, whether that memory only makes it to your short-term memory or if it passes through the gate to your long-term memory. If you are reading a book while watching television, your encoding is probably not too deep or strong.

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Storage is the next step after you’ve experienced information with your senses and encoded it. What happens to the information once it passes through your eyes or ears? There are three choices for where this information can go, and they determine whether it’s a memory that you will consciously know exists. There are essentially three memory systems - sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. The last step of the memory process is retrieval, which is when we actually use our memories and can be said to have learned something. You might be able to recall it from nothing, or you might need a cue to bring the memory up. Other memories might only be memorized in a sequence or as part of a whole, like reciting the ABCs and then realizing you need to sing it to remember how it goes. Usually, however much attention you devoted to the storage and encoding phases of memory determines just how easy it is to retrieve those memories.

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Most of the learning process isn’t necessarily focused on retrieval—it’s focused on the storage aspect and what you can do to force information from sensory and short-term areas into long-term areas. Think about when you cram for a test. You want information you experience to be in your brain for perhaps 24 hours, which means it has to exist beyond short-term memory and certainly beyond sensory memory. You might not care if you remember this information about the French Revolution at the end of the year, so you will reach a level of attention and focus that will push the information into the hazy area between short-term and long-term memory. In reality, what’s happening is that you will rehearse the information enough to make a very faint imprint on your long-term memory. Improving your learning, in a sense, is the same as improving your memory capacity and how absorbent your memory is—the more sponge-like, the better. However, learning is both the process of improving memory while also getting better at not forgetting. Why do we forget?

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Why can’t we remember this fact? How did we ever let something slip from our brains? As you have read, forgetting is usually a failure or shortcoming in the storage process—the information you want only makes it to short-term memory, not long-term. The problem isn’t that you can’t find the information in your brain; it’s that the information wasn’t embedded strongly enough in your brain to begin with. Sometimes it’s easier to think about forgetting as a failure in learning. There are generally three different ways you retrieve or access your memories - 1. Recall 2. Recognition 3. Relearning Recall is when you remember a memory without external cues. It’s when you can recite something on command in a vacuum—for example, looking at a blank piece of paper and then writing down the capitals of all of the countries of the world. When you can recall something, you have the strongest memory of it.

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You have either rehearsed it enough or attached enough significance to it so that it is an incredibly strong memory within your long-term memory. Of course, because recall represents the strongest level of memory, it’s also typically the toughest to achieve. It would typically require hours of rehearsal or study to get anywhere close to this. When we study, we want information to enter this realm, but we will usually settle for the next type of memory retrieval. Recognition is when you can conjure up your memory in the presence of an external cue. It’s when you might not be able to remember something by pure recall, but if you get a small clue or reminder, you will be able to remember it. For example, you might not be able to remember all of the capitals of the world, but if you got a clue such as the first letter of the capital or something that rhymes with the capital, it would be fairly easy to state it. When we cram information, this is typically what we end up with.

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This is also how mnemonics and similar memory devices work. We know we aren’t able to definitively store and recall so many pieces of information with a massive amount of rehearsal, so we work on chunking information into easily recognizable cues. Relearning is undoubtedly the weakest form of recall. It occurs when you are relearning or reviewing information and it takes you less effort each subsequent time. For example, if you read a list of country capitals on Monday and it takes you 30 minutes, it should take you 15 minutes the next day, and so on. Unfortunately, this is where we mostly lie on a daily basis. We might be familiar with a concept, but we haven’t committed enough of it to memory to avoid essentially relearning it when we look at it again. This is what happens when we are new to a topic or we’ve forgotten most of it already.

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When you’re in the relearning stage, you essentially haven’t taken anything past the barrier of short-term memory into long-term memory. Not only are we fighting weak encoding or storage in our quest for learning, but we are also fighting the brain’s natural tendency to forget as soon as possible. This is encapsulated by the forgetting curve, a concept pioneered by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus. Below is a picture of the forgetting curve, courtesy of Wranx.com. This shows the rate of memory decay and forgetting over time if there is no attempt to move this information into long-term memory. If you read something about the French Revolution on Monday, then it’s typically expected that you will remember only half of it after four days and retain as little as 30% at around a week’s time. If you don’t review what you’ve learned, it’s very likely you will only retain 10% of what you learned about the French Revolution. At some point you might just remember that a short guy named Napoleon was involved.

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However, if you review and rehearse it, you can see in the graph above how you will retain and memorize more over time. You will bump the retention level back up to 100%, and then the graph will start to become shallower, indicating less decay. The goal with the knowledge of the forgetting curve is to make the curve shallower—to make it resemble a horizontal line as much as possible. That would indicate very little decay, and doing that requires constant review and rehearsal. Ebbinghaus found patterns for memory loss and isolated two simple factors that affected the forgetting curve. First, the rate of decay was significantly blunted if the memory was strong and powerful and had personal significance to the person. Second, the amount of time and how old the memory was determined how quickly and severely it decayed. This suggests there is little we can do about forgetting other than to come up with tactics to assign personal significance to information and rehearse more often.

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As you can see, forgetting isn’t as simple as having something on the tip of your tongue or rummaging through the stores of your brain. There are very specific processes that make it a near-miracle that we actually retain as much as we do. Now that you’ve been inundated with more brain science than you’ve likely read since high school, let’s shift gears and talk about the psychological factors that are key to effective learning. This is nicely summed up in what’s called the learning success pyramid. This takes us from the biological processes to the psychological mindsets that help us in our goals. The Learning Success Pyramid Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden was also an astute personal philosopher who developed “the pyramid of success." He intended it as a diagram to guide students through 15 different “blocks” on the course to success in their personal and practical ventures. Wooden’s model has been appropriated by several others who have sought to provide roadmaps for success or accomplishment, including educator Susan Kruger.

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She developed the learning success pyramid, which identifies the necessary elements one must bring to ensure accomplishment in learning throughout their life. Thoughtfully, Kruger kept her number of blocks to three, down from Wooden’s 15 - • confidence • self-management • learning Confidence. At the base of Kruger’s pyramid is the self-conviction that we can learn. There’s no way around this prerequisite, and brain chemistry has something to do with it. If one is feeling hurt or mistrusted, or if they’re dealing with depression, stress, difficult personal issues, or fear, they don’t have any resources left to help them learn. We simply have no mental resources left to actually learn, because we are left dealing with the hamster wheel of anxiety and stress. Taken to the extreme, this can shift your brain into fight-or-flight mode. Just imagine being incredibly frightened by public speaking to the point that you can’t function.

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That’s why confidence in learning is important. If you’re running low in this area, be kind to yourself and take steps to affirm your learning abilities. You’ve learned everything in your life thus far from scratch. You may feel ignorant or that you’re not good enough—and that might be true, but it’s only a temporary condition. There’s not a single subject you can’t understand with perseverance and the occasional stretch of hard work. Resolve yourself to not giving up. Make plans for how you will learn. Be forgiving of yourself if you need to take a lot of time and mark your progress as you go along.

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If there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and you don’t think you can follow the rainbow, it starts to feel pointless. But if you believe that you can, this belief can carry you through demotivating times. The confidence aspect of learning is what makes it possible that you will even keep reading this book. Self-management. The next tier in the learning success pyramid is organizing one’s time, resources, tools, and communication to ensure effective learning. And once again, this process is dictated by how our brain handles incoming information. After our emotional centers are done processing new info, the next brain part to receive the data is the front brain, or the prefrontal cortex. This is a bit like our own personal assistant - it handles motor function, memory, language, problem-solving, impulse regulation, social behavior, and a bunch of other cognitive skills.

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When the front brain is exhausted or depleted, we experience a weariness that prevents us from getting anything done. This is known as ego depletion (this has been recently disproven to some degree, but it is fairly undeniable that the more you have on your plate, the more tired you will grow and the less attention and effort you will put into matters in front of you). The best way to combat this “brain drain” is by working on self-management skills, particularly organization. This simply means taking a lot of time ahead of any task to set up systems, routines, and actions that will make the task easier to execute on an ongoing basis. Preparation is often the critical difference between success and failure, so it’s vital not to rush through it. This is a skill that may have lain dormant since traditional education was all about imposing a rigorous schedule. But since we must become student and teacher simultaneously, we cannot afford to neglect this. This means putting a framework in place at the beginning that details how you’re going to execute.

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If you’re teaching yourself a foreign language, you’d want to make a list of books and online audio resources you’ll be using. You might want to make a list of how you’ll practice and test yourself—maybe with an online sound recorder or a smartphone. And at the end of the course, maybe you’ll translate a hefty amount of English text into the language you’re learning. This step might seem a little laborious, especially when you just want to jump into the material. But it will save a huge amount of time down the road and help you learn infinitely more. Regulating yourself into learning better is important because once you have led the horse to water (once you have found the resources), the horse must drink the water itself (you must do it yourself). Learning. Well, here you are.

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This is the third and final step to the learning process - the actual learning. With your confidence and self-management levels up to par, you’re all set up to learn. The thing is, learning itself is not a difficult task. But most people make the mistake of believing that this third stage is where they should begin, rather than addressing their confidence and self-regulation issues. They try to tackle learning Russian or French but don’t believe they can do it and don’t put together a coherent plan for learning and progression. What hope is there, then? Once you can overcome those hurdles in the learning pyramid, or at least address them, learning becomes possible. Summary - •To learn better, we need to tap into the learning brain that already exists inside of us.

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This involves understanding how our brain prefers to accept information and working with it instead of trying to cram information inside it like a clown car. In truth, there are always two brains waging war inside us - the prefrontal cortex, which allows us to learn, and the limbic system, which robs us of our senses. Of course, this is a problem that affects far more about our behavior than learning, but it is the first stop on our journey to neuro-learning. •In the end, we have three primary areas of focus that we can derive from brain physiology - information absorption (literally being able to process and intake information), information synthesis (the ability to analyze, comprehend, and make meaningful), and information retention (memorization and encoding). •For the last element of retention, we also dive into the three steps of creating a memory, which are encoding, storage, and retrieval. A failure to satisfy any of those steps will lead to quicker forgetting and the overall feeling that you haven’t quite learned something. •Before we dive into techniques that our brain enjoys, we take a quick look at the psychological prerequisites to learning. This is summed up in the learning success pyramid, where we find that confidence (I can do this) and self-management (I will make a plan for how to do this) are paramount to effective learning.

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by Russell Newton. Copyright: 2019