#74: Student Well-Being: The Science of Learning

This is PART 6 in a series on student well-being. Throughout this series, I will explore what recent research has revealed about ways to create an environment in which all students can thrive.

For this series, I will be diving into my file of half-written articles and dust-covered books to learn more about topics like mastery learning, youth mental health, culturally responsive teaching and learning, culturally proficient SEL, the use of praise, the science of learning, equity in grading, and universal design of learning.

In my last post, I introduced the term academic tenacity. Academic Tenacity consists of the mindset and skills that allow students to focus on long-term or higher order goals. It's about working hard, working smart, and working for a long time. These skills are one piece of the achievement puzzle. There are several other cognitive factors that influence student achievement. Let's take a closer look at what the research says about how people learn and ways to apply it to the real-world classroom.

Before we dive in, I'd like you to take a moment to reflect on the following questions. Be honest, I won't make you share!

• How do you teach?
• Why do you teach this way?
• Does it work?
• How do you know if it works?

Did you find these questions to be challenging? I certainly did. I could easily tell you WHAT I teach, but HOW I teach and WHY I teach that way is much more difficult to answer. Quite honestly, most teacher education programs don't teach teachers how students learn! Luckily, there is some excellent research out there about this very topic.

Make Learning Stick
If you are looking for a great book about student learning, check out Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. In this book, cognitive scientists present key research about student learning and demonstrate how the findings can be applied directly to the classroom. The authors make the following claims:

1. Learning is a lifelong skill. We can purposefully cultivate growth in our learning using empirically-supported strategies.
2. Learning is deeper and more durable when it's effortful. Learning is hard work and there are no shortcuts.
3. We are poor judges of our own learning. We often think we know more than we do.
4. The most popular learning strategies are often the least effective. Re-reading notes, cramming, and highlighting do little to improve long-term learning.
5. Help is out there! There are scientists who are dedicated to studying how people learn. There are simple changes that can be made to everyday instruction that would yield huge benefits!

The Basics: Memory and Learning
At its most basic level, learning is a memory that has persisted over time. It is an event, skill, or experience that has been stored and can later be retrieved. We can't talk about learning without talking about memory. There are four stages of memory processing; attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval. First, to learn we must pay attention. The job of your sensory memory is to sort out all of the information that you receive at any given time and to direct your attention. Secondly, our working memory has a limited capacity and duration. Take a closer look at the cartoon on the right of your screen. Can you relate? I know I certainly can! Researchers estimate that we can hold between 5-9 pieces of information in our working memory at one time. Thirdly, for a memory to endure it has to be stored in long-term memory. There is no known limit to the amount of information that can be stored in our LTM. Lastly, how we store information matters. Our brain is wired to make connections. Learning changes the physical structure of the brain. 

One of the most amazing things about the human brain is its ability to modify, change, and adapt throughout our life. This process is called neuroplasticity. When we learn we are  changing the physical structure of our brains. How cool is that?? Take a moment to watch the video below. I am in awe every time I see it. This is footage of neurons (brain cells) making connections with other neurons in the brain. It is the physical manifestation of learning!

A Few Takeaways

• Don't assume that students are able to accurately gauge their own learning.
• Don't assume that students know how to study.
• Do share with your students how their memory works.
• Do provide your students with research-based strategies that leverage how they learn.

In my next post, I will share 4 "Power Tools" that will help you leverage the psychology of learning in your own classroom. In the meantime, if you are looking for a great book (or two) to read this summer I recommend checking out the following books about the psychology of learning.

Powerful Teaching (affiliate link)
Make It Stick (affiliate link)
Why Don't Students Like School (affiliate link)

Be Well,
Cori

If you received this in your inbox, I have a new website! Check out https://ablendedlearningjourney.com/ for additional resources!

Other Posts in this Series:

#69: Student Well-Being: Leveraging Mastery Experiences to Build Student Self-Efficacy
#70: Student Well-Being: Youth Mental Health First Aid
#71: Student Well-Being: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning
#72: Student Well-Being: Culturally Proficient SEL
#73: Student Well-Being: Praise and Performance
#74: Student Well-Being: The Science of Learning
#75: Student Well-Being: Power Up Your Teaching
#78: Student Well-Being: Universal Design in Learning

Resources:

Agarwal, P. (n.d.). Unleash the science of Learning – Retrieval Practice. Unleash Learning. Retrieved May 26, 2022, from https://www.retrievalpractice.org/

Agarwal, P. K., & Bain, P. M. (2019). Powerful teaching: Unleash the science of learning. Jossey-Bass.

BROWN, P. E. T. E. R. C. (2018). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. BELKNAP HARVARD.

Flannery, M. E. (n.d.). The Science of Learning. NEA. Retrieved May 26, 2022, from https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/science-learning

Powerful teaching: Unleash the science of learning. Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2022, from https://www.powerfulteaching.org/

The Science of Learning. Derek Bok Center, Harvard University. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2022, from https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/science-learning

Weinstein, Y., Madan, C. R., & Sumeracki, M. A. (2018). Teaching the science of learning. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-017-0087-y