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"Understanding the Brain", The Birth of a Learning Science, 2007, page 121
"Improve Your Memory (3)!"
“Is it not Better to Learn to Learn?”
“Is it not Better to Learn to Learn?”
There are a great number of techniques to improve memory, but they tend to act on a particular type of memory only, whether through mnemonics, repetitions of the same stimulus, or the creation of concept maps (giving meaning to things that they do not necessarily have in order to learn them more easily).
Joseph Novak has devoted considerable study to concept maps (see Novak, 2003) who noticed a significant increase in the ability of high school physics students to resolve problems through the use of these concept maps. This work still lacks a brain imaging study to define the cerebral areas activated during these different processes. Nevertheless, it has been observed that different areas of the brain are activated, depending to whether the subject is a novice or not in the subject concerned.
Neurological studies are thus still needed to understand how memory works. Considerable individual diversities exist, and the same individuals will use their memory differently throughout the lifespan depending on their age.
The science has nevertheless confirmed the role played by physical exercise, the active use of the brain, and a well-balanced diet (including fatty acids), in developing memory and reducing the risk of degenerative diseases.
Questions relating to the use of memory in current teaching methods and, especially to the critical role played by memory in student evaluation and certification in many OECD education systems, will probably have to be reconsidered in the future in light of new neuroscientific discoveries. Many such programmes rely more on memory than comprehension. The question “Is it not better to learn to learn?” cannot be answered through neuroscience but it remains highly pertinent.
Joseph Novak has devoted considerable study to concept maps (see Novak, 2003) who noticed a significant increase in the ability of high school physics students to resolve problems through the use of these concept maps. This work still lacks a brain imaging study to define the cerebral areas activated during these different processes. Nevertheless, it has been observed that different areas of the brain are activated, depending to whether the subject is a novice or not in the subject concerned.
Neurological studies are thus still needed to understand how memory works. Considerable individual diversities exist, and the same individuals will use their memory differently throughout the lifespan depending on their age.
The science has nevertheless confirmed the role played by physical exercise, the active use of the brain, and a well-balanced diet (including fatty acids), in developing memory and reducing the risk of degenerative diseases.
Questions relating to the use of memory in current teaching methods and, especially to the critical role played by memory in student evaluation and certification in many OECD education systems, will probably have to be reconsidered in the future in light of new neuroscientific discoveries. Many such programmes rely more on memory than comprehension. The question “Is it not better to learn to learn?” cannot be answered through neuroscience but it remains highly pertinent.
"Understanding the Brain", The Birth of a Learning Science, 2007, page 121
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