Brain-based learning: principles and educational applications

Brain-Based Learning

There are various learning theories that educationists and psychologists come up with in elation to the process by which people and children in specific acquire knowledge f things that surround them. One of theories that help explain the learning process is the Brain-Based Learning theory. This is a theory that focuses more on the characteristics of the human brain and how that facilitates learning and ultimately education process at the schooling age. It indicates that the human brain is constantly searching for meaning as well as looking for patters and connections between items that the human eye sees everyday. This constant search for meaning hence requires an authentic environment where the child can learn and easily make connections between the new objects they come across and in the process retain the new information that they may come across. According to the Brain-based learning theory therefore, a relaxed and non-threatening atmosphere which does not heighten the fears that may be within a student but instead reduces them, especially that fear of failure is considered to be prerequisite in enhancing the learning of the child. The other significant aspect of the theory is that it views the brain as an organ that has some extent of plasticity. This means that the brain has the capability to grow and accommodate extra information that may be stimulated by external stimuli. It is not static such that it accommodates only the initially learnt information but has the capability to respond to any extra external stimuli that may require that the individual learns more than before and at a faster rate (ASCD, 2014). This is the case with the school process where at the lower grades, the brain accommodates the little information given and as the student progresses to higher grades the external stimuli become stringer and more complex but the brain is able to expand and accommodate that as well.

The other central and applicable tenet of this theory is that learning involves the entire physiology of the student. This is based on the fact that the other body organs contribute significantly to the growth of the neurons and the brain at large. This means that the stress that affects the brain can emanate from any of the other organs say a problem with the heart or even a tooth. Effectively, there is need in the educational system to manage stress as part of the learning process and every teacher must be trained on how to do this since stress can negatively affect learning. There is also need to have the right nutrition, exercises and drug education in order for there to be a balanced learning process.

The theory also portends that learning and search for meaning is innate. This means that the brain records the familiar but at the same time looks for new stimuli. As an educationist therefore, there is need to help the student recall the familiar and have it in memory but also trigger their curiosity to learn more. The learning environment needs to provide for the learning of new concepts as the student grows from one grade to another.