The way of
learning
From Kaj Jordison
See
“Preparing the brain to remember”,
Outlook section page 5
Today
we’re going to read about the
brain and how it works when it’s memorising new information.
This should be of
much importance to students in general, even though, I imagine, most
students
have already left school and colleges for the long awaited summer
break. Anyway,
this information, which we’ll receive from reading the
article, is going to be
most useful in the upcoming academic year.
Most people have at one point or
another become very frustrated of not
being able to recall something that you thought
you’d stored in
your memory; for example, the needed information for a test. I myself
remember
several exams at university were I was unable to recall things that I
knew,
most definitely, that I had read in preparation for the tests. And
after
reading this article, I now know why that might have happened.
According to neuroscientists,
we successfully remember
information if we have an appropriate frame of mind while
studying, and
not just during and after the time of studying, but also before it.
They
conducted several memory tests, and the tests showed that we have to
prepare
our brains for the information before we actually receive the
information. Thus,
just reading whatever’s going to be covered on an exam
isn’t enough,
preparations also has to take place before the books are opened. You
have to
put yourself in the correct frame of mind to be
able to remember all
that you strive to remember.
The results of the research are, at
least according to me, important to how
many subjects should be taught in the classroom. What do the scientists
say
about learning? How should we learn? Do you agree with the scientist?
How is
learning perceived in your school?
Vocabulary
recall
– to
remember; recollect
store
– to
put away for future use; to reserve
neuroscientists
– scientists
who specialise in the study of the brain
frame
of mind – a
certain way to think about things; the way your mind is set up at a
certain
time
primed
– made
ready; prepared
scanning
– examining
predict
– to
foretell something; to make something known in advance
subsequent
– following
in time or order
appeared
– became
visible
sprung
– appeared
or came into being quickly
electroencephalogram
– a
graphic record of the electrical activity of the brain
as
opposed to – in
contrast to; opposite something else
conscious
– having
an awareness of one’s own existence, sensations, and thoughts
ensuing
– following
immediately and as a result of what went before
accurate
– errorless;
within acceptable limits from a standard
aurally
– with
regard to sound or the ear; something that you hear
evident
– easily
seen
hammers
home – states
or proves that something is probably true
rote
– a
memorising process using routine or repetition, often without full
attention or
comprehension
regurgitate
– to
rush or surge back
inevitably
– impossible
to prevent or avoid
subtle
– so
slight it’s difficult to see or describe