Learning how to learn: the contribution of neuroeducation (#Part 2)

Learning to learn: a few prerequisites

So yes, our loulous are real little sponges when it comes to learning, and their assimilation faculties are often bluffing. But to help their brains develop, there are a few prerequisites to respect…

The 4 pillars of learning:

Research carried out by Stanislas Dehaene, PhD in cognitive psychology, has highlighted four fundamental pillars for promoting learning from an early age.

1. Capturing attention: a child’s ability to assimilate new knowledge begins with well-directed attention. Rather than simply asking him to “pay attention”, clarify what he needs to focus on, whether it’s a specific task or a key point in a lesson. This minimizes distractions and focuses his attention.
   To keep the child engaged and curious, combine stimulating questions, impactful visual aids and captivating stories.
   A clearly defined “attentional target” makes it easier for the child to understand where and how to focus his efforts.
2. Engaging the child in learning: for a child to assimilate effectively, it’s crucial that he’s involved in his learning. Encourage them to ask questions, interact and apply what they learn.
   On the program: educational games, creative workshops and fun experiments! 🎲
3. Provide constructive feedback: to guide the child effectively, giving feedback is very important. Your feedback offers him insight into both his successes and areas for improvement. It also enables the adult to adjust the teaching approach if necessary to better meet the needs of his little student.
   ✏ Note: It’s not fun to mess up! No… But if you think about it, every misstep is a golden opportunity to find out what’s wrong and improve. What if, as Pierre-Paul Gagné, renowned psychologist and expert in neuroeducation suggests, our daily “Oops!” were actually valuable lessons? Welcome to the fascinating world of “oupsology”.
4. Foster moments of consolidation: learning doesn’t stop once the subject has been covered. To firmly anchor new knowledge, it’s essential to offer children regular moments to review and practice. This “reactivation” process rekindles what has been learned in the child’s mind.
   Exercises, group discussions, role-playing and interactive quizzes will be your best allies in reactivating and reinforcing knowledge, ensuring its lasting integration.

The importance of breaks

Another dimension, often underestimated, plays a valuable role in ensuring successful learning: the break. Giving yourself a break is important… and all the more so with children! ⏸

• To consolidate memorization: after being exposed to new information, the brain needs to “breathe” and have time to process it. A break gives it the opportunity to sort and memorize this new data efficiently.
• To restore attention: sustained concentration can exhaust the child. Moments of relaxation allow them to recharge their attentional reserves and approach the next stage of learning with greater distance and receptivity.
• To foster creativity: breaks let the mind wander, often inducing new perspectives on what has been assimilated and opening the door to new ideas. 💡

Lifestyle

Quality learning doesn’t just rely on proven teaching methods. Neuroeducation also emphasizes the key role of lifestyle hygiene and the general well-being of our little protégés.

Three fundamentals are worth keeping an eye on:

1. Sleep: essential for the child’s brain, it enables the information absorbed during the day to be processed and reinforced. The essential is memorized, and the superfluous, discarded. 💤
2. Nutrition: vital for supplying energy to the brain (glucose), a balanced diet rich in fruit, vegetables, proteins and whole grains boosts concentration, memory and promotes other cognitive functions in children. 🥦
3. Exercise: physical activity is crucial not only for the health of our big babies, but also for the well-being of their already overstretched brains. Exercise stimulates oxygen supply, promotes neuronal growth and releases hormones that are conducive to good cognition. So, for revitalized attention and memory: family walks, outdoor activities and a soccer match in the playground! ⚽
   ✏ Note: To find out more, check out the article: Sport & Brain: the benefits of sport for children.

Practice and repetition

Learning is often compared to a wave that rises and falls, oscillating between troughs of forgetfulness and peaks of understanding. 🌊 Thanks to neuroeducation, parents, teachers and remediation professionals have a better grasp of these fluctuations and how they influence children’s assimilation of new knowledge.

• The learning curve

Learning is a cyclical process. At each stage, having acquired knowledge or a skill, the child puts it into practice. In a subsequent phase, he revises and consolidates it, integrating new information. Reactivation is essential to this process.

Each cycle of revision and deepening strengthens neuronal connections, anchoring the information a little more firmly in long-term memory.

• The forgetting curve

Forgetting is a natural mechanism put in place by the brain to eliminate information deemed superfluous. However, without regular review or practice, crucial information, too, risks being lost.

The magic formula to thwart forgetfulness? Reactivation + Deepening! ✅

✏ Note: Like a muscle strengthened by regular exercise, neuronal connections grow stronger with practice and repetition. 💪 An example? Take learning English! At first, few neuronal connections are established because the language is new. But as the lessons progress, more and more connections are formed and trace a path through the brain, making each learning session more fluid and accessible… Of course! 💬

The Babaoo recap

A veritable revolution in the world of education, neuroeducation offers us not only an unprecedented understanding of brain mechanisms and learning, but also concrete tools to teach our children… to learn! 🚀

By placing the brain and its prodigious plasticity at the heart of the educational scene, neuroeducation recognizes the uniqueness of each child and values an individualized approach to learning.

More than just a method, neuroeducation is a genuine paradigm shift that invites teachers, parents and children themselves to adopt a holistic approach to education, where the learning process becomes as meaningful as knowledge itself. After all, the journey is often as beautiful as the destination, isn’t it? 😉