Ready to Learn? The Experiment

Tips on how to be readier to learn

Reproduced below is the list of the six tips The Experiment software gaveevery completing participant aged 11 and over on their computer screen, followed by some teacher notes on these tips and the science references.

KS3/4 Tips on how to be readier to learn

  • Eat a high fibre breakfast (e.g. cereals or bread). Avoid too much sugary food and drink as this could lead to a drop in concentration during the day.
  • Get a good night’s sleep – this is one of the most important factors. Your brain and body need “down-time” to restore themselves.
  • Regular exercise or a brisk walk outside will improve the flow of oxygen to your brain, potentially helping it to function more effectively.
  • Most of the brain’s mass is water, so it is important to stay hydrated. But avoid strong coffee, and sugary and carbonated soft drinks, as they can actually dehydrate you.
  • When learning facts, don’t cram. Facts stick better in your mind if you repeat them just once or twice, then do something else, before coming back to them.
  • Relax and take time out – staying calm will make it easier to concentrate.

Teacher notes

Diet

Researchershave looked at theeffect of breakfast composition on cognitive processes in elementaryschool children and found that it is also what the children consume forbreakfast that is important. They suggest that high-fibre, low GI (Glycaemic Index) food may provide a slower and more sustained energy source, resulting in cognitive enhancement, notably increased memory and attention,compared to low-fibre highGI or sugary food.

Sleep

Getting quality sleep has been shown to have an impact on readiness to learn. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body (including your brain) cannot operate effectively (in some cases, it has been shown that rats will die if continually deprived of sleep for two weeks). Stress management and positive thinking ability are also reduced if a person does not get enough sleep, both of which will not be conducive to a good learning environment. Research has also shown that people who get an extra hour’s sleep do better at problem solving.

Exercise

With regards to regular exercise, the British Government’s Healthy Schools Initiative has established links between pupils doing more sports activities at school and an increase in performance at GCSE. It is also known that exercise is a effective form of stress relief and promotes a healthy cardio-vascular system, essential for good blood circulation.

The brain requires a good supply of oxygen in order to function correctly (approx. 3.3 ml O2 per 100 g of brain tissue per minute). Exposure to fresh (outdoor) air and the associated change of environment can also be psychologically beneficial. Tests have shown that cognitive ability is impaired when oxygen levels are significantly reduced. (In extreme circumstances, a condition known as hypoxic hypoxia sets in when oxygen levels become dangerously low e.g. in a depressurised aircraft cabin. In these circumstances, subjects have been unable to perform very simple arithmetic calculations or answer questions.)

Fluids

There are indications in the published literature that cognitive function, as assessed by decision making and reaction time tests, is impaired at relatively low levels of dehydration. This may be important when decisions have to be made or where judgement and skill are involved. Moreover, there is objective data, using tests of cortical function, which supports the deterioration of mental performance in mildly dehydrated younger adults. However, the theories as to why this happens are a subject of debate, and current research trends are driven by hypotheses based on the integration of cellular and hormonal theories, as explanations for cognitive dysfunction in dehydrated states.

Memory

When it comes to successful learning strategies and memorising facts, psychologists have shown that an effective approach is to move some items into and out of the working memoryor short-term memory of the brain rapidly. This could be bymemorising facts and then doing something completely different before coming back to them. Taking this step a bit further, one should increase the time period between each recalling of the fact from memory, so that it becomes easier for the working memory to retrieve that bit of information from the long-term memory.

Psychologists use the term automaticity to refer to the ability to chunk or to move information between long-term and working memory so rapidly and efficiently that the processes require practically no attention on the part of the learner. Automaticity is absolutely essential to human learning and information processing: without it, a huge bottleneck occurs that inhibits learning. The main process by which learners develop automaticity is called overlearning.

Stress

With regards to stress levels, several recent studies of humans correlate stress with atrophy of the hippocampus, an area of the brain required for memory and cognition. Stress also affects the function of chemical receptors in the brain.

References

Benton D, Maconie A, Williams C, “The influence of the glycaemic load of breakfast on the behaviour of children in school.” Physiology & Behavior, 23(92), 717-24, (2007).

Killgore, WD, Kahn-Greene, ET, Lipizzi, EL, Newman, RA, Kamimori, GH, Balkin, TJ, “Sleep deprivation reduces perceived emotional intelligence and constructive thinking skills.” Sleep Med,

29 Aug 2007.

Gopinathan PM, Pichan G & Sharma VM,“Role of dehydration in heat stress-induced variations in mental performance.”Arch. Environ. Health43, 15–17 (1988).

Mahoney, CR, Taylor, HA, Kanarek, RB & Samuel, P, “Effect of breakfast composition on cognitive processes in elementary school children.” Physiology & Behavior, 85(5), 635-645 (2005).

McEwen BS, Sopolsky RM, “Stress and Cognitive Function”, Cognitive Neuroscience, MIT Press, ISBN 026269204X, 173-174 (1998).

Wesnes, KA, Pincock, C, Richardson, D, Helm, G, Hails, S, “Breakfast reduces declines in attention and memory over the morning in schoolchildren.” Appetite, 41(3) 329-331 (2003).

Wilson M-M G,Morley J E, “Impaired cognitive function and mental performance in mild dehydration.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition57(2)24–29 (2003).

Cerebral hypoxia, Wikipedia, retrieved on 16 February 2008.

Human Body and Mind: The psychology of memory, BBC, retrieved on 22 February 2008.

The Memory Experience: Cramming doesn’t work!, BBC Radio 4, retrieved on 21 February 2008.

PE lessons to teach pupils more about healthy lifestyles to beat obesity, DCSF, 1 February 2005, retrieved on 16 February 2008.

Ready to Learn? The Science Behind the Experiment, Teachers TV, 6 February 2008.

Robert Sapolsky discusses physiological effects of stress, Stanford University, 7 March 2007, retrieved on 21 February 2008.

Tips on becoming Readier to Learn - age 11 and over. 29-02-2008 Page 1