How the Brain Learns: Lessons for Leadership Mike Timms Director, Assessment and Psychometric Research, ACER Rob Hester ARC Future Fellow & Associate Professor, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne 12 August 2014, VASSP Conference

Collaborating Organisations Partner Organisations

How the Learning Brain works – evidence-based practice for assisting learning Rob Hester ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor School of Psychological Sciences University of Melbourne 4

Memory Test 5 Rest Awake tired Dream wake snooze snore Nap Yawn Drowsy Bed Pillow

6 Core Concepts

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9 Because memories are formed from synchronously active but sparse connections within a neural network provides an explanation their associative nature and imperfections

Memory Test 10 Please write down a list of the words you can remember from the list I showed you earlier Order isn’t important

Sensory processing is integrated with emotional states and motor planning Remembering an event, fact or procedure reactivates the set of synapses that previously encoded them This process also reopens the initial plasticity along with the probability for further reinforcing or weakening of the activation pattern The latter effect explains the variable and unreliable nature or memory and why we forget inconsequential daily details 11 Learning

Memory We do not store information in our long-term memory by making a literal recording We record by relating information in terms of its meaning to us we are an active participant in the learning process, including interpreting, connecting, interrelating and elaborating NOT SIMPLY RECORDING –Direct implications for passive learning strategies (note-taking, reading over) Our capacity for storing information we want to learn is essentially unlimited –Storing information in memory creates capacity because of the new opportunities for additional linkages and storage 12

Memory If information is encoded in memory it will generally remain stored, though not necessarily accessible Accessing information from memory is not ‘playback’ but rather a fallible process that includes inferring and reconstructing When we recall the past, we are driven, unconsciously, to make our recollections fit our background knowledge, expectations and current context –See 9/11 Retrieved information becomes more recallable in the future –Retrieval induced forgetting 13

Learning In summary –To create durable and flexible access to information you wish to learn 1.Achieve a meaningful encoding of that information that is based upon a broader framework of already known interrelated concepts and ideas 2.Practice the retrieval process over ever increasing duration - Life jacket training 14

Learning Knowing how to manage our own learning activities is an important educational tool, but most of us do not know how to assess and manage our own learning Our introspections/intuition about our own learning appear to be unreliable guide to how we should manage our own learning 15

Strategies for study Manage the conditions of your learning –Space rather than mass your study sessions on a to-be-learned topic –Interleave, rather than block, successive study or practice sessions on separate to be learned topics –Vary the conditions under which you learn and retrieve to create new and varied cues for recall Beware that all these strategies have short-term costs and can appear to slow the rate of learning 16

Strategies for study Many students are not formally trained in the use of effective strategies –Assumption that our education system should teach content Students experience may sometimes lead them to believe ineffective strategies are more effective –Kornell (2009) 90% of High School students had better performance with spaced versus massed practice 72% of the students rated mass practice as more effective Illusion may be due to the ease of processing 17

Strategies for study Many students are not formally trained in the use of effective strategies –Assumption that our education system should teach content Students experience may sometimes lead them to believe ineffective strategies are more effective –Kornell (2009) 90% of High School students had better performance with spaced versus massed practice 72% of the students rated mass practice as more effective Illusion may be due to the ease of processing How do we know if these strategies are working, or if we can stop studying? 18

Memory Test 19 Daydream Rest Snore Tired Pillow Sheet Sleep Please decide whether each of these words was on the original list I showed you earlier

Memory Test 20 Daydream Rest Snore Tired Pillow Sheet Sleep How confident (out of 5) are you about each of your choices?

Memory Test 21 Daydream Rest Snore Tired Pillow Sheet Sleep

Which impacts learning the most? 1.Study, Study 2.Study, Test

Why does testing improve learning?

“Effortful learning”

What happens during learning Neurons make new connections through synapse formation (synaptogenesis) Communication among neurons is strengthened or weakened by patterns of use

LEARNER TEACHER EXTERNAL FEEDBACK INTERNAL FEEDBACK A (very) simplified model of feedback Interactive Two-Feedback-Loops (ITFL) model (Narciss 2006) Instructional factors Learner factors

The internal controller

Processes the learner’s own conception of the task and the internal feedback

The internal controller Processes the learner’s own conception of the task and the internal feedback Compares his/her conception with the internal feedback

The internal controller Processes the learner’s own conception of the task and the internal feedback Compares his/her conception with the internal feedback Compares his/her conception with the external feedback

The internal controller Processes the learner’s own conception of the task and the internal feedback Compares his/her conception with the internal feedback Compares his/her conception with the external feedback Compares the internal feedback with the external feedback

The internal controller Processes the learner’s own conception of the task and the internal feedback Compares his/her conception with the internal feedback Compares his/her conception with the external feedback Compares the internal feedback with the external feedback Generates an internal “control action” (e.g., corrects an error, asks for clarification, etc)

Enhancing the effect TYPE OF TEST Items that took longer to respond to enhanced learning more – E.g., short answer, prompted recall, free recall Items that take less effort produced a smaller effect – E.g., multiple choice, true or false TIMING OF TEST It has been argued that you should increase the spacing between tests Other researchers have found that evenly spaced tests work just as well Either are better than just ‘massed” quizzing

Enhancing the effect FEEDBACK STYLE Make feedback non- threatening – E.g., computer-based tutoring where the student interacts with the system – E.g., Student testing his/herself FEEDBACK STYLE Make Feedback relevant – Focus on what to do next – Provide worked examples

Implications for teaching Embedded assessment can aid learning Embedded assessments that engage the students in recall of the material Students who are studying can test themselves

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