The Brain and Learning

This week we explored outside resources to find new information related to the brain and learning.  It's fascinating to me how many different layers are involved in learning and instructional design.  We dip into science, psychology, education, design, and so much more.  This week seemed heavy on the science side but I think it was good for me to learn about how much is really involved in processing and interpreting information in relation to the brain itself.

http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/127/4/851.full.pdf+html

The first article I found was very science-y, if you will.  It's called, "Cortico‐striatal contributions to feedback‐based learning: converging data from neuroimaging and neuropsychology."  There were a lot of terms referenced that I didn't necessarily fully understand however, I still found it interesting and useful because of its references to memory and the learning process.  The article focused on the brain's functions of task performance and how it is affected by learning situations and by brain disorders.  Much of the article referred to brains affected by Parkinson's disease as the learning disorder and focused on how memory and learning was influenced depending on the type of instruction and the role of feedback.  The article made me realize how research on brain disorders can teach us a lot about normal brain functions and which areas of the brain are important for certain functions.

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=125&sid=70051066-99f4-4648-ba75-74238868f4d5%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=eric&AN=EJ720663

This next article that I found through the Walden Database is titled, "Left Brain. Right Brain. Whole Brain."  It was interesting because it discussed the left-brain, right-brain, hemisphere distinction in depth in relation to information processing and what appeals to students who fall into either category.  I thought it was interesting proof that a lot of educational materials have this hemisphere-oriented education so valued when only a small blurb at the end of the article was devoted to "Whole-Brain" importance and the fact that both hemispheres are involved in the learning process.  Granted, this article was geared toward library media specialists, but I think that many of the points discussed can translate to education at large.

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=125&sid=70051066-99f4-4648-ba75-74238868f4d5%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=eric&AN=EJ926795

Another article from the Walden Database, "Feedback Specificity, Information Processing, and Transfer of Training," describes how learners respond differently to trainings depending on feedback and how specific the feedback is.  This article attracted me because of its connection to the first article that I posted on, which also had to do with feedback and learning.  This article differed from the first article in many ways however, where it actually goes into depth on the different types of feedback in training/education and its effectiveness or ineffectiveness in given situations.  I found this article interesting also because I felt it gave some helpful insight to information processing.