Different Learning Models

 Different Learning Models

M. Bakri Musa

Excerpt #20 from my Qur’an, Hadith, And Hikayat:  Exercises In Critical Thinking

 

 

Those various learning theories and techniques notwithstanding, there are some commonalities. One, learning is facilitated when you are happy. The “joy” neurotransmitters secreted at the nerve endings when you are happy are the same neurotransmitters needed to create those new learning circuits. One of the best and most enjoyable ways to learn a new language is through singing; hence nursery rhymes in preschool. The joy neurotransmitters triggered by music enhances learning. Great teachers also bring joy to their pupils when they teach.

 

         Along the same vein, a school in Chicago does not give its students failing grades. Instead, the teachers would write “Not Yet!” as in not yet ready for a passing grade. What a wonderful way to communicate the same information without imparting a permanent debilitating label or branding of an individual!

 

         To be tagged a failure is one of the most destructive and greatest obstacles to learning, more so for the young. That “Not Yet” notation reflects a profound enlightened attitude as well as respect those teachers have of their students as individuals.

 

         There is however, a discordant observation. During the Japanese Occupation my father, like many, had no difficulty learning Japanese despite it being a much more difficult language, made worse by its unfamiliar kanji script. The Japanese teaching technique was the very opposite of what modern neuroscience would dictate. Learn, or else! That “or else” was the most effective motivator. Those Japanese instructors struck fear, not joy, in their students. What gives?

 

         When my father and others learned Japanese during WWII, it was not so much motivated by the desire to acquire a new language, rather for survival. That is a much more powerful motivator. As for the long-term effect, within a few years after the Japanese surrender my father had forgotten most of what he had learned!

 

         Not all however were like him. The famed economist Ungku Aziz remembered his Japanese well enough to pursue his doctoral studies in Japan.

 

         These various learning models work best for different individuals, at different phases in their lives, and under varying environments, as well as to the content of learning. Effective teachers optimize all these elements.

 

         Another wrinkle to learning relates to the subject matter as reflected by such statements as “I can’t do math!” Mathematical abilities vary with cultural and social groups. Some would also add race. Whether that has more to do with environment, biology, or teaching methods is conjectural. East Asians excel in mathematics with their tried-and-true drill and rote memorization techniques.

 

         As for socioeconomic status, the poor do not perform well and not just in mathematics. In some instances, those could be traced to their environment, with lead poisoning being the most notorious culprit contributing to learning problems. Lead is found in old paints and in the air with the use of leaded gasoline, still common in the Third World. Also mentioned earlier, worm infestations endemic among the poor.

 

         A recent study showed some intriguing neurobiological correlates of mathematical abilities. In Britain as in Malaysia, students do not have to take mathematics after Year 11 (Form V). That provides an opportunity for an “experiment of nature” to compare those who continued taking mathematics versus those who did not.

 

         Using special brain imaging studies focusing on the two key regions known to be involved in numeracy, they tested the mathematical skills between those who continued their math studies versus those who did not. No surprise there, the latter scored lower. Then they scanned the students’ brain to determine the levels of the neurotransmitter GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) and glutamate. Both levels correlated with the students’ mathematical skills and whether they had continued with their math studies at “A” (Form VI) level.

 

         Those two neurotransmitters are known to be related to neuroplasticity, the ability to learn new things and discard old unneeded networks. Not continuing with learning mathematics reduces the two neurotransmitters’ levels and thus the students’ neuroplasticity with respect to numeracy.

 

         The takeaway for Malaysia is that we must continue mathematics for all students, right up to first year university, if not at least through to Form VI (13 years). To be accepted into the University of California system, the highest of the state’s three-tier system, you have to take math throughout your high school (12 years). That includes calculus. In top US colleges all students have to take a year of mathematics. Would-be American medical students must take calculus and statistics during their pre-med years.

 

Next:  Excerpt # 21:  Growth Versus Fixed Mindset