Evidence Based Teaching and Learning
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Who?
 Gary Luffman Director at think. change. consulting
 Focus on, Change, Leadership & Management, Learning and Development
 Practically apply Neuroscience & Psychology to work
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Agenda
 Limitations – Habits
 Getting info across
 Making it stick
 What? Now what?
So What?
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
What? – Now what?
Context, Drivers, Objectives, Outcomes
Architecture
• Structure
• Logistics
• Delivery
mechanisms
• Learner’s
journey
Design
• Content
• Learning
journey
• Delivery
resources
Delivery
• Implementation
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Embedding
• Application
• Habituation
Know thy friend/foe!
We are up against……..
Getting attention
Holding onto attention
Habits… (well limitations)
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
L&D = Cognitive process not
an event
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Ultimate measure
Not what you say, send, share….. but what others perceive
think, remember & apply
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Brain quiz
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Brain facts!
Agenda
 Limitations – Habits
 Getting info across
 Making it stick
 What? Now what?
So What?
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Processing Capacity
Limitations lead to habits
• Between 40-80% of what we do in a day is habituated
• 20 minutes of focussed attention
Vs.
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Name? Artist?
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Attention and memory
Novelty/Surprise
Primacy effect
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dream
sleep
night
mattress
snooze
sheet
nod
tired
Repetition
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night
artichoke
insomnia
blanket
night
alarm
nap
snore
pillow
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
False Memory?
• Bed
• Duvet
Recency effect
Limitations of pre-frontal cortex
PFC
Decision Making,
Rational Thought
Problem Solving
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Processing limitations
Shai Danziger, Jonathan Levav, and Liora Avnaim-Pesso
Extraneous factors in judicial decisions, PNAS 2011
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
So far……..so what?
Discuss and capture thoughts related to
teaching and learning
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Agenda
 Limitations – Habits
 Getting info across
 Making it stick
 What? Now what?
So What?
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
RAD learning
 Reticular activating system – Gatekeeper
 Amygdala - Emotions
 Dopamine – Pleasure/Reward
Judy Willis MD
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
RAD learning
 Reticular Activating System
‘Gateway’ to the brain
- Is it important? Is it interesting?
Attracted to:
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Need
Conscious, active choice
Personal focus
Challenge
Novelty
Variety
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
RAD learning
 Reticular Activating System – Gatekeeper
 Amygdala – Emotions
 Emotive has impact
 Distress, anxiety and negative
emotions undesirable
 Promote positive climate, safety
 Positive future/solutions
 Dopamine – Pleasure/Reward
 Social activity
 Physical activity
 Helping others
 Achievement /
Feedback
 Humour
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Agenda
 Limitations – Habits
 Getting info across
 Making it stick
 What? Now what?
So What?
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Storing ‘stuff’- From STM to LTM
Mechanism
 Neuroplasticity
- Long term potentiation (LTP)
- Neurones that ‘fire together wire together’
- Long term depression (LTD)
- Use it or loose it
 Help transfer through…
 Priming (flipped
classroom)
 Do less. Well.
 Staged repetition
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Deeper processing
Incorporation
Application
Retrieval practice
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Agenda
 Limitations – Habits
 Getting info across
 Making it stick
 What? Now what?
So What?
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
In relation to teaching &
learning….
What?
Brain Facts
Make info stick neuroplasticity
So What?
PFC = LTD
Limitations Lead to Habits
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Now What?
RAD learning
Learning = cog process
What? – Now what?
Context, Drivers, Objectives, Outcomes
Architecture
• Structure
• Logistics
• Delivery
mechanisms
• Learner’s
journey
Design
• Content
• Learning
journey
• Delivery
resources
Delivery
• Implementation
putting neuroscience and psychology to work
Embedding
• Application
• Habituation
Unfinished business?
putting neuroscience and psychology to work