How we learn

This is what I found interesting about how we learn  This post will be a bit longer than usual but I will try to give a brief explanation of:

• the three main ways the brain learns,
• what children learn first in each, and
• the areas of the brain which are affected.  Future posts will develop each of these in more detail.

1.  From back to front

     Vision (occipital lobe)

     Hearing (temporal lobes)

     Language production (motor & speech area)

     Abstract reasoning, planning, and understanding consequences of actions (frontal

          lobes)

2.  From Inside Out

     Emotions (limbic systems)

     Processing of incoming information for thinking & planning, sensory processing,

          & memory storage (outer cortex)

3.  From the Bottom Up

     Body functions such as heartbeat, breathing and temperature control (brain stem)

     Ability to maintain focus of your attention, control your emotions, and coordinate

          fine motor movements (outer cortex)

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You can stop reading now.  However, if you want more information and have the time,

read on to see how Dr. Stamm demonstrates the brain is like a bagel, a pencil, and tissue

paper.

A pencil represents the brain stem (#3 above),

a bagel represents the limbic system (#2 above), and

six layers of tissue paper wrapped around the bagel represent the cortex

(the outermost area of the brain)--In a real brain, the cortex is the gray, highly folded

outer wrinkles we typically think of when we visualize a brain.

Brain stem (pencil) - your autonomic systems (breathing, heartbeat, etc.)

     These don't vary much except when under stress or doing strenuous exercise.

     Premature babies need additional support with these systems and even

          full-term babies may take a few months to regulate.  Anyone have a baby that

          took time to learn to sleep through the night?

Limbic system (bagel) - emotions

     Grouping of separate yet interconnected structure that process the emotional

          nature of all incoming information

     The most familiar function of this system is "fight or flight" response; it originates

           in the amygdala

     Storage and retrieval of one's memories is handled by the hippocampus

     The thalamus receives information coming into the brain through the senses

           (except for smell) and relays it to the proper area of the cortex (vision, hearing,

           and motor)

     The limbic system is essentially wired from birth to age five, which is why it is

           important for babies to have safe, secure, and loving environments.  When

           they don't have this environment, their amygdala and hippocampus are smaller

           and don't function properly.  They have difficulty learning if they have been

           neglected or abused because they sacrifice the ability to learn because they are

           constantly monitoring their environment for harm or how to satisfy their basic

           needs

Neocortex or cortex (tissue paper) - incoming information is both processed & stored

     Essential communication occurs between the limbic system and the cortex through

           the thalamus and the ability of the cortex to function optimally depends on the

           healthy formation of the limbic system underneath

     Important because this is where memory is processed and stored -- so important in

           school and life (remembering reading and language skills, creativity, solving

           problems, and standing quietly in line).  These skills also play a critical role in

           the self-esteem your child develops since the child can pay attention and more

           easily absorb information, retain more, and be better able to control behavior

           and emotional reactions to others.

That's it for the technical part (for now).  The next posts will discuss the development of some of these stages and what you can do to make learning easier.

Quote

After my last post, I didn’t want you thinking that I’m sharing this information so that your child will be a genius.  Here’s a quote from the book that explains my intentions better.  There are simple things that, if they are done consistently and with a loved one, will impact your child positively for future learning and these things don’t cost much.  Share them with your friends.

“Sometimes parents interpret the new brain evidence to mean that if you do more and more of the “right things” with your child, she can become a genius.  That’s not what the scientific findings suggest at all.  The data does not support the idea of brainy videos at six months, baby software at twelve months, and Chinese lessons at age two.  Far from it.  It turns out, a very young child’s future success depends less on “academics” ... than on such critical factors as whether your baby loves her babysitter, how often she hears bedtime stories , and how much time you spend on the cell phone of in front of the TV yourself.”

xii, ‘About This Book’, Bright from the Start by Jill Stamm, Ph.D.

My next post will explain how the brain develops.  That's what has taken me so long for another post.  Before you think, “Oh no, this will be boring!”---try it, you may like it! 

How important is the first year?

True or false? - The first year of development isn't that important.  After all, the baby just eats, sleeps, cries, and is dependent on others for so much.

False - The first year(s) can be supremely important.

"Thanks to new technologies that make it possible to safely "see" inside a living, working brain, the medical world now knows that a huge amount of the brains' functioning and capacity develops after birth--and that a baby or toddler's early experiences can greatly influence his or her future learning potential."  (ix in 'About This Book')

Dr. Stamm mentioned that we spend lots of educational dollars later in life remediating learning problems when the first 3 years (before they are even in school) are critical to preparing children for learning experiences.

One fact that surprised me was that a baby's brain is 25% of its adult weight and volume at birth but, by age 2, has grown to 75%, and will be almost at its adult size (90%) by age 5.  This doesn't mean a person has learned 90% of the information he/she will learn but it does mean that these years are formative in how the information flows through the brain and how the brain processes information.

And you thought the baby was just laying there doing nothing!  It is learning so much from these first months.  Let's help by doing some simple, inexpensive, and consistent things---the ABCs mentioned in the first post (Attention, Bonding, & Communication).

P.S.  Don't make this more difficult than needed.  The child doesn't have to learn the academic content of schooling before kindergarten.  Teachers have been trained to do that.  We want to develop school readiness, or a ready brain--healthy, active, nurtured and capable of learning.

Infant brain research

Bright from the Start:  the Simple, Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind from Birth to Age 3 by Jill Stamm, Ph.D.

Recently I attended a program presented by Dr. Stamm on infant brain research and it made me want to read her book.  I am learning so much that I wanted to share some of the highlights with family and friends who have young children in their families since I know they don't get much time to read.

And the information is as simple as A-B-C.  In fact, she uses those letters to help you remember the basics:
     Attention
     Bonding
     Communication

You don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy toys or gadgets or programs.  All your young child needs is consistent one-on-one time with an adult (Attention), lots of loving interaction and touch (Bonding), and reading, talking, singing, and playing to learn phonemes, the smallest unit of sound in our language (Communication).

See--you can do it!  More tomorrow...

P.S.  I'm also reading another book, The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain but will share that later.  However, just to let you know--there is hope for the older brains!