I used to think that our learning process was a direct result of the number of neurons we had. I thought the more neurons you had, the more intelligent you were.
What is funny is, little did I know, I was not the only one thinking so. This way of seeing our learning process is so popular and is called the neuromyth.
The truth is that our learning is a result of the connections between our neurons, forming what neuroscientists call a neural network. The stronger these connections, the easier our learning process is.
Let’s view it more concretely with an example.
When you try to learn something new: say the piano, neurons start to communicate with each other. For simplicity, let us consider that there are just 2 neurons involved in this process.
Initially, the exchange of information amongst these neurons is very difficult and inaccurate, as the connections between them are weak. Thus leading to a difficult learning process.
As you continue practicing, the connection strengthens and information exchange amongst the neurons becomes easier and more accurate. Here, the learning process is enjoyable.
You can think of the connection as initially starting as a small road. However, the more you practice, the bigger the road becomes until it eventually develops into a super highway. Information flows very fast, and at this point you are not too far from Beethoven.
As you can see, you should not be rude to yourself or ashamed the first time you learn something. Go gradually. Connections amongst neurons take time to build, and the more you practice, the stronger these become.
Do you know why you learn and remember certain things more easily than others?
Think of it for a while; you can easily remember how you were dressed when you graduated from primary school or when you got married, rather than what you wore last week, why? Because these events are known as Impact events. The emotions associated with them are very high.
The remembering process is greatly enhanced by emotions. We remember the most when learning is associated with emotions such as love, laughter, anger or fear. This is why you quickly remember a movie or a story because of the associated feeling it triggers in you.
The next time, you are learning a new concept, try to associate some story or humor with it, and you will be much better at remembering it.
Another way to enhance recall is by visualizing things. A study conducted at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging revealed that when students were asked to remember what they had studied, pupils of the group that had been exposed to both images and text were faster at recalling than those exposed only to text.
You can tap into this discovery, by learning through the use of analogy. This will help your brain create visuals of things you can easily relate to. Earlier above, I used the analogy of roads to talk about connections in the brain. With this illustration, you easily grasp the concept as you are already familiar with roads and can readily create this visual in your brain
Sources / Related Content:
https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/how-the-brain-learns