The importance of clarity and goals for learning
This article first appeared at JALT Mind, Brain, and Education SIG, Volume 5, Issue 1 (ISSN: 2434-1002) Photo by matthiaswerner on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA There is one valuable idea in educational neuroscience that has changed my thinking: the brain cannot not learn , but it changed me in a way you might not expect. When we read that the brain cannot not learn, those of us that have no knowledge about how the brain really works might think it easy for the brain to harness untapped potentials that make becoming a genius, or a recognized expert, within easy reach for all of us. However, that is not true. That is precisely why we must start digging for more knowledge about our neurological processes that promote learning because believing without knowing is akin to preaching without doing and, in both cases, the result is doomed to be disastrous (Kahneman, 2002). Let us start by examining the fact that the brain cannot not learn. This, by the way, is an adage that