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Learning that lasts through AGES

Dr. Lila Davachi, Dr. Tobias Kiefer, Dr. David Rock and Lisa Rock

This article was published in the

NeuroLeadershipjournal © NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]

issue THREE 2010

The attached copy is furnished to the author for non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the
author’s institution, sharing with colleagues and providing to institutional administration.

Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third-
party websites are prohibited.

In most cases authors are permitted to post a version of the article to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors
requiring further information regarding the NeuroLeadership journal’s archiving and management policies are encouraged
to send inquiries to: [email protected]

www.NeuroLeadership.org
© NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]

This article was published in the NeuroLeadership journal. The attached copy is furnished to the author for non-commercial
research and education use, including for instruction at the author’s institution, sharing with colleagues and providing to
institutional administration.

Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third-
party websites are prohibited.

In most cases authors are permitted to post a version of the article to the personal website or institutional repository. Authors
requiring further information regarding the NeuroLeadership journal’s archiving and management policies are encouraged
to send inquiries to: [email protected]
RESEARCH

Learning that lasts through AGES


Dr. Lila Davachi, Dr. Tobias Kiefer, Dr. David Rock and Lisa Rock
Lila Davachi, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology, New York University
[email protected]
Tobias Kiefer, Director, Global Learning & Development, Booz & Company
[email protected]

David Rock, CEO, NeuroLeadership Group International, Sydney, Australia


Faculty, CIMBA
Director and Co-founder, NeuroLeadership Institute; Editor, NeuroLeadership Journal
[email protected]
Lisa Rock, COO, NeuroLeadership Group
[email protected]

Summary One outcome of these forces is simply shorter training


programs. Training programs that used to be run over two
With more to learn than ever, faster innovation cycles,
or three days are now run in half a day, and a significant
and reduced training budgets, organizations everywhere
number of organizations are shifting training from a formal
are trying to get more from their learning programs.
company-driven approach towards more social and informal
However, to increase the effectiveness of learning, some
learning methods (Bersin & Associates, 2011). Yet our
of our intuitive understanding about learning may need
ability to absorb new ideas is not dissimilar to our capacity
updating. For example, while people generally predict
to absorb food: there are physical limits to the digestion of
that concentrated learning in one block of time is more
both. To try to address this, more learning is being pushed to
effective, neuroscience research is clearly showing
‘pre-work’, in the hope that participants arrive at a training
that it is far better to break up learning interventions to
program already knowledgeable about core ideas. This
facilitate successful long-term learning.
works only partially due to the mixed level of focus people
This paper outlines recent findings from neuroscience give to a pre-reading.
research about how we learn, and how to optimize
the formation of memory. These findings have
been summarized into a four-part model for how to Increased
© NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]
make learning stick: this is Attention, Generation,
Emotion and Spacing, which we are presenting here as organizational
the AGES model.
change is
So much to learn, so little time
Increased organizational change is increasing pressure on
increasing
learning. Every new product, distribution model, partnership,
or organizational structure comes with new information and
pressure on
processes to remember. As well as having more to learn than
ever, there is less time to learn it in, driven by a desire to get
learning.
to market quickly. Then there is the challenge of the nature of
work itself, where distractions and multi-tasking inhibit the Organizations are also experimenting with just-in-time
ability to focus sufficiently to learn something new. Finally, learning, delivered by managers rather than trainers.
budgets for learning today are under significant pressure. In The downside of this approach is that most managers
short, the pressure is on for employees to learn more, faster, are selected on their skill-set and are not always optimal
under tougher conditions, and within tight budgets. teachers. However, organizations consciously investing
1
NeuroLeadershipJOURNAL Issue three 2010

in their leaders to serve as trainers report good results A number of surprises have emerged from this thread
(Bethof, 2009). Other organizations, noting the impact of of research. It turns out that some of our long-held
follow-through on learning (Bersin & Associates 2011, assumptions about learning, such as the importance of
Zenger & Folkmann, 2005), are creating internal coaches repetition, are incorrect. We have also begun to recognize
to drive embedding of insights: one study of 358 companies the importance of overlooked factors in learning, such as the
about their use of coaching, found that 67 perecent of significant impact of spacing out a learning activity.
organizations were now using internal coaches (Rule, Rock
This paper draws together recent findings about memory
& Donde, 2011). formation into one easy-to-remember model, called AGES.
In summary, learning managers are attempting to evolve This stands for Attention, Generation, Emotion, and Spacing.
their learning offerings to meet the changed environment and These four variables may be the key to maximizing learning
needs. Yet, by and large, they are doing so based on guesswork, interventions. With just the right amount of attention,
without a good theory to inform their experimentation. generation, emotion, and spacing, learners intensely activate
their hippocampus, which creates deep circuits for easy
Learning means retrieving easily retrieval. This model can help learning designers improve
their learning initiatives by focusing on, and experimenting
In the workplace much learning is declarative, or explicit with, the key variables to effective learning.
learning, meaning information that needs to be recalled
(Davachi & Dobbins, 2008). This kind of learning involves
encoding information in the brain sufficiently well for easy
retrieval. In any learning experience, whether learning a new
product description or organizational chart, a key outcome
ION GENER
NT
of the experience is that information is remembered and can
be recalled easily.

AT
ATTE
With just the

ION EM
right amount
G

of attention,
IN

OT HIPPOCAMPUS

generation,
IONS SPAC
emotion, and
spacing, learners Figure 1: The AGES model for lasting learning impact.

intensely Attention
© NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]

activate their
For the hippocampus to activate sufficiently for learning to
occur, the learner needs to be paying full attention to the

hippocampus…
topic being learned. In a world with so many distractions
(e.g. phones and other devices), this is easier said than done.
Dividing attention between two tasks significantly decreases
the quality of attention, and the likely sustainability of
Neuroscientists have discovered that the level of activation any learning, because the hippocampus is not engaged
of a brain region called the hippocampus during an encoding when attention is divided (Kensinger et al., 2003). This has
task plays a significant role in whether people can recall been shown to occur with even small levels of distraction.
what they learned (Davachi & Wagner, 2002). Many studies Focusing on multiple streams of information, including
(e.g., Davachi & Wagner, 2002; Lepage, Habib & Tulving, trying to multi-task in the learning environment also results
1998) have since been undertaken that explore the types of in neurons decreasing their firing, and, hence, learning
activities that do and don’t activate the hippocampus. This decreases significantly (Arnsten, 1998/2003). Thus one of
new understanding of the biology of learning is providing the foundational ideas for learning is ensuring you have
rich insights into how we can more efficiently create long- ‘undivided attention’ – that people are focused closely on the
term memories as part of a learning experience. learning task at hand.
2
RESEARCH

In a classroom, this is easier to manage through activities of observations (attention paid) to a particular idea per unit
that focus people’s thinking in one direction. In online of time. Each time we activate a circuit this further wires
learning, with the possibility of distraction from other devices together that circuit (Hebb, 1949).
being ‘on’, or distractions inherent in the technology itself,
Taking this idea we could, in theory and in time, be able to
attention can be harder to focus. The quality of attention
measure the quality of attention paid to specific circuits by
paid, and how to ensure maximum attention during online
measuring the level of activation of brain regions. While this
learning, is an area for further research.
would be cumbersome in a training room, it is technically
In order to pay close attention to something, the brain needs feasible. For now, we could at least measure how long,
just the right amount of two important neurochemicals perhaps in seconds, an idea is held in mind in the laboratory.
called catecholamines – specifically dopamine and

Varying learning
norepinephrine, placed at huge numbers of synapses
(Vijayraghavan et al., 2007). Dopamine is involved in a feeling

techniques
of reward, of relevance, and is also released through novelty.
It is released in the ‘toward’ state (Rock, 2008), when we are

provides additional
open, curious, in a goal-focused state, and/or working to
gain something.

To increase dopamine levels in a learning situation the


content needs to be relevant, i.e. the learner needs to see novelty that can
the value (e.g. potential reward) of focusing attention on the
content. One way to do this is by making learning situations help raise dopamine
as ‘real’ and ‘personal’ as possible, such as with the use of
advanced simulations, which also address other elements levels to keep the
of AGES (e.g. increased arousal due to role-playing in front
of a group). learner’s attention
Varying learning techniques provides additional novelty that in the learning
environment.
can help raise dopamine levels to keep the learner’s attention
in the learning environment. For example, the presentation
of information can be mixed with group discussions, role-
playing, or scenario planning.
This brings up an interesting question: how much attention
Norepinephrine affects the chemistry of alertness, of feeling is paid to a core idea in a class room, versus in other forms
aroused and focused. This neurochemical tends to be of learning, say in virtual learning, per hour spent in the
released in greater quantities in the ‘away’ state (Rock, 2008), learning experience? Counter-intuitively, some forms of
when we are alert to threat and our senses are heightened. classroom learning have a high distraction factor, where
Norepinephrine may be released during competitive attention may go to what other people are doing and other
activities (Pierce, Kupprat & Harry, 1976), or when we feel social cues, rather than to the core ideas. On the other hand,
under pressure to perform, perhaps by a deadline.

© NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]


some forms of virtual learning, such as games and other
We need good amounts, but not too much, of both these immersive experiences, can be more focused on the core
‘chemistries’ for good attention to be paid. Good learning ideas, but carry the risk that other distractions come into
states involve paying close attention to something relevant play (such as email or parallel internet usage).
and interesting, with enough of a challenge to keep our
If attention is a key to learning, a question raised is how do
attention. Both elements need to go hand-in-hand to allow
we maximize attention itself? The answer may come from
an optimum level of attention. If an optimum attention
research on the social brain (Lieberman, Eisenberg, 2008).
level cannot be generated, the hippocampus will not fire
Studies are showing that we feel strongest about, and pay
sufficiently for memory encoding to occur. In short, making
most attention to, social issues (Jaremka, Gabriel & Carvallo,
learning easy to digest, through chunking, visuals and
2010). Making learning a greater social experience (e.g.,
stories, and making it interesting and engaging are critical
learning from best practices through storytelling) in some
for optimizing retrieval of information.
way may be a key to improve learning effectiveness. There
To improve at any skill or competency, it helps to be able does appear to be a movement toward making learning
to measure that competency. How can we measure more social (Bersin & Associates, 2010 & 2011), but it also
‘attention’ in learning? One approach comes from the idea questions the self-paced learning approach of pre-reading
of attention. Attention density technically means the number and online learning.
3
NeuroLeadershipJOURNAL Issue three 2010

Generation presented information and personalize it by transforming it in


a way that is meaningful for them. This act itself creates a rich
Information is not expressly stored in the hippocampus as
set of associations, activating the hippocampus.
discrete memories like in a hard drive. Instead, memories are
made up of vast webs of data from across the brain all linked
together (Davachi & Dobbins, 2008). The more associations (or
in other words, entry points linked to the original information)
…memories are
connected to a memory, the thicker the web is, and, therefore, made up of vast
webs of data from
the easier it is to find a memory later. The hippocampus
activates when we create these associations.

Once sufficient attention has been paid to a learning task


and an idea is being held in working memory, the question across the brain all
becomes, how do we maximize the likelihood of memories
forming? Despite being widely thought of as central for
linked together…
learning, research shows that repetition only has a limited
impact on creating lasting learning (Woiniak & Gorzelanczyk, One way to generate associations is to encourage the learner
1994). Repeating a new word 30 times does not necessarily to evaluate the meaning of the information and compare it to
add it to long-term memory. So what works? their existing knowledge, or to think about the information in
a ‘deep’ as compared to a ‘shallow’ way (Davachi & Wagner,
Both psychological and neuroscientific research show that
2002; Craik & Tulving, 1975) (Figure 2).
the key to optimizing learning and building long-term memory
is to create ‘ownership’ of learning content (Jensen, 2005; One study showed a significant increase in memory when
Poldrack et al., 2001). This ownership or ‘generation of own learners were asked to elaborate on three presented
learning’ occurs when an individual is motivated to understand, items, ordering them instead of purely rehearsing them.
contextualize, retain, and apply knowledge in their own way. This enhanced memory was associated with greater
Therefore the learner should be encouraged to take in the activation of the hippocampus (Davachi &Wagner, 2002).
© NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]

Figure 2: Levels of input processing.


4
RESEARCH

Learners may gain greater value if they are presented with repetition or listening, then we can increase this by simply
data and then asked to formulate, organise, or add their getting people talking to each other about ideas, versus just
personal experience to the learning content (Jensen, 2002). listening to presentations. We could measure the amount of
For example, doing the final development of a leadership ‘listening’ versus ‘generating’ in a classroom this way. Or we
model within the training session instead of being presented could encourage participants to invent their own terms and
with a pre-defined model. approaches based on the content learned and collect their
ideas in order to measure the ‘degree of generation’.
If we work on the assumption that each brain is unique, and
that people need to generate associations to learn, then Emotions
all learning should be, to some extent, self-directed. Each
Learning happens in many complex layers, with emotion
individual must map new learning to their existing knowledge
being one of the more important regulators of learning and
and experiences and generate their own meaning and ways
memory formation. Studies show that the correlation of
to apply the new knowledge.
vividness of a memory, and the emotionality of the original
event is around 0.9 (Jensen, 2005).

Questioning the The way in which emotion is thought to enhance memory

learner triggers
is twofold. First, emotional content is thought to grab
the attention of the individual, and, hence, help to focus

retrieval of the
attention on the emotional event or stimulus (LeDoux, 1994;
Damasio, 1994). Second, it is known that emotion leads to

recently learned
activation of a brain structure called the amygdala which sits
directly in front of the hippocampus and can help to signal

information and
to the hippocampus that a particular event is salient, and,
thus, increase the effectiveness of encoding (Ochsner, 2000;

improves long-
Cahill et al., 1994). When looking into current professional
training design, emotions are a common tool used in

term retention.
behavioral change programs, such as leadership trainings
(Kiefer, 2009).

Questioning the learner triggers retrieval of the recently


learned information and improves long-term retention.
…emotions are
Asking the learner to visualize situations in which they
could apply their new learning, or to make decisions within
a common tool
the context of the new data, also helps reinforce what has
been learned. Again these tasks increase associations in the
used in behavioral
brain. Immediate feedback on any errors also significantly
increases accuracy of future retrieval (Guthrie, 1971).
change programs,
such as leadership
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Structuring learning initiatives with these findings in mind
might mean less teaching, or presentation of information,
and more time dedicated to the self-generation of learning trainings…
with the goal of building more personal associations
with existing knowledge for easier retrieval. The more
Of course, one challenge of using emotion in a learning
associations the learner generates, the higher probability
context is the difficulty of creating emotion-arousing
over time that he/she will be able to find an access point to
events, especially ones that are positive. It is far easier
the data at a later date.
to stimulate negative emotions, such as fear and threat
In terms of measuring the idea of generation, this is possible (e.g. by presenting 360°-assessment tools and reports),
with current technologies, through looking into which regions than to create a joy/pleasure response – especially when
of the brain are active during learning, specifically the level confronting individuals with novelty (Kohlrieser (2006).
of hippocampal activity. However, this is too cumbersome Simply presenting angry faces, for example, has been shown
to be helpful within a training experience itself. For now, we to increase arousal and be highly effective in engaging
could use self-report to identify how actively a person may attention (Ohman, Flykt & Lundquist, 2000). Generating
be thinking about an idea for himself/herself, versus just strong negative emotions in a training program, such as
listening passively. Additionally, if generation is key, versus fear, is a commonly used strategy for burning memories.
5
NeuroLeadershipJOURNAL Issue three 2010

For example many sales, presentation and negotiation to connect deeply with others and experience emotional
programs are based on videotaped sessions, which focus ‘resonance’ (Boyatsis, 2001), where they experience a sense
on the negatives of the presenter instead of their strengths. of connectedness with others.
However, there are difficulties with using strong negative
It may also be useful to have a training structure that
emotions to burn in memories: negative emotions also
includes novelty and entertainment, as this may be the way
reduce creativity and innovation (Subramaniam et al., 2009);
to stimulate positive emotions in the learner. There is also
so while people may learn, they are less likely to innovate.
strong evidence that positive anticipation has an impact on
Also, the brain’s organizing principle is to minimize threat
the formation of new learning positively (Bradley & Lang,
and maximize reward (Gordon, 2000). As a result, people
2000), so a good aim is to make learning enjoyable instead of
are not going to be inclined to turn up for training when the
a mandatory event.
experience continues to use negative emotions, and they are
likely to warn their colleagues to stay away too. However, if a
learning experience is fun, they are likely to want to do more
learning, and tell others about the positive event.
…positive
anticipation has
Based on the an impact on the
SCARF model… formation of new
there are ways learning positively
to generate …so a good aim is
strong rewards to make learning
by increasing enjoyable instead of
people’s sense of a mandatory event.
status, certainty,
autonomy,
In terms of measuring emotions, we can use self-report
to measure the level of intensity of emotions, whether

relatedness,
positive or negative. We can also use devices to measure
heart rate, skin conductance and other biological markers

or fairness.
for emotional arousal. For increasing emotions, as a
general statement, social issues are the experiences we
feel strongest about. Thus, clearly we should incorporate
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more social activities into learning experiences wherever


While it is easier to invoke negative emotions, positive possible. Positive social connections themselves may be
emotion can also be invoked in a learning experience. one of the easier positive emotions that can be generated
Based on the SCARF model (Rock, 2008), there are ways in a classroom setting.
to generate strong rewards by increasing people’s sense of
status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, or fairness. The
Spacing
easy domains to generate rewards in a training program are It has been known for some time that distributing learning
most likely to be status and relatedness. An increase in a over time is better than cramming learning into one long
sense of status, which activates primary reward functions study session (Crowder, 1976). Massing, defined as large
(Zink et al., 2008), can come from people learning new blocks of learning in short periods of time, increases
tasks and receiving positive feedback. It has been shown short-term performance, which guides learners to rate
that positive feedback leads to an increase in dopamine the learning impact of massing as superior to spacing
neurotransmission that is thought to help learning stick (Baddeley & Longman, 1978; Kornell & Bjork, 2008; Simon
(Schultz, 1997). An increase in relatedness, which also & Bjork, 2001; Zechmeister & Shaughnessy, 1980). However,
activates primary reward functions (Cacciopo & Patrick, distributing learning over time leads to better long-term
2008), can come from creating situations where people get memory, which is the ultimate aim of organizational learning.
6
RESEARCH

…repeated testing
Spacing information over time leads to higher retrieval rates
of new information and seems to build stronger long-term

is superior to
memory (Litman & Davachi, 2008).

Given all the positive research on spacing, why is massing


the more common approach to learning? Putting aside the
financial benefits of delivering learning in one block, there are
repeated studying
other likely reasons why massing is the dominant approach.
in the formation
There is evidence of maximum
that initial testing long-term memory
of newly learned formation…
items, with a small One question that is difficult to answer is whether there

delay after the is an optimum timing of spacing between learning. The


best take-home message is that any spacing (whether it

learning event, will be minutes, hours, or days) is better than no spacing at all.
Cepeda et al., (2008) examined the effect of this and suggest

further drive the that the longer the gap between the first and second
learning session (‘the gap’), the higher the retrieval rate

building of long- (1-5 years) after the learning event. In a recent study with
1,354 subjects the optimum gap lengths were examined

term memory… in order to test subjects’ recognition and recall rate. The
project consisted of multiple combinations of gap lengths
and RI (Retention Interval) lengths to examine the impact
The positive attitude by learners to massing may result of the gap lengths on long-term memory foundation. For
from experience with cramming for exams. Cramming each RI, the recall and recognition performance rose with
information is a successful strategy for exams where an increasing gap length and then decreased as the gap
minimal retrieval is required in the future. Learning in the lengths further increased.
workplace has a different aim, with participants needing to

One question
build contextual understanding of the information presented
as well as learning how to apply the information in the

that is difficult to
future. Spacing also leads to forgetting and this can make
the learning feel ‘harder’. However, the more difficult the

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answer is whether
retrieval, the higher the learning effect (Bjork & Allen, 1970;
Cuddy & Jacoby, 1982; Krug, Davis & Glover, 1990). There
is evidence that initial testing of newly learned items, with
a small delay after the learning event, will further drive the
building of long-term memory as this causes an additional
there is an optimum
retrieval effort (Karpicke & Roediger, 2007).
timing of spacing
In addition to the ‘active part’ of the learning, spacing allows
the brain to further digest new content and over time build between learning.
and wire new connections, even when learners are at rest
(Spitzer, 2002; Tambini et al., 2010). Spacing enhances
The Cepada study showed a significant improvement of the
memory performance and the rate of forgetting drops due
recall rate when spacing information compared with a zero-
to enhanced hippocampally mediated memory consolidation
day gap (see Figure 3).
(Litman & Davachi, 2008). Another study showed that
repeated testing is superior to repeated studying in the The Cepeda findings (Cepeda et al., 2008) underpin the notion
formation of maximum long-term memory formation that defining the optimum spacing is quite complex, since a
(Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). couple of constraints and factors influence the design:
7
NeuroLeadershipJOURNAL Issue three 2010

Figure 3: Spacing effect and learning improvement (recall improvement in % and days after initial learning).1

Figure 4: Spaced repetition (learning journey) and expansion of memory and associations.
© NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]

1. The RI gap: depending on the estimated recall date, 1994). However, repetition of new information, in a spaced
the gap length first increases and then decreases since manner, plays a role in building long-term memory. Taking
forgetting learned content comes into play. the power of forgetting, and the power of transformational
2. As RI increases, the ratio of optimum gap to RI should learning into account, we follow Jensen’s (2005) approach
decline. in using a variety of techniques to leverage repetition as a
learning instrument. Incorporating this lesson, we suggest a
However, the data also suggest that it might be wise to avoid
‘spaced repetition’, which combines spacing and generating
defining the ‘one’ optimum gap between learning events,
of learning over time.
since it significantly depends on the RI. In other words: the
definition of how long you want to remember newly learned Repetition itself is minimized since the content itself does
content determines the optimum timing of the learning gap not simply get repeated. Repetition happens through various
and the time studying new content. techniques like priming, reviewing, or testing the content
during new learning generation (Figure 4).
Many studies have been published on optimization of learning
intervals (number of repetitions and spacing) to ensure
learning. As mentioned earlier, repetition itself has a limited 1
The optimum learning gap defined as d=1 for 7 day recall test; d = 7
impact on creating lasting learning (Woiniak & Gorzelanczyk, for 35 day recall test and d = 21 for 70 day recall test.
8
RESEARCH

Priming allows the brain to build the new concept into a larger protein in the neurons, which is crucial for building long-
contextual and semantic structure, increasing efficiency in term memory (Bodizs et al., 2002; Schroth, 2002).
learning (Martin & Van Turenout, 2002; Cave, 1997). Studies • The ‘digestion-time’ needed for the brain to reorganize,
demonstrate that the use of priming as a repetition technique distribute and consolidate new content through the
increases verbal fluency significantly (Mack & Rock, 1998). hippocampus (Piegneux et al., 2001; Stickgold, 1998;
Siapas & Wilson, 1994; Walker & Stickgold 2006) and

Priming allows the


awake rested (Tambini et al., 2010).

There is no current recipe of how much content can be

brain to build the taught and learned in a specific amount of time. However
the indicators and data points are clear – building learning

new concept into a connections is time consuming and requires maintenance.

larger contextual Areas for further research

and semantic
There are many areas that deserve significant further
investigation. Questions to explore about learning from

structure…
the brain perspective include: which of the AGES variables
is most significant, and what are the interactions between
the variables? How much can people learn or digest at one
time? What is the optimum interval period for spacing to
Most training programs mass information in one or two maximize learning? What is the impact of positive versus
days, without much attention to follow up. This brings up the negative emotions in learning events? Answering these
question of how much we should be breaking up learning questions and more will go a long way toward enabling us to
and instead delivering smaller bites of learning over time. improve the impact of learning experiences in organizations.

There is no Summary

current recipe of
Adult learning is highly complex. How do we ensure people
are interested in learning what is presented, and how then

how much content


do we present the information to ensure that the knowledge
is sustainable, accessible, and easily applied in adaptive and

can be taught
contextual ways?

We suggest that learning designers should focus on:

and learned in a • Creating maximum attention with a greater focus on


learner motivation, ensuring one focus during learning
specific amount events, and utilizing more novelty and change during

of time.
learning experiences.

© NeuroLeadership Institute 2010 For Permissions, email [email protected]


• Encouraging significant generation of learning by
participants when teaching new concepts to build
learner ownership rather than using presentation of
This is an important area for future research, and we cannot information.
find any formal studies as a guide here yet. However, it • Creating a positive emotional environment with
is important to note that brain function shows multiple opportunities for people to gain positive feedback and
constraints around learning limitations with regard to connect deeply with others.
learning a lot of information, including: • Utilizing more spacing of learning instead of massing
and repetition, with more dispersed content, such as
• The limitations of the prefrontal cortex and its ability to
turning a three-day learning event into six half-day
process only 3-7 information chunks at any one time
events over a longer period.
(Linden et al., 2003).
• The time necessary to form new synaptic connections We encourage chief learning officers, learning consultants
(Goda & Davis, 2003) and trainers to explore these new ways to reshape
• If the synapse gets disturbed before it ‘sets’, the memory instructional design to ensure high-impact learning that
is lost (Milner, 1999). lasts through ages and that enables training departments
• The ‘rest-time’ needed to allow the brain to recycle to fully unleash the capabilities within their organizations.
9
NeuroLeadershipJOURNAL Issue three 2010

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Arnsten, A. F. T. (1998). The biology of being frazzled. Science,
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Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress signaling pathways that impair
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