Refinement time

So what would education be like if teachers paid attention to the principles found in the brain studies and cognitive research?

First, the brain has developed as a tool for survival.  That comes with a flight or fight feature.  When a child finds that she or he no longer can survive in a school environment, flight takes place, if not in body, then in mind.  People who describe "mentally checking out of school" say they wish they had been able to overcome their fears, but they couldn't and it has limited them, following them into adulthood.  But, beyond the safety of the environment, a person retains information that pertains to his or her perceived survival for the future.  If the information isn't pertinent, then why bother with it?  The principles that follow decide the data's fate.

Second, the brain follows a particular method for forming synapses, connections linking things that are remembered.  And, things that are remembered must have something memorable to spark a particular kind of impulse to flow to a cluster of dendrite terminations for the possibility of joining a synapse in the first place.  That memorable spark has to be remarkable because the brain's default is set to forget what is seen, heard, touched, smelled, tasted, and felt unless it is memorable.

Third, the brain is very efficient, so it only allows for knowledge that advances the individual's cause.  Information that is utilitarian is the primary reason for learning anything.  After that, information tagged with motivation (both intrinsic and extrinsic) gets captured for a synapse to form.  After that, information that is compatible with one's personality, what some call information of interest, is used to personalize, and tailor one's experience.  And, finally, information that comes from someone else of value, that originates from an established rapport with someone significant, will present itself as important enough to connect with other information garnered.  So, general information is packaged by the brain and made unique or it won't be remembered for a synapse to be formed.

Fourth, the brain follows a certain logical pattern - one that follows a protocol for growth in two areas.   The areas, one for communication in words, one for communication in numbers are designed to develop simultaneously and equally.  Lack of stimulus for either logic stunts its growth.  And, lack of stimulus translates to lack of efficiency, which throws its development back into the arena of principle three above.

Fifth, the brain functions best in a dynamic environment, not a static environment.  Although routines are established for involuntary systems of the body, routines for learning have not been observed as necessary for forming synapses.  In fact, connections made from various sources of information are stronger connections and more numerous than connections made within a single environment, such as attendance in one room with the same people for years at a time.

Other principles exist, but these five are enough for a person to see that what is touted as education today doesn't follow how the brain forms multiple and strengthened synapses in an efficient, logical, and personalized manner.  It's high time for schools to reconsider what forms the basis of information retention.  Someone will do it.  Probably someone in the business community.  He will make money, and the method will be efficient... like the brain.  We will ultimately see how much time is wasted today on things that don't have much to do with efficiently transmitting information for future survival.