Educators often claim that their goal is to teach young minds.

Yet, experience tells me that their methods actually go against this goal.

It's not their fault though. The education system and the teaching strategies passed on to them have been around for centuries.

Whereas the little understanding that scientists have on how the brain actually learns are fairly recent.

Unfortunately, educators in general don't actively seek what's new in the field of brain science or modern psychology.

On the other hand, scientists aren't really in a position to alter the education system except probably within their corner of the academia.

It is because of this gap that education and learning are two very different things. Sometimes, one even goes against the other.

Problem # 1

The typical classroom setup is designed to cater only to the focused mode of thinking.

Why it is a problem:

Do you remember how it feels like to be a student in a class like the one on the right? Remember how the lecturer would drone on for an hour or so without break? Afterwards, have you truly learned the material?

Picture courtesy of www.mbaschoolauthority.com 

Why it is a problem:

The problem is two folds...

One is something I've learned recently - that there are two modes of thinking: focused and diffused (1). Focusing on the lecture only puts the material in a person's mind. Unfortunately, the degree to which he understands and remembers something new is dependent on how much he can integrate it to other things already in his brain. This integration - the connections made to other thoughts and ideas already there - is best done with the diffused mode. For this, a person must idle his brain, preferably while doing something that may be done without conscious thought.

(1) "Learning How to Learn" by Dr. Barbara Oakley, Dr. Terrence Sejnowski. A MOOC from Coursera.

Another is that our brains' attention span is only 10 mins whereas the typical lecture goes on for 40 mins to 1.5 hours (2). So unless the lecturer regularly does something to catch back the attention of students, their focus on the material are bound to be lost.

(2) "Brain Rules" by John Medina. Pear Press.

For educators:

1. Use the Pomodoro Technique in lectures (3). Place a 5-minute break at the end of every 30 minutes worth of lecture. In this break period, recommend that students don't think about the lecture. Consequently, it is best that the lecture contained in those 30 minutes is cohesive within itself.
2. Every 10 mins within a lecture, say or do something interesting even if it's just a little bit linked to the topic. Something that will evoke an emotional state of excitement is best for this.

(3) "The Pomodoro Technique" by Francesco Cirillo

For learners:

1. Take a short break after every lecture. Make sure to not do something that requires focus during this time.
2. While listening to a lecture, make a habit of regularly checking yourself if you are still listening or already drifting away. Personally, it helps to be able to look at myself like as if I'm outside my own brain.

(3) "The Pomodoro Technique" by Francesco Cirillo

Problem # 2

Topics within a course are successive and rarely reviewed.

Why it is a problem:

The typical progression of a class is such that topics are successive. Once a subject matter has been finished, it is rarely reviewed. However as it turns out, learning is best achieved if topics are interleaved (1). It doesn't mean that each one must be rediscussed every so often. But a simple check can be done by the lecturer if some past lecture can be recalled by a student.

(1) "Learning How to Learn" by Dr. Barbara Oakley, Dr. Terrence Sejnowski. A MOOC from Coursera.

Before or after a new lecture is done, have an activity - say a quick discussion among students or an ungraded quiz whose answers are presented immediately - that would require the students to recall some past lecture. This simple interleaving of topics will help a student to reconsolidate his memory of that past lecture.

For educators:

When studying a recent lecture, try to recall some other lecture (say 2 topics ago). One can perhaps answer questions in the textbook for that lecture. Or better yet, write down in your own words how you understood the past topic. The latter works particularly well for me.

For learners:

Problem # 3

The typical class is done such that the educator solely does lectures.

Why it is a problem:

The predominant medium of instruction in classes is the lecture. In lectures, the trainer typically explains a subject and shows or describes how it is used. Unfortunately, even if the students seemingly understand the topic, it most likely was not learned properly. For proper learning, deliberate practice is required (1). Deliberate practice the act of applying a topic for progressively harder problems. The idea is that even if the harder problems seem difficult to grasp, the brain is actually learning more by doing it as compared to doing the easier problem that the mind is already used to.

(1) "Learning How to Learn" by Dr. Barbara Oakley, Dr. Terrence Sejnowski. A MOOC from Coursera.

For educators:

Instead of conducting only lectures and discussions, design activities that would have the students apply the topic in progressively more difficult ways.

For learners:

When studying a recent lecture, look for several problems in the textbook for a particular topic. Work your way to harder and harder problems.

Conclusion

The 3 problems shown here are but a small fraction of the myriad of problem points in the education system and teaching strategies of educators.

More and more findings in neuroscience and modern psychology are being made that makes the current education system obsolete.

One idea that I have for schools is to have a consultant whose expertise is brain science. The consultant continuously assesses teaching strategies and school policies.

Then based on the findings, he can conduct training or make recommendations so that educators can continuously improve their methods. This is similar to quality assurance done in other fields.