Focus Magazine - Spring 2015 - 17

NEUROSCIENCE
Merrill Collier

A Neuro Checklist
"The mind is not a
vessel to be
ﬁlled, but a fire to
be kindled."
- Plutarch

f Plutarch were a neuroscientist, the quote
on the le might have ended "but a neural
connection to be made." A more recent
Hebbian quote is "cells that fire together, wire
together." anks to myelination, the more a
pathway is used, the more secure it becomes.
Fatty myelin insulates nerve axons with repeated use, strengthening connections. Trainers
can pursue this by relentlessly delivering learning events designed with neural pathway
strengthening in mind (no pun intended).
My resolution, as I write this in January, is to
more systematically weave this theory into
training plans. A checklist could be helpful.

Repetition
Repeat to remember; remember to repeat.
(e flip side is, if you don't use what you've
learned, you may lose it.) As Dr. Eric Kandel
has said, "If it is very relevant to you, or if you
repeat it, it goes into long-term memory." is
is why some schools are shortening summer
breaks to reduce students' time away from
studies. And this is why I rarely miss an
opportunity to send out learning reinforcement
emails post-classroom training events to
strengthen memory retention.

Make Learning Novel, Fun
Research shows people remember more if
novelty and fun are used. Who has viewed the
recent Air New Zealand Middle Earth and
United flight safety commercials? I certainly
remember the safety instructions in more detail
because of the unusual and humorous ways
they are presented (the United flight attendant
instructing a New York cabbie in his cab on
Broadway how to buckle his seatbelt using the
demo seat buckle airlines employ on planes).
Willis also observed supportive learning groups
experienced dopamine surges and info

redirection (via the amygdala) into the higher
cognitive brain, which seemed to aid transfer
into longer-term memory.

Group Discussions or Workshops
A 2011 study found students are more likely
to really understand what they learn and
remember if they have some active part in the
learning process. Also observed was learning
via group discussions reduced anxiety around
the learning, not unlike college groups versus
solo textbook reading. A 2000 study showed
when students discussed, explained and
debated in a group what was taught, their
understanding of concepts and ideas increased
versus just listening to a lecture. Adele
Diamond, founder of developmental cognitive
neuroscience, realized from a 2007 study that
students who utilize role-playing score
consistently higher on tests requiring use of the
brain's executive functions (coordinating,
controlling, monitoring, trouble-shooting,
reasoning, imagining).

Celebrating Success
Recognition is the ultimate management
strategy. We are wired to care about status,
because our brains biologically relate status to
survival. In a 2003 study, Joan Chiao concluded
neural wiring in the brain that assesses status is
like that which processes numbers; they both
operate even when the gain/loss is unrelated to
survival. We still want to win, even though we
compete against ourselves in video games, for
example. Also, the perception of status
increases with praise. Aer submitting
expenses at work recently someone received an
email with a gold star. Minor praise, but
nonetheless positive recognition. is is why
completion certificates are key motivating
components to any training program. I

Merrill Collier is a senior manager of training & education at Thoratec. This article expresses the personal
perspectives of the author. Merrill Collier can be reached at Merrill.F.Collier@gmail.com.

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Focus Magazine - Spring 2015

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