Spitzer:
Our brain always learns in the same way. It does not
differentiate between experience and learning. But there are,
of course, study techniques that work well and those that don't
work so well. For example, the technique of repeating things
non-stop is a very bad strategy. It is better to divide the material
into small portions.
Of course, it is also important to have a quiet learning
environment, without distractions, because you cannot devote
your attention to more than one thing at a time. Studies on
so-called media-based multi-tasking are very clear. People who
are learning with the television on at the same time or catching
up with their Facebook contacts make considerably slower
progress and make considerably more mistakes. And another
important thing: when you have learnt the material the brain
needs a certain amount of time to consolidate the new
information in the form of synaptic conversion processes.
Sleep plays a vital role in this process. Knowledge is
consolidated in deep sleep and dream sleep. During this time
it is re-analysed, compressed, coded and re-coded. The newly
learned knowledge is linked to what is already there. This takes
about 90 minutes and happens four or five times a night. There
is, therefore, nothing more stupid than working through the
night when you have an exam the next day. You will stop your
brain recapitulating during the night what you learnt the
previous day.
Can your own learning capacity be improved, for example,
by sport?
“You can’t stop the brain
learning.”
Manfred Spitzer
Spitzer:
Absolutely. We now know that sport is important
for performance for a variety of reasons. People who keep
physically fit promote growth of neurones in the brain.
Therefore, you should take the words “brain jogging” very
literally. When you jog it’s not only good for your circulation
but good for your brain too.
How important are emotions for learning?
Spitzer:
Very important. Emotions are evaluation aids; through
them we know what is good or bad for us. Thus they have very
fast effects on learning. A child who puts his hand on a hot
cooker only does it once. Why? Because it is painful and the
child does not want to experience this pain again. Negative
emotions frighten you. In one way this is good if it involves
a hot cooker. On the other hand, fear also blocks our thinking
and creativity. Anyone who learns through fear will always
experience negative feelings associated with it if he later
remembers what he has learnt.