Punctuated Equilibrium & Implicit Learning

When I was in graduate school, I was looking to synthesize what I knew from neuroscience with what educators and educational leaders described as the essentials for teaching.  It wasn't too much of a stretch, since developmental neuroscience provides such a powerful, universal guide.  One of the most critical elements was that we needed to be building the foudational systems that would serve all of the higher cognitive capacities.  In otherwords, we needed to build from the ground up.  This means, while we are building the foundation, we may have to wait to see our results.  But if we skip the foundation, our results will be fleeting, they won't have anything to stand on.  

One thing I had noticed in learning and development was that growth is not linear.  I noticed that changes could happen in a moments notice.  We all remember the "growth spurt".  This is true not just for physical growth, but cognitive growth as well.  Even evolution is a non-linear process, but shows what has been called, punctuated equilibrium.  I just love that term.  

So what does this mean for the classroom.  First, testing is a terrible measure of learning.  Why?  Because it doesn't take into account what is going on behind the scenes.  Learning is happening all the time.  It doesn't necessarly reach the conscious awareness until later.  Each of a student's experience lays down a foundation.  The majority of a student's learning is implicit (automatic/unconscious/reflexive) and provides the understanding of the world and their place in it.

We should be working more with implicit learning, since it happens automatically and lays the foundation.  For example, when we are teaching something like reading, the best approach is not to have a reading lesson, but to actually read stories to children.  The more children are read to, especially stories, the more the rhythm of the written word can create the grammatical neural scaffold on which the symbolic letters of the written word will happily nest.  Not to mention, the use of stories can help build character and help students make sense of the world and challenging situations they are experiencing.  Pedagogical stories are powerful tools in a classroom.

When reading, the teacher should not interrupt the story and ask children questions.  They should not test for understanding and give a grammar lesson.  They should read, and allow the child to go into the imagry of the tale.  

Since our conventional education  focuses on teaching reading directly, and has taken away much of story time, considering it childish, we are trying to build the roof with no foundation.  Teaching site words will engage the a greater portion of the visual-spatial cortex, rather than the regions of the auditory cortex that would more effectively support reading.  

In some work I did with Fleurette Sweeney, PhD, we talked about the power of song in effectively engaging the neural networks lending themselves to healthy reading.  Indeed, this is a powerful way to help children read.  Song has all of the elements necessary to move from the sound to the symbol, and not the other way around.  The sound is emphasized and the rhythm of the song helps students break down syllables.  

My favorite activity to create an Ah-Ha moment for children is to have them read a longer passage of something they know by heart.  This can be done in early 1st grade, or late Kinder.  Begin by daily group recitation of a poem or song.  This is most fun to do while they step the syllables.  I like to have them step  in a circle, adding movments that fit the theme of the story.  I have used songs I know by heart, because it is important to use the EXACT same words each time.  When saying the words enunciate, and use enthusiasm.

Then, once the poem is well rehersed, the final activity is to write it on the board and allow them to copy it to a large paper or poster.  They can decorate it as well, but once they have written it all out, have them read it to you.  Those who couldn't read before will be so surprized and realize they can indeed read.  The foundation was laid and this exercise is the keystone to opening that pathway.  It is the punctuated moment of change.  For students who had struggled with reading, the joy they experience with the realization they can read is wonderful.

Many cognitive abilities open like this.  The gradual building of the foundation is unseen.  It is implicit.  It is happening through the daily activities.  Building from the bottom up will create a powerful foundation for effective life-long learning.  Creating brain networks takes time, but once they are built, healthy learning results.