emotions & learning

One of our recommended readings, The Emotional Basis of Learning, by Norboru Kobayashi, MD, sparked a flame that has been just a flicker lately. While I was attending UO and teaching preschool, I was extremely interested in Robert Slywester's research on the brain and how emotions affect learning. Dr. Slywester is an Emeritus Professor of Education at UO and his research on how stress affects the brain (and thus, learning) is fascinating. But since leaving college, my reading and research on this topic has ground to a halt.

Fortunately Dr. Dunleavy chose an article on this very topic and I hope we can delve into this issue together online (since it's probably not going to come up in class).

The overall issue of debate is nature vs. nurture, a topic with which I'm sure we're all familiar. Dr. Kobayashi's argument in The Emotional Basis of Learning is that a "positive and emotionally rich environment is not a luxury but actually a necessity for better education." I couldn't agree more.

What Dr. Slywester has discovered is that the brain cannot absorb new knowledge and create connections when the person is experiencing stress. In my mind I relate his studies to Maslov's hierarchy of needs, in which basic needs must be met before critical thinking and self awareness can occur. I'm fascincated by how the studies of brain development, stress, and emotions relate to learning, and how this research can positively affect our teaching.

I live and work in a very low SES neighborhood, and our elementary school has extremely high turnover rates along with many other problems that go hand-in-hand with low SES. Some parents here have restraining orders; kids come to school without having breakfast or without jackets; kids leave school all of a sudden without saying goodbye or even cleaning out their desk. In this atmosphere, learning is sometimes the very last thing on their minds. In fact, according to the aforementioned research, learning is impossible when stresses like these are present.

As teachers, then, how do we overcome (work with? work around? eliminate? ignore?) such barriers to thinking and learning? I believe a thorough knowledge of how the brain & body systems work and respond to stress is the first step for teachers. Research on brain function and learning should be required in professional development for teachers on a continual basis (as such research grows and evolves). Why don't states and disticts fund this kind of development currently? I believe there is still too much public controversy over nature vs. nurture. Some people do not accept the idea that students CAN overcome a poor headstart by having access to a nurturing, loving environment.

In the classroom I've seen teachers dealing with this issue by providing the emotional support and nurturing that's missing in the home. This is a HUGE challenge. It is extremely difficult to give that much of yourself to every student, year after year. According to research, however, it is essential that we do just that.


Check out these links for interesting & additional info:

http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/sylwester3.htm

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS286&q=author:%22Sylwester%22+intitle:%22A+Biological+Brain+in+a+Cultural+Classroom:+Enhancing+...%22+&um=1&ie=UTF-8&oi=scholarr