Brain Exercises
Neuroplasticity and Brain Exercises
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — A. Einstein
The overview of exciting insights from brain research only confirms what I mentioned earlier: no child needs to bear the ongoing frustration of a learning difficulty.
We’ve established that, from birth, the brain is constantly changing-- that’s neuroplasticity. The brain can be modified in specific ways through the right kind of stimulation. This being the case, the learning difficulties your child faces can be substantially overcome if you choose the right cognitive training.
Let’s take a look at some of the powerful training techniques used by LearningRx professionals -- a group of very dedicated and caring individuals that I’m honored to be associated with.
Brain Exercises – Keep it strong!
New activities stretch the brain
When you learn a new task or acquire new knowledge, the memory is assigned to a particular area of the brain. In that space, other brain cells (neurons) are recruited to help process this information. The more you practice or rehearse, the greater the number of neurons involved. The active space in your brain devoted to this new event actually expands to accommodate the assignment.
Application: LearningRx training takes advantage of this fact by packaging its training tasks in a non-academic format. Students are faced with an enjoyable but unfamiliar task to accomplish. They cannot relegate it to some old familiar experience. The result: new connections in the brain are established as soon as the exercises begin.
Repetition makes a skill automatic
Just like the physical skill of riding a bike, each cognitive skill can eventually become a stored routine. The first step is to bring the skill to a conscious level as your child deliberately thinks about the activity to be trained. As the skill is practiced or rehearsed over days and weeks, the improved skill is then forced naturally to a subconscious level where it will be permanently stored for recall and habitual (or automatic) use. The learner won’t have to think about it but will just do it.
For example, in learning how to ride a bike, the more attempts a child makes, the more the brain reinforces the particular skills necessary to stay balanced and in motion. After a short time, a girl or boy doesn’t have to stop and think about each part of the procedure to stay upright, balanced, and in motion, or how to stop without falling off. Every time the child rides, the skill is reinforced. Even years later, with no additional riding experience, it’s possible for a person to get on a bike and ride because it was so firmly encoded in the brain.
Application: LearningRx training is delivered multiple days each week for at least a three-month period. This creates enough closely associated repetitions to drive the newly strengthened skill into the subconscious, automatic mode.
Cognitive Tutor - Return to Topic List
Excerpts of the book Unlock the Enstein Inside by Dr. Ken Gibson
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