Learning and the Brain

Understanding how the brain functions can aid an instructional designer immensely when it comes to creating meaningful materials for the classroom.   In an effort to further my own understanding about the brain and how it functions, I have found the following Websites that contain pertinent research to support the role the brain plays in learning and learning theories.

The first Website, Cognitive Information Processing Theory, provides an in-depth look at CIP (Cognitive Information Processing) and how it impacts learning.  Keys to CIP include information management, the two-way flow of information and governing the in-built genetic structures on our development.  This Website also speaks to other theories of learning that include the Two Store Model and the Stage Theory.  Each of these theories help us to better indentify what is happening within the brain.

The second Website, Problem-Solving Skills in Education and Life, presents several ideas when it comes to providing skills to learners when it comes to solving a problem. Specifically, this site differentiates between the critical and creative thinker as well as multiple intelligences and learning styles.  One of the learning styles expanded on in this site include visual logic and visual thinking.  This style encourages the use of diagrams and matrices.  This is of interest to me as I am most certainly a visual learning rather then a critical thinker, though I believe it is important to understand all problem-solving methods.

Both of these Websites have expanded my knowledge of the brain and how the different learning styles impact the way in which we solve problems.