My Journey To Understanding The Natural Human Learning Process
Have you ever been so stressed out while studying for a test or completing an assignment for a class that you feel like you can’t think clearly? There is a reason for that, and I’ve found out why. Even better, I’ve figured out ways to manage that thought blocking stress in order to improve performance in school. In this essay I will explain the Natural Human Learning Process and the parts of the brain that need to function properly together for this process to happen. I will also explain how stress and emotions affect this process and some of the ways I have learned to manage stressful situations for the benefit of learning.
According to the research done by Dr. Rita Smilkstein, our brains learn naturally in a series of stages. An example of this was shown in a class assignment where we had to describe how we learned a skill we were good at outside of conventional education. Initially, we all thought our learning experiences varied greatly. Upon further examination, it became clear that we had all gone through the same learning process for our different skills. This is the same learning process described by Dr. Smilkstein (Smilkstein).
The first stage described is the stage of Motivation. That’s when people see or are shown something that sparks their interest. Either that, or they are motivated by the fact that they have to do it. The second stage is when they start Beginning Practice. People start to learn through trial and error in which they practice and ask questions to gain more knowledge of the skill. Stage three is called Advanced Practice. In this stage they continue to practice and maybe now are reading about what they are interested in and are taking lessons to help improve their skills. At this point one might feel more confidence in what they are doing (Smilkstein).
At the fourth stage they are expressing a level of Skillfulness. They have had some success and start to enjoy what they are doing enough to share that skill with others, although they could still use some practice before they get to stage five. When what they have learned starts to feel like it comes naturally to them, they might be at stage 5, otherwise known as the Refinement stage. In this stage a person has significantly improved their skills to the point they can be creative and have fun with it. It might even be something that gives them pleasure and makes them happy. The final and sixth stage is the Mastery of a person’s skill. At this point they might be reaching for higher challenges and are gaining recognition for their skill. Perhaps now they even teach the skill to others so that someday, they might master it too (Smilkstein).
The skill that I learned through the Natural Human Learning Process is how to cook. As a young child I was fascinated by cooking, and eventually I had learned enough to make a career out of it. In the Motivation stage I was constantly watching food network. My favorite show was Emeril! Live, and I wanted to be able to do everything he was doing on TV. In the second stage of Practice I started to experiment with cooking. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but that didn’t stop me from making up random dishes to feed to my dad and sisters. Eventually, I got better at reading recipes which helped in creating actual cohesive dishes. This eventually led to the third stage, or the Advanced Practice stage. I was still in this stage when I got my first job working as a pantry chef in a fine dining restaurant. I knew how to cook and follow recipes but I still had a lot to learn, especially the more technical things. After working in my first restaurant for a couple years I reached a level of Skillfulness. At this point I was ready to work at a new restaurant and move up in position. I went from pantry chef to pastry and sauté chef. Instead of making salads, cold appetizers, and plating desserts, I was making entrees and desserts from scratch without any guidance. I could come up with my own recipes and had even taught myself how to smoke BBQ. At the fifth stage of Refinement, I had learned how to work every position in the kitchen. The pantry, pastry, expo, grill, and sauté. I planned menus for family events and was the designated cook for gatherings with friends. With some help from my coworkers, I even catered my own wedding including the cakes. I wouldn’t say I’ve made it to the sixth stage of Mastery, but I have gained recognition from many of the restaurants patrons. I was eventually considered the restaurants sous chef, second only to the head chef and had become very efficient in my skill. Not a single dish was served unless it was perfect, but I had been a perfectionist about food since I first started working in restaurants. I was definitely rewarded for the attention to detail. On some occasions guests that especially loved their dinner would leave me up to a $20 tip, something usually only seen by the front of house staff. When it comes to cooking though, I think I will always be learning new things. The world of food is a vast one.
The reason I was able to learn to cook so well, or learn anything for that matter was due to the growth of neurons on the brain. According to Dr. Smilkstein, the way in which neurons grow is similar to that of trees. In the structure of a neuron you have the axon, axon terminal, myelin sheath, soma, synapses or synaptic gap, and dendrites. The axon acts as the trunk and extends out from the soma. The soma is present in all neurons and is known as the cell body. The axon terminal acts like the root system of a tree. The myelin sheath, like the bark of a tree protects the axon. The part of the neuron that acts like the branches are known as the dendrites. Lastly, there is the synapses or synaptic gap. The synaptic gap is where synaptic firing takes place between the root system known as the axon terminal and other brain cells. This is the part of the brain where the learning and thinking process happens and promotes the growth and development of dendrites but there are different hormones involved that affect this process in different ways. (Smilkstein)
When synaptic firing takes place, it is a lot like the firing of a spark plug. Much like a spark plug, synaptic firing requires electricity and fuel. The fuel for synaptic firing comes in the form of endorphins which are hormones that can make a person feel happy or calm. These hormones are released by the neurotransmitters in the way fuel is released into the valve to be ignited. However, much like a spark plug synaptic firing won’t take place if there is “water” in the gas tank. The “water” in synaptic firing is known as noradrenaline or norepinephrine. Noradrenaline can be produced when a person is stressed. These hormones caused by our emotions affect the learning process in different ways. (Smilkstein)
Emotions aren’t just sad or happy, they are everything in between and they affect more than just how we are feeling at that given time. Good emotions such as happiness and calmness are beneficial to learning. Having these emotions means that a person is releasing endorphins which are conducive to the learning process in the way they fuel synaptic firing. These good emotions are allowing a person to think and grow dendrites. Negative emotions such as anger, sadness or stress hinder the learning process. They act as the “water in the gas tank” and prevent the synaptic firing that allows the learning process to occur in the brain. This is why negative emotions have a negative impact on a person in a learning environment. An example of such is when a person is stressed out while taking a test and ends up drawing blanks while trying to answer questions. Even though that person studied they did poorly on their test because of the negative emotion of stress preventing synaptic firing. (Smilkstein)
I have often felt the repercussions of feeling negative emotions such as stress or anxiety in the class room. Sometimes it turns obstacles that might seem like simple mole hills into mountains. Several times this has happened in my math class where I will come across a problem I don’t understand. Just seeing its level of difficulty stresses me out, especially when they involve several different fractions. Sometimes I even avoid doing the problem if I can. If I do it and get it wrong I have to do it over and over again as I grow more frustrated to the point I can’t think clearly. By the end of the class I’ve wasted most of my time trying to figure out this one problem. Another example is a speech I just gave in my Public Speaking class. I had prepared and knew my material by heart but once I stood in front of that classroom full of people the fear and anxiety took over and I could hardly get my words out during the speech. Last semester the one thing that stressed me out the most was my online class. It was my first online class and the professor communicated in a way I was not used to. I would send emails asking questions about assignments and never get a response unless I showed extreme frustration with the lack of response. As it turns out there was a specific way I was supposed to title my emails or else they wouldn’t get opened. I ended up with an A in every class but that one which turned out to be a B. That’s not a bad grade but had I known the proper way to communicate and understand the class, I feel I could have done better. Lastly is a memory that takes me all the way back to the third grade and haunts me to this day. In my third grade class we were assigned to sit in groups of four. Unfortunately, the three kids I was designated to sit with ended up picking on me relentlessly for the entire year. I once tried to stand up for myself when one of the girls called me “stupid” and childishly responded with “no, you’re stupid!” and she immediately told on me acting as if I was the one who called her stupid to start with. I got in trouble, she didn’t and none of them ever did. By the end of the school year it had affected me so poorly that my teacher thought I was a “special needs” student and sent home a massive work book for me to complete over the summer. However my mother refused to believe that and put me through all kinds of scholastic testing. I always scored highly and even went on to be in advanced classes throughout middle and high school. There isn’t any one particular type of situation that affects the learning process, there are many. Luckily, there are also solutions provided for problems like these and many more.
There are many sources to help students solve problems like mine and make the learning process easier. To solve my problem with math, I could easily employ JMU’s DRAW for Basic Math tool. It simplifies the way I look at fractions in a way they are easier to understand. For my speeches the Study Guides and Strategies site shows that I just need to relax, have positive thinking, and visualize success. (Landsburger) I think finding that confidence within myself will help with the anxiety. For online classes the Study Guides and Strategies site suggest knowing the syllabus and its requirements. (Landsburger) I agree in that being a dire part of online classes because if I had read the syllabus more carefully I would have known the proper heading for my email questions. When people reach a college setting they typically are not as rude as they were when they were children, but there are ways to go about such situations should they occur. The Study Guides and Strategies site also has a section on Conflict Resolution. Instead of lashing back and saying “No, you’re stupid!” when somebody calls me “stupid”, the problem would need to be identified in the situation and views discussed by both sides. We need to express how it affects us and come to a peaceful conclusion. (Landsburger) By employing these strategies I am confident that I can minimize stress in order to utilize the Natural Human Learning Process to its full potential.
Works Cited
Landsburger, John. "Conflict Resolution" Study Guides and Strategies. 1996. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.<http://studygs.net/conflres.htm>
Smilkstein, Rita. We're Born to Learn: Using the Brain's Natural Learning Process to Create Today's Curriculum. 1st ed. Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Corwin. 2003.
"The Learning Toolbox - DRAW for Basic Math." The Learning Toolbox - DRAW for Basic Math. James Madison University. n/a. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. <http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/drawbasic.html>
