MEMORY, COGNITION, AND THE BRAIN
I often feel that my computer looks like the computer above –
covered in sticky notes with reminders so I won’t forget something
important. Our chapter says that during
the course of the day, new pieces of information constantly accumulates on our
desk and we have to determine which piece of information is important, which
piece of information requires further processing, which processing strategy to
use, and which pieces of information are just cluttering up the desk.
I found this video to be interesting because our chapter
discusses memory and how it relates to learning. This video talks about how memories can be
manipulated to be what the user needs them to be. How does this relate to adult learning? If, as an educator, you have a student who
was told in their childhood, that they would not amount to anything, they will
live their lives believing that they will not amount to anything. The memory may be a false memory, but they
will not be able to see past the fact that they believe they will not amount to
anything.
On the other hand – can/should educators “plant” false
memories to enable students to become better students? Would it be possible as most community
college students are adults?
Our chapter left us with several unanswered questions. One question in particular I would like your
input on – Could our increasing fast-paced lives have the potential to limit
our capacity in our information processing systems to the point that they will
create bottlenecks in our ability to process information? With such easy access to basically everything
at your fingertips via Google, Wikipedia, etc. re we creating a generation whose
ability to use the brain will be limited because the answers will be quickly at
their fingertips rather than having to think about their answers?
Just for fun, use the following website to
exercise your brain: http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/
Information overload is a term we hear bandied about frequently these days. And I think we can all likely relate to that. I do think the ease of access to information can be a positive thing. I know when I have a question about a simple thing, I will "google it", but if it would have entailed much more effort to attain an answer, then I probably wouldn't have pursued an answer.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of planting false memories seems to be a slippery path. Although there could be some positive outcomes, it is very frightening to think of someone doing this with nefarious purposes as an objective. I would think the toll on our justice system alone would be staggering.
I will relate a personal experience of mine that relates to this chapter. For years I have worked with our area ambulance service providers and rescue squads and first responders. It has always been amazing to us how people remember so differently the details related to accidents or crimes. My colleagues and I have frequently commented on a newspaper account of an accident -- wondering if it was even referring to the same accident at which we had all been present! It often seemed as if the newspaper was writing about a totally different incident.
I have no explanation as to how and why we all seem to "remember" differently. But I do think our stress levels and our capacity for information overload are factors.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChristie, great question and I would respond with this, "Are our schools and teaching skills keeping up with the rapid learning?" This question comes from my experience as the mother of a 19 year-old who has so much knowledge at her fingertips, she has well surpassed my level of knowledge at her age. Having knowledge so readily available may lead to the next best discovery. It is interesting how our brains adapt or do they? I wonder, too, about retaining knowledge that may be important. What knowledge might be important to allow us to let go because it is at our fingertips in order to learn new things. Do we have a limit to what we can learn? I do not believe that the answer to that question has been answered!
ReplyDelete