This week I'm reviewing two sources for information on the brain and learning, information processing theory, and problem-solving methods during the learning process.
Sciencedaily.com
I read articles from http://www.sciencedaily.com at least once a week . In the past I've read anything on the main page that caught my interest, but recently I've been reading more of the content under the Mind & Brain section.
Recently I came across this article http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130910142334.htm on creating memories artificially. It seems to me what they are really doing is "reinforcing, encouraging, or, strengthening" the formation of memories, because the events the rodents remembered (hearing a sound) actually did occur (University of California - Irvine., 2013, September 10). It's a particular definition of the word "create" I suppose - but it's very interesting all the same.
I can see research like this could leading to the further refinement of drugs and/or processes that could make learning via the formation of new memories easier for students.
Another recent article on learning during sleep was fascinating - and potentially useful to learners today (or tonight as the case may be) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130412132428.htm. It also used sounds linked to memory formation, but the researchers played the sounds back to sleeping test subjects to trigger memory rehearsal. Memories rehearsed during sleep are more likely to be retained than those that are not (Northwestern University, 2013, April 12).
Overall I find sciencedaily.com a fascinating read, with all kinds of exciting findings being reported. As the two articles mentioned indicate, the biggest downside to this site is that many of the findings in the reports tend to be somewhat preliminary, and the results require extensive validation or refinement before they can be used in any practical way.
ERIC
In the past I've heard it said that humans pay more attention to things that are red. All this reading on things that affect memory and learning made me wonder if any research had been done on the effect text color has on learning. A search of the ERIC database via the Walden library quickly turned up several results. A study on the effect of text and background color caught my eye. It would seem that certain color combinations can have a significant positive or negative effect on the number of terms memorized from a page of sample text Janko, Z, Damir, K., 2009).
It strikes me that the group sample sizes were fairly small, and that you would want to test for cultural and age differences, but the reported findings that changing the background color of a page from white to yellow can increase memorization rates by up to 17% certainly warrants further study in this area. Maybe this is why yellow highlighters seem to be the most popular choice? You would also need to study what the limit of effectiveness is. If everything you read is on a yellow background, does it stop making a difference, that is, how much of the impact is due to the overall "novelty" of the experience? Also, what is the reason for the negative effect of some combinations. Is it just because the information is harder to perceive or process before you even get to the memorization stage?
While this article was exactly on the topic I was searching for, there seemed to be few other search results in ERIC using the search terms "learning color" that looked interesting. Searching "learning color" on Google was useless, as the hits were on things like school walls being beige, kids playing with colored balls etc. However a google search for "why do most people use yellow highlighters effect on memory" produced links to several interesting articles. You can't really search ERIC this way. Of course there are advanced modes for ERIC searches, and Google also has google/scholar which helps weed out non research related content. A couple of advantages of a database like ERIC over google/scholar (or web search engines in general) are that if you have access to the database, you can be confident that you can access any of the articles or reports found for free. Another is that the database will generally define the source of the content (academic journal, magazine, newspaper, etc.).
University of California - Irvine (2013, September 10). Scientists create new memories by directly changing the brain. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 15, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130910142334.htm
Northwestern University (2013, April 12). Reactivating memories during sleep: Memory rehearsal during sleep can make a big difference in remembering later. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 15, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130412132428.htm
Janko, Z, Damir, K. (2009). More Efficient e-Learning through Design: Color of Text and Background. Paper presented at the World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (ELEARN). Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED510610)
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