Sunday, July 31, 2011

"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV."

Actors memorize the lines. Doctors do the critical thinking needed to solve the problem.

Learning by repetition, this is rote learning! Memorizing those lines, that's also rote learning. As seen, this is also the best method for re-wiring.
Rote learning is a learning technique which focuses on memorization.. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_learning)

I've stated this is the best method of learning with a brain injury. Here's why. Input is the same. When building a neural pathway, repetition of information/stimuli coming in is the same. It has even been shown in mice, you get the better response for repetition. "The results indicate that neuronal network activity including inhibitory interneurons rather than exclusively the input or spiking activity of the principal neurons determine a BOLD response to repetitive stimuli." ( http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/8/2428.full ) This repetition makes a stronger pathway.

I'll make this a lot easier by likening it to Norman Doidge's metaphor of skiing down a hill of snow. The first time down you make the path. Each trip thereafter makes your tracks deeper. Repetition is the act of going down the hill again. This deepness makes the path more likely to be used.






Rote learning is needed to make a neuropathway.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, well said. And putting attention to the experience of rote learning improves that stats of embedding!

    ReplyDelete