Blog Post 1

When reading the first page of the chapter, I answered 2 of the 3 true/false questions incorrectly. I thought that it was true that humans stopped growing brain cells after birth. I guess I believe what adults had always told me when growing up about how if I lose a brain cell I’ll never get it back. And I can’t tell you the number of times that I have heard someone say that they are ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained.’ Perhaps the next time I hear someone claim this, I will inform them that both sides of the brain do in fact work together in almost all functions and processes!

This module mainly focuses on brain development and the factors that influence it. The brain can develop differently based on genetics, the environment, plasticity, nutrition, and teratogens. The module discusses what it truly means to learn, and how learning actually occurs. The chapter also touched on the debate about whether brain research for educators is helpful or not. The chapter didn’t come to a definite conclusion, but showed ways in which brain research can help with educational decision making and teaching both the young and old.

I found it particularly interesting to read about the concepts of ‘critical periods’ and ‘sensitive periods.’ I have often heard that it is a lot easier to learn a second language when you are younger, and as you age it become gradually more difficult. I always sort of assume this is because as adults we become less patient when it comes to learning new tasks. I never considered the fact that perhaps we have surpassed the period of time in which our brain is developing and able to learn new skills. While I know that it is still possible to learn a new skill in adulthood, it surprised me to learn that the brain may rely on different strategies for learning. I doubted the concept of the ‘critical period’ in human brain development because I know (although it may be simply an assumption), that there is no point in time when you brain has fully developed and it is impossible to learn new tasks. Now I understand the process behind why it may be more difficult for me to learn a third language or begin to play the piano (two tasks that I would enjoy learning to do). Like I said before, I always assumed I was just too impatient to learn these new things. While patience may play a role in the learning process, I now understand that I will need to look for new ways to begin learning these tasks. I won’t be able to learn a third language the same way I was able to learn a second language, because the sensitive period of my brain development has passed. Perhaps looking into new strategies of learning will help me out, because it seems that my brain will also be relying on a different strategy and brain pathway to learn new information. While most of the information in this module seemed straightforward and obvious, it was interesting to learn about some of the science behind it all. For the most part, I have studied and learned the brain functions in other classes (Psychology), but I have never learned it in a way that applies specifically to the development of a child’s brain.

In that picture shown, it shows the number of synaptic connections that occur between neurons. At birth, the number is rather low, while the number seems to peak during early childhood. This picture can be translated to say that at birth the brain is not very developed, but as the child grows and develops, the brain does as well. During early childhood, the brain is able to learn new things easily, as the neurons create multiple synaptic connections. Over time, however, the brain is no longer as sensitive to environmental influences. Because of this, it may require the brain to rely on different strategies and pathways in order to learn a task than it had relied on during early childhood.