Brain Based Learning & Social Learning Theory

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Brain-Based Learning

1. Why "Brain-Based Learning"?

Every teacher wants what they teach to stick in the student's mind, to be remembered during exams, and not to be forgotten. Brain science has exploded in the last 30 years. We now know quite a bit about how the brain learns and remembers. Educators have said, "Since we know how the brain works, let's teach accordingly, let's not waste our time trying to understand it."

A brief history (just as phones have become smarter over the years, so has this idea): In the 70s, Leslie Hart said "lessons should conform to the brain's natural workings." The 90s were the years when brain imaging devices exploded, dubbed the "Brain Decade." Then the Caine couple put it into principles, emphasizing the triad of meaning, emotion, and pattern. In the 2000s, Eric Jensen brought this directly into the classroom. Today, the trend is "don't believe every myth you hear, look at the evidence."

2. How does the brain work? (the essence of it)

The brain does forty things at once; It doesn't operate on a single channel. While you're driving, you're simultaneously steering, listening to the radio, and thinking about "what should we eat for dinner?" It's like having 20 tabs open on a computer.

Learning isn't just about the mind; It's about the whole body: If you're hungry, thirsty, or sleep-deprived, your brain says, "I'm out today." Think of someone who sleeps only two hours before an exam. It's like a phone trying to turn on with only 3% battery. Sleep, water, nutrition, stress... they all directly affect learning.

The brain is constantly searching for meaning; It always tries to connect something new to something you already know. Like saying to someone you've just met, "Oh, this looks just like X." That's why information that doesn't resemble anything, that just hangs in the air, is difficult to retain in the mind.

If there's no emotion, there's no memory; You don't remember an ordinary Tuesday from five years ago, but you vividly recall the moment you first fell off your bicycle or the time you felt embarrassed in front of others. Because the brain says, "This is emotional, therefore it's important, record it." Lessons also become permanent when they touch upon an emotion.

The brain sees both the part and the whole simultaneously; Like perceiving a song both as individual notes and as a whole melody. It's like seeing both the single piece and the completed puzzle at the same time.

Besides what you're focusing on, you also register your surroundings; While listening to the teacher in class, you unconsciously register the sound of chips in the background, the hum of the air conditioner, and the color of the whiteboard. That's why the environment is important. It's difficult to concentrate in a cluttered, noisy place.

The brain processes information in the background while resting; If the answer to a problem you couldn't solve comes to you in the shower, this is why. The saying "Sleep for one night, and it will be clear by morning" is scientifically true: the brain organizes the day's information while sleeping.

3. Which region does what? (the brain's team)

Think of your brain like a company, everyone has a role:

• Prefrontal cortex = the boss. Focus, attention, and decision-making are in it.
• Hippocampus = archive, or memory storage. New information is recorded here.
• Cerebellum = coordination. The "first this, then that" sequence.
• Motor cortex = the region that actually initiates movement.
• Basal ganglia = habit center, or autopilot. This is why once you get used to riding a bicycle, you can ride it without thinking again.

Good news: exercise nourishes this brain. Blood flow increases, the brain is more alert, and memory is stronger.

And then there's fMRI. When a region of the brain is working, it uses oxygen, and fMRI shows "this area is warming up right now." It's like a thermal camera of the brain. This allows us to see which parts of the brain are working when reading and which parts are working when doing math.

4. So what do we do in the classroom?

Here are 5 tactics to put all this information to good use:

• Collaborative learning: The brain is social. Explaining a topic to a friend is exactly why you understand it better. Group work, discussion, peer learning.
• Movement breaks: Sitting stiffly at a desk for 3 hours blocks the brain; getting up and stretching for 5 minutes gets the blood flowing and clears the head.
• Retrieval practice (make a note of this): Reading the same page 10 times isn't learning, it's self-deception. The real key is closing the book and asking yourself, "What was this topic about?" The flashcard approach. Many students read it repeatedly and think they've "learned" it, then the screen goes black during the exam.
• Storytelling: Memorizing dry history is difficult, but when the same event is told like a story, it stays in your mind for years. Like still remembering the stories your grandfather told you.
• Connecting to real life: The antidote to the question, "How will this be useful to me?" When you see ratios and proportions while calculating discounts at the supermarket, it suddenly makes sense.

5. Myths ("neuromites")

• "We only use 10% of our brain." → MYTH. (Yes, the movie Lucy lied to us.) Studies show that almost all areas are active throughout the day depending on the task. There's no hidden 90% that's unused.
• "Some people are right-brained artists, some are left-brained logicians." → MYTH. Both hemispheres work together in almost every task. There's no such category as "I'm right-brained," my friend.
• "Brain development ends in adolescence." → MYTH. The decision-making/logic area (prefrontal cortex) continues to develop until around age 25. Let's call it a scientific excuse for young people's occasional impulsive decisions.
• "Multitasking, that is, doing many things at once, increases productivity." → MYTH. The brain doesn't actually do everything simultaneously; it switches between tasks quickly, and each switch drains energy. Checking WhatsApp while studying = both are half-hearted.
• "Brain games improve memory." → MYTH. You're only mastering that specific game; your general memory isn't skyrocketing.
• "Listening to Mozart makes you smarter." → MYTH. The "Mozart Effect" doesn't provide a permanent increase in intelligence. (If only it did, we'd listen to it before exams.)

Then there are some that are TRUE:

• "Exercise strengthens learning and memory." → TRUE. Aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, releasing a type of "brain fertilizer" called BDNF, which strengthens memory. That's why your mind clears up after a walk.
• "Spreading out your studying over time is better than cramming it all in the night before." → TRUE. This is called the "interval study effect," and it works at any age. So, instead of cramming everything into your head the night before an exam, spreading it out over the week is scientifically more beneficial. 
• "Making mistakes, followed by feedback, increases learning." → TRUE. When you make a mistake and it's corrected immediately, that information doesn't easily leave your mind.
  
  

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Social Learning Theory

1.Who is Albert Bandura?

A Canadian psychologist, born in 1925. He studied psychology and received his doctorate in 1952. Interestingly, he initially drew from the behaviorist tradition, but later distanced himself from it and developed his own theory. He became president of the American Psychological Association in 1973, one of the most respected figures in the field. He passed away in 2021.

2.What is social learning? (the heart of the matter)

Bandura says that almost everything you can learn by doing on your own, you can also learn by observing others and what happens to them. Everyday examples: learning to cook by watching your mother, learning to park the car by watching your brother, learning to change a tire by watching a YouTube video. No one sat down and lectured you. You watched, recorded, and did it. The best part is: you also learn from other people's mistakes. You don't need to burn your hand while holding the stove; it's enough to see your friend say "ouch" and pull their hand away. Or when someone gets scolded in class for not doing their homework, you silently open your notebook. He calls this "indirect learning."

3.How does it differ from behaviorism?

This is where the conflict arises. Behaviorists (like Skinner's team) say: "Humans are puppets of their environment; they behave when rewarded and not when punished, and often they aren't even aware of it." In other words, they see humans as automatons that can be switched on. Bandura says, "Hold on a minute." According to him, humans are neither helpless puppets of their inner hidden powers nor of their external environment. Humans are thinking beings capable of self-control; they anticipate the outcome and make decisions accordingly. You don't automatically attack when you smell the cake; you weigh it in your mind, thinking, "Should I eat it? Will I regret it later?" that's the difference.

1. You may have learned a behavior, but you might not exhibit it immediately. It could emerge years later. (Like doing something you observed as a child when you grow up.)
2. Learning isn't always reward-punishment-based; you can learn simply by observing.
3. Humans are not passive beings reacting to stimuli, but active, thinking subjects.

4.Bobo doll experiment

Link = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBqwWlJg8U

This is the experiment that made Bandura famous. Children were shown an adult hitting, kicking, and yelling at an inflatable clown doll called "Bobo." Then the children were left alone with the doll. The result: the children started beating the doll exactly as they saw it, even repeating the words the adult used. The message is clear: children imitate what they see. Think of the modern equivalent: a child copying the actions, words, or swear words from a cartoon or game they watch. It's the same mechanism. Bandura also says this: since people learn by watching, then TV, media, and "role models" can be used to change society. In today's terms: influencers. This can be for good (promoting sports, books, and kindness) or for bad.

5.But does imitation always happen? (4 conditions)

No, you don't do everything you see. Bandura says that four conditions are necessary for learning through observation to occur. Think of it like a chain; if one link breaks, learning doesn't happen:

1. Attention: First, you need to watch and pay attention. If you're playing on your phone while the teacher is explaining on the board, the recording is zero. If there's no attention, the rest is pointless.
2. Memorization: You need to retain what you see in your memory. You encode the image or words in your mind, repeating them internally to keep them. Like watching a dance move and then visualizing it in your mind. How do you do it if you can't remember it?
3. Ability to do it: You need to be able to do it with your body. You can watch Ronaldo's free kicks thousands of times, but if the muscles in your legs can't handle it, you can't do it; that's a physical limit. You have to acquire the underlying skills first.
4. Motivation: You also need to see it as worth doing. If the behavior is punished, you won't do it; if it's rewarded, you will. The subtle point here is: knowing something doesn't mean you'll do it. You know how to swear, but you don't do it in front of your mother, right? It's exactly like that.

6.Reinforcement: reward-punishment mechanism

Bandura doesn't completely dismiss rewards, but he takes a different approach than behaviorists. According to him, reinforcement (reward) comes in three forms:

• Direct: You receive the consequences of your own actions. Getting praise for completing your homework.
• Indirect: You witness others receiving similar rewards. Your helpful friend being praised inspires you to do the same.
• Self-reward: You reward or punish yourself. Feeling a sense of pride when you achieve your goal, or getting angry at yourself when you break your promise.

7.How often are rewards given?

Bandura says that how often you reward someone determines how lasting the behavior becomes. The surprising thing is:

• Someone who gets rewarded every time gives up quickly. If they don't get a reward even once, they say, "Okay, it's over," and stop.
• Someone who gets rewards occasionally, at unpredictable times, persists and doesn't give up easily.

There are four types of "awards calendars," in short:

• Fixed interval: After a certain period, no matter what you do. Like getting paid on the same day every month.
• Fixed rate: After completing a certain number of tasks. Like, "Solve 100 questions, then you can go out."
• Variable interval: At random times. Like the boss occasionally saying "well done" without knowing when they'll be there.
• Variable rate: At a random number of repetitions. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it's useless.

If you owned a casino, which method would you use to keep people glued to the machines? Variable odds. That is, slot machines. You never know when you're going to win, you keep playing with the hope that "it'll come on the next spin." Bandura says this is the most powerful system and the hardest to extinguish because people keep playing with the belief that "it's about to explode," and it takes them a long time to realize the prize won't come anymore. And here's the slightly creepy truth: your phone uses exactly this. The need to scroll down and refresh social media (maybe there's something new!), the uncertainty of when notifications will arrive, the "chest opening" mechanic in games... it's all part of the casino logic Bandura describes. So opening Instagram 100 times a day isn't a coincidence, it's design.

8.Bandura's "harsh" outbursts

• "The idea that behavior is guided by its consequences isn't something scientists invented." Just as physicists didn't invent gravity, neither did psychologists they only describe it. It's nice to portray humans poetically and rosily, but it doesn't change the reality; if you jump from a great height, you'll fall again. Psychology's job isn't to beautify people, but to understand them.
• A critique of "unconditional love." At that time, some experts said, "If you want a child to grow up healthy, show them unconditional love under all circumstances." Bandura disagreed: if a child is met with the same warmth no matter what they do (lie, harm others, fail their studies), an irresponsible person without direction will emerge "self-actualized little tyrants," he joked. So, according to him, limits and consequences are necessary.

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Suggestions and resources discussed in the course;

• Dr. Frank Vertosick Jr. - Beyne birkez hava değmeye görsün
• https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/mar/16/petri-dish-brain-cells-playing-doom-cortical-labs
• https://finalspark.com/
• https://koniku.com/technology.html
• Keanu Reeves - Replicas

My suggestions;

• Method of loki for memory (memory palace)