“Rethinking Education” is an online series focused on using the latest research for enhancing student learning. Presenters provided learning protocols applicable to both online and traditional classrooms. I’ll present both in this post. 

Using the latest research on brain science to enhance student learning in the online and traditional classroom was the focus of the “Rethinking Education” online presentation by Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman that I attended in September 2021. The conference zeroed in on new, not widely publicized research. 

First, we’ll look at some general background on rewiring the brain for learning. Second, we will sketch out the basic protocols. Third, we will discuss how to apply this information to online and traditional classrooms. Additional resources can be found at the end of the post. 

1. What is neuroplasticity?

Dr. Huberman described neuroplasticity as how an organ—our brain—changes itself to be better. No other organ can do that task and direct its own adaptation. Our brains are essentially constantly evolving maps of our experience and ongoing learning. There are two types of neuroplasticity—active and passive. We can be rewired by positive experiences and negative experiences. From birth to approximately age 25 we can rewire our brains actively or passively. Until age 25, simply being in a new environment can evoke neuroplasticity. After age 25 the adult brain can change, but it requires active effort. 

2. What is essential to neuroplasticity? 

There are three essentials to neuroplasticity: Alertness and focus to take in new information and sleep where the brain replays new learning which then results in rewiring. All new learning results in new neurocircuits in the brain and thus rewiring. When rewiring, which often happens during sleep, the brain engages in rapid repetitions of new information forwards and backward along the new circuit. How rapid? Approximately 10  to 20 times the speed it was initially learned. No, we don’t want students sleeping in the classroom, but that tells us most learning doesn’t happen in the classroom. 

There are other ways than sleep to begin these repetitions of new information in the classroom. Huberman points to research demonstrating the effectiveness of random 10-second breaks in learning where students close their eyes from outside stimulation. During this time, the student shouldn’t be trying to repeat the information they just learned. All they need to do is take the 10-second break and the brain will automatically begin rewiring. The processing rate is similar to deep sleep. The more mental rehearsals and repetitions, the better the learning. And again, these repetitions occur outside conscious awareness. In addition, there are non-sleep, deep-rest protocols such as naps, meditation, and self-hypnosis within 3 to 4 hours of the learning bout that can achieve these effects in 10 to 30 minutes.  While some of that may sound touchy-feely and more suited to Naropa University than CU Denver, Huberman says all these methods have been verified by peer-reviewed articles published “in stringent journals.” He notes that while it has been known that sleep enhanced learning, the underlying mechanisms have only been understood in research published in 2021.

3. What are the basic protocols to stimulate neuroplasticity in the classroom?

1. Facilitate alertness 

2. Facilitate focus

3. Generate repetitions

4. Insert micro-rests

5. Offer intermittent praise

6. Limit learning bouts to no more than 90 minutes

7. Discuss non-sleep, deep rest protocols

4. Ideas for incorporating these protocols into the online and traditional classroom

1. Facilitate alertness

If students are excited, curious,, and motivated, alertness and focus come naturally. In my experience that is true in some upper division classes, but by no means all classes. What can be done in the absence of naturally occurring motivation? Here, Huberman recommends beginning a class with a story and/or white noise in the background. Both have been demonstrated to increase alertness and focus. Stories can be personal. Music educator Ben Ede is one of the first teachers to deploy these specific protocols in the classroom. He says it is important for students to see teachers as people and not only as someone setting expectations and requiring production. Huberman noted that stories create coherence among students and breath and heart rate synchronize. Interestingly, new research shows that students in a remote Zoom class also synchronize their physiology despite being in different locations. Stories can also be incorporated into online courses via narrative accounts and short videos. 

Students are also more motivated when given choices and options within lesson plans and assignments. (Our colleague Prof. Sasha Breger-Bush has done excellent work in this regard. More can be seen in her book Global Politics: A Toolkit for Learners.) I discuss this also in my post on my experiments over the last year with learning journal portfolio assignments here. ADD LINK

2. Facilitate focus

Mental focus follows visual focus. As the field of focus narrows, the focus narrows. A visual target can be used in the traditional classroom. The target can be simple, such as a cross. We are not talking about a Christian cross, but something more like what you would see in an eye exam. The cross should be placed where the learning is to take place. An arm’s length if a book or computer screen is where the learning will take place. It can also be placed on a chalkboard projected on a wall screen if using PowerPoint or a podium if lecturing in a traditional classroom. This focusing image could also be integrated at the beginning of a slide deck or when changing topics in a PowerPoint lecture.  It sounds quirky, but these are evidence-based interventions that are low-cost in time and effort. In online classes the narrowing of focus that occurs when engaging with a screen naturally induces focus. Requiring students to take action or move in some way also sharpens focus. One of my most successful textbook discussions was done while walking with students across campus. They held small group conversations for each question as they walked and then we would stop and provide time for whole class discussion before moving on to the next question and repeating the cycle. 

3. Generate repetitions and expect and embrace errors

This would be natural for traditional classrooms where instructors intersperse lectures with small group breakout sessions. The breakout sessions can work on real-world applications and problems related to what's just been covered in the lecture. Allowing rewrites after feedback is a way to use errors as a learning opportunity.  An online equivalent may be practice quizzes interspersed into course pages that require completion to move forward. To further create a learning space that encourages errors the quizzes could be ungraded, but require a given score to unlock the next lesson. If you have additional ideas, let me know. 

4. Insert micro-rests

Instruct the students to close their eyes for 10 seconds for a micro-rest. When you should have the micro-rests is relatively intuitive as long as they are random. We all, over time, learn to read energy levels in the room. The biggest challenge will be taming our own excitement in pontificating about our pet theories and ideas so we can insert the break. 

5. Offer intermittent praise

Dopamine is the molecule of motivation, not reward, as is believed in conventional wisdom.  And more reward is not better. As a person habituates to praise, more and more is required to reach the same dopaminergic effect. It is the same brain circuits that underlie any form of addiction. Intermittent, unexpected rewards provide the greatest amount of dopamine. Huberman compares it to the mild excitement of receiving expected good news in the mail, versus the excitement of unexpected good news in the mail. An expected reward that doesn’t happen leads to a crash with dopamine levels lower than baseline. Intermittent reward also modulates dopamine and makes dopamine stores sustainable by letting dopamine rise and lower without wild swings, thus avoiding habituation and the inevitable major crashes. Most of the internet relies on the same principle of motivating by intermittent reward. For example, you might give a student above-average praise the first time they bring up an interesting point. The second time, you simply say, “Good point. Let’s move on.” It's also why playing hard to get at the beginning of a relationship can increase ardor. 

6. Limit learning bouts to no more than 90 minutes. 

This isn’t a problem in standard-length traditional classes but would be helpful in single graduate evening seminars, weekend courses, or Maymester classes. In an online setting, it's likely people engage the course material intermittently, but I plan to include a page with these protocols in my asynchronous online courses so students can create their own learning schedules if they desire. 

7. Inform students about Non-sleep, deep rest (NSDR) protocols

Non-sleep, deep rest (NSDR) protocols, such as 10 minutes of stretching or yoga, boost neuroplasticity. While micro-rests are practical for the class, full NSDR protocols would not be practical unless it was a 10-minute relaxation in an extended weekend class. And again, to optimize learning, NSDR practices need to be within four hours of a learning bout. It would be of more help to online students. I plan to provide students with information and resources for these optional practices to use at home to process online learning. One resource is the free Reveri self-hypnosis interactive phone app. Although this may seem “New Agey,” it is based on published, peer-reviewed research and designed by David Spiegel, MD, professor of psychiatry at Stanford medical school. Similarly, Yoga Nidra scripts (available on YouTube) have similar effects supporting unconscious mental repetition and rehearsal and thus facilitating neuroplasticity and learning.  More resources are posted below. 

Huberman will update and revise these protocols as additional research becomes available. 

To see an example of an NSDR (yoga nidra) protocol see Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR): A Science Supported Tool for De-Stress and Relaxation - YouTube

To see more about Dr. Spiegel's Reveri app see: R E V E R I - Hypnosis for your wellbeing, backed by science

To see a video of Huberman's full talk: RETHINK EDUCATION: The Biology of Learning Featuring Dr. Andrew Huberman - YouTube

Huberman's own summary of his Rethinking Education talk is here: Teach & Learn Better With A "Neuroplasticity Super Protocol" - Huberman Lab

Huberman's podcasts can be seen here: Podcast Episodes Archives - Huberman Lab