Support from neuroscience for robust, embodied learning—the connectome

For many years, we’ve been arguing that learning is best viewed as a process of creating networks of connections. We’ve defined robust learning as a process of building knowledge networks that are so well connected they allow us to put knowledge to work in a wide range of contexts. And we’ve described embodied learning — a way of learning that involves the whole person in interaction with the social and physical world, and is much more than the memorization of facts, terms, definitions, rules, or procedures.

New evidence from the neurosciences provides support for this way of thinking about learning. According to research recently published in Nature, people with more connected brains — specifically those with more connections across different parts of the brain — demonstrate greater intelligence than those with less connected brains — including better problem-solving skills. And this is only one of several research projects that report similar findings.

Lectica exists because we believe that if we really want to support robust, embodied learning for everyone, we must be able to measure it. Our assessments are the only standardized assessments that have been deliberately developed to measure and support this kind of learning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpZL-QcOqFs

References

Baggio, H. C., Segura, B., Junque, C., de Reus, M. A., Sala-Llonch, R., & Van den Heuvel, M. P. (2015). Rich club organization and cognitive performance in healthy older participants. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 27, 1801–1810.

Crossleya, N. A., Mechelli, A., Vértes, P. E., Winton-Brown, T. T., Patel, A. X., Ginestet, C. E., . . . Bullmore, E. T. (2013). Cognitive relevance of the community structure of the human brain functional coactivation network. Proceedings of the Nationa Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110.

LeDoux, J. E., & Brown, R. (2017). A higher-order theory of emotional consciousness. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 114(10), E2016-E2025. doi:10.1073/pnas.1619316114

Smith, K., Bastin, M. E., Cox, S. R., Valdés Hernández, M. C., Wiseman, S., Escudero, J., & Sudlow, C. (2019). Hierarchical complexity of the adult human structural connectome. Neuroimage, 191, 205–215. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.028