An Overview of Chapter 6 in Barbara Given’s book,
Teaching to the Brain’s Natural Learning Systems
Jennifer Cava: Psychology of Learning Communities
THE REFLECTIVE LEARNING SYSTEM
What is reflective learning?
Most sophisticated learning system
• Last system to develop during one’s lifetime
• Last to develop in terms of evolution
Deals with brain and body’s executive
functions
• Higher-level Thinking & Problem Solving
• Ability to be in the present, while “reliving the past and
contemplating the future” (Given, 2002)
It is the system that distinguishes us
from chimpanzees and other apes and
makes us human.
(Dozier, 1998; Restak, 1994)
According to David Perkins,
“the reflective system allows us to
become all we are capable of
becoming.” (1995)
Personal
consideration of
one’s own
learning
Knowledge of
one’s own
learning style
(what works,
what doesn’t)
Monitoring your
own thinking
Reflective
Intelligence
The Basis of Reflective Learning
Conscience
Extended
Consciousness
Core
Consciousness
Core
Consciousness
• What we see, hear, touch, smell, or
taste in the present creates a feeling or
temporary knowledge
Extended
Consciousness
• Development of “autobiographical self”
• Builds off of core consciousness, but
involves memory
Conscience
• Extended consciousness inspires
curiosity about the self, leading to the
development of a conscience
Conscience, Spirit, & Reflective Learning
Conscience
[Monitors
feelings,
thoughts, &
actions]
Spirit
[Personality
of the
emotional
system]
The student’s
moral
development
[Guides their work
ethic, sense of
fairness, and
commitment]
The Brain and Reflective Learning
The Frontal Lobes are most critical for
reflective learning because they:
 Inhibit our “primitive urges”
 Anticipate consequences for actions
 Develop goals
 Balance our emotions
Our Frontal Lobes
 Comprise almost 40%
of the human brain
 Are more than 200%
larger than the
chimpanzee brain
(Dozier, 1998; Restak, 1994)
“Perhaps of greatest
importance, the frontal
lobes tell us what
not
to say and do.”
(Diamond, Personal Communication)
Frontal Lobe Malfunctions
Loss of
ambition
• Produces
apathy
Sequencing
disturbances
Lack of executive
control
• Difficulty
keeping track
of information
• Can not
anticipate
consequences
Disturbed future
memory
• Interferes with
goal setting
Disturbance in
continuity from
past into future
• Failure to see
self as evolving
person
“Because the frontal lobes continue
to develop through adolescence and
educators
continue to have
opportunities for making
a difference in students
into adulthood,
considered difficult to teach, as
well as those whose stages of
development are within
expectations.” (Given, 2002)
What can teachers do?????
We must allow
time for
reflective
thought.
We must ASK
QUESTIONS!!
 What worked? What didn’t
work?
 Why do you think this is so?
 How might your group
design the next project
differently do it works
better?
What ELSE can teachers do??
 Provide broad
thinking challenges
(remembering, problem
solving, and decision
making)
 Collect and analyze data to
figure out what needs to
be modified
 Identify and nurture
student strengths
 Cultivate positive
attitudes
 Be a Talent
Scout
“ALTHOUGH THE REFLECTIVE LEARNING SYSTEM IS THE LAST TO
DEVELOP BIOLOGICALLY, IT IS THE
MOST HUMAN
LEARNING SYSTEMS, ACTING AS THE BRAIN’S
OF ALL
CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER TO INTEGRATE THE ORGAN’S
OLDEST AND NEWEST PARTS INTO A COHESIVE WHOLE.”
(GIVEN, 2002)