Subscribe to BrainSpark Blog RSS FeedRewards, what are they and why are they important for learning
Rewards are events; conditions or things that make us want to come back for more. Rewards play an important role in all kinds of learning. Rewards increase the probability and intensity of the behavioral actions leading to these rewards. Unlike basic sensory systems where light, sound, and touch simulate receptors for these sensory systems that carry information to the brain, basic rewards do not stimulate special “reward receptors”. Instead, the brain must extract the reward information from visual, auditory, somatosensory, olfactory and other sensory systems.
Full PostWhat Parents Can See in Child's Learning Behavior
After completing BrainSpark Learning, participants are prepared to listen, think, learn to read or become better readers and will have the ability to follow directions and take tests. You'll also notice improved:
Full PostAttention Features in BrainSpark
All of us know that we learn and perform better at everything we do if we are focused and can pay careful attention to details. In school, teachers often evaluate students by how well they attend in class. Teachers may use the term "good listening skills" to refer to students who attend and follow class directions well. To improve attentional skills, neuroscientists who developed the BrainSpark programs have specific exercises that tax attention as well as speed by presenting sounds very quickly, thereby forcing the child to maintain their attention to fleeting stimuli, as in Sky Gym and Space Racer. But in addition, the neuroscientists have built in training devices that specifically target attentional skills. For example, a child cannot ask to hear a something a second time, or ask to have a statement repeated. This forces the child to learn to attend the first time a stimulus is presented. Further, almost all of the exercises require a child to press a "ready" button, to initiate each activity in the exercise. By pressing the ready button, this actually increases the presence of a neurochemical that enhances the child's ability to pay attention.
Full PostKnowledge Features in BrainSpark
Of course, the goal of all brain building exercises is to allow children to learn better and "know" more. BrainSpark achieves this by increasing learning capacity through improvements in speed, processing rate, attention and recall skills. But in addition, BrainSpark has specific exercises that stress "knowledge" of vocabulary, Robo Dog and Star Pics, as well as language conventions through Ele-Bot and Stellar Stories.
Full PostProcessing Rate Features in BrainSpark
In the world of neuroscience, processing is the term used to refer to how the brain actually handles information. Processing rate is related to speed, how fast one can handle information, but also accuracy. To be able to follow the directions of a teacher, or read a book, a child has to be able to process many details in very quickly. Full Post
Recall Features in BrainSpark
Certainly all of us understand the importance of memory in learning. We all tend to consider people with good memories as very "smart." And now, new research has shown that just by exercising a kind of memory, called working memory, we can make our brains "smarter". We all use working memory when we play games like "Concentration," but we use working memory everyday when we keep "to do lists" in mind. Children need recall skills not just to take tests but also to remember what a teacher said when they take notes, or follow directions, or write essays. BrainSpark works on recall and memory through two kinds of exercises. First, all children practice following directions in Space Commander and Stellar Stories. But, second, working memory, that builds immediate recall, is built through the exercises of Whalien Match and Lunar Tunes, concentration-like exercises that require recall of small detailed differences in words.
Full PostSequencing Features in BrainSpark
Placing the detail of information in the correct order such as days of the week and the alphabet. In the context of reading, sequencing is the ability to determine the order of letters within words or words within sentences. Understanding the correct sequence helps in the processing and comprehension of the message and information.
Full PostHow to SPARK learning
We all know how difficult it is to learn a new language, or take up a new skill like golf after we reach adulthood. But, what many of us do not realize is that learning of anything new, whether we are six or sixty, requires changes in the brain that are set in motion by several factors. Several years ago a group of neuroscientists at UCSF and Rutgers University began studying what conditions are necessary to learn and how the brain changes when people learn new information or master new skills. They discovered that unlike babies, who can learn passively, without trying, school-age children and adults need certain capabilities and learning conditions to learn information.
Full PostHow Parents Can Build Off BrainSpark Learning
Sequencing – placing the detail of information in the correct order such as days of the week and the alphabet. In the context of reading, sequencing is the ability to determine the order of letters within words or words within sentences. Understanding the correct sequence helps in the processing and comprehension of the message and information.
Full PostAll memory is not created equal: Different kinds of memory and how they are stored
After years of research, leading scientists conclude that there is not one central part of the human brain that stores all our memories. It is most likely that memories are stored in many areas of the brain—those involved in the perception, processing, and analysis.
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