Learning actually changes our brain

Learning actually changes our brains. According to Dr. Carolyn Hopper, author of Practicing College Study Skills, every time we learn something new, our brains build new connections with the things we already know.Dr. Hopper says that brain research has found four factors in effective studying. The first is making an effort. Our brain remembers better when we are interested in the subject, already know a little about it, and are trying to remember.Next, find the most important points and concentrate on organizing them, and don't try to remember every small detail. There's a limit to the amount of information we can learn at one time. In class, pay special attention to things that the teacher writes on the board. Make up your own way to organize the important information.Then we need to strengthen the new connections in the brain. There are several good ways to do this. One is to say the ideas out loud in your own words. "This is the most powerful tool you have to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory," says Dr. Hopper. Another way is making a picture (in your mind or on paper) of what you just learned to use a completely different part of the brain.Finally, we need time to process the information — the brain has to build the new connections. For this reason, it's better to study for several short sessions rather than one long one, and studying right before a big test seldom helps.Dr. Hopper says, "Being able to explain something in your own words is important, and teaching it to another person is a great way to check your understanding. When we read something, we remember 10%, but when we teach something, we retain 95%."