Research-Based Strategies for Teaching

The Takeaway: The goal of this paper is to connect what is known in neurobiology to what is known from science education research about how innovative teaching is effective at promoting learning. This article seeks to understand biological learning processes in the context of think-pair-share and how teachers can harness neurological mechanisms to improve learning.

Why is this important?

At the most fundamental and mechanistic level, teaching and learning is a neurological phenomena arising from physical changes in brain cells. Only about half of teachers and the general public agree with this, yet recent advances in brain science have provided an in-depth picture of the molecular and cellular changes that occur during learning. Neurobiologists agree that these alterations are both necessary and sufficient for the formation of memories.

Q: How might one conceptualize learning as a biological process in the context of a common teaching technique called “think–pair–share”?

• During the “think” phase: Tasks assigned to students must pique their interest and motivate them to pay attention to the concept under study. That attention might cause the release of chemicals in the brain that carry signals between synapses and promote learning. The task may also tie the concept to other topics from the class or from real life, challenging the students and the brain cells within them to form associations that can aid long-term memory formation and retrieval.
• During the “pair and share” phase: Students gain confidence by completing an activity with a community of supportive peers. These feelings of confidence and community may also promote learning indirectly by preventing the release of chemicals in the brain and body, such as stress hormones, that could inhibit learning.
• All of the phases of think–pair–share are in service to the ultimate goal of encoding memory in synaptic connections and neural circuits.

Q: How do various teaching techniques harness known neurological mechanisms to promote the creation and retrieval of long-term memories?

• Example 1: Frequent, actively engaging homework

• Many psychology studies have confirmed that mere passive exposure to knowledge, such as rereading a previously read passage, is not very effective for creating memories. Passive strategies such as listening and reading seem to do a poor job of developing higher-order thinking skills like problem solving, synthesis, or evaluation, even when the material is designed to explain or model those skills.
• Fostering learning involves deliberate practice of the skills involved; in other words, to teach problem solving, we must give students many problems to solve.
• Frequent homework can be an opportunity to give students that practice. Studies suggest that assigning homework in college biology classes can increase performance.

• Example 2: Concept mapping

• Many biology courses present students with lots of details but do not give students a big-picture view that would allow them to classify and organize those details.
• Because of this detail-oriented approach, novice biology students see biological knowledge as being made up of facts that are disconnected from one another and from their everyday lives.
• When students create concept maps, they must explicitly link biological concepts and ideas to one another. This allows students to forge synaptic networks and memory, as well as counter the tendency to view each detail separately. 

• Example 3: Problem-based learning

• Problem-based learning typically connects science content to situations the learners may encounter outside of school, such as future professional contexts or broader social contexts.
• Studies of classes that use problem-based learning report positive effects on  class attendance, student retention, retaining knowledge, and conceptual understanding.
• Neurobiologists have shown that motivation and attention, which problem-based learning promotes, are associated with the release of dopamine and ACh. In turn, these neurotransmitters greatly bolster the formation of new synaptic connections, leading to better memory and recall.

• Example 4: Culturally diverse examples

• Many students lack personal knowledge of scientists and hold stereotypes about what scientists are like. Often these stereotypes are reinforced by the media and even occasionally by materials meant to promote positive views of science or scientists.
• When students reach the classroom and do not see themselves or issues of concern to their communities represented within it, they might reasonably conclude that they do not belong in biology.
• Additionally, if lack of representation induces fear or anxiety, it could lead to students’ overproduction of the hormone cortisol. It is known that students who face stereotype threat exhibit much larger increases in blood pressure and cortisol levels in situations in which they are being evaluated, like taking a test, than students who do not face stereotype threat.

Which of these teaching techniques and their neuroscientific effects were most interesting to you? Which of these might you consider incorporating into your own teaching?