What do we know about how we learn to do something? To quote German philosopher,

Friedrich Nietzsche, “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and

run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” The way we learn is in stages; some

aspects of the learning process can be observed, while other aspects are happening inside our

brains. We can watch someone practice the guitar, but what we cannot see is the neurological

processes going on their brain; the neurons developing and growing, turning that guitar practice

into guitar mastery.

According to Rita Smilkstein, we naturally learn through a series of stages. It starts with

motivation, something in our environment that inspires us to learn a skill. After the initial

motivation, we begin to practice that skill, whether we are successful immediately or not. After

the initial practice, comes the stage of advanced practice, where we begin to take our new

experience and try to expand that knowledge. Following that, is the skillfulness stage, finding

new or our own ways of showing off our practiced skill. With refinement, we are no longer

amateurs at our skill; we have done it so often that it becomes easy, we can teach and be praised

by others for being so adept. Finally, with the stage of mastery, we have established ourselves as

master of the skill so much that we abandon practice the skill or seek a higher level of challenge

to it. (Smilkstein)

When I learned to knit, I followed the stages that Smilkstein described. I was motivated

to learn the craft of knitting by observing others produce beautiful knitwear. I bought two

wooden needles, a ball of yarn and a how-to book, and set out to knit my first scarf. I found the

written instructions my book to be confusing, so I asked a knitter I knew to help me get started.

By observing her, eventually, I was able to emulate her and form the yarn into stitches that

would become a scarf. My first scarf was full of mistakes, but trying to fix it ended up teaching

me new techniques that would become valuable skills. With practical knowledge, the knitting

books began to make sense and I could move on to more complicated patterns and projects. Over

time, people would observe my knitting and ask how it was done and I would teach others how

to knit. Years later, I joined a group of knitters who met regularly and compared projects and

techniques. Through this group, I was able to continue to foster my skills and encourage others to

The way a neuron is developed and grows, is not dissimilar to how a tree is formed and

grows. Neurons are brain cells, of which we have 100 billion, though not all of them are fully

developed. All neurons have soma and axon. The soma is the cell body and would be like the

heartwood of the tree. The axon is the fiber extending out of the soma and is like the trunk of the

tree. Around the axon is a myelin sheath, protecting it like the bark of the tree. The axon

terminals are like the root system of a tree, because they have neurotransmitters that stimulate the

growth of the neuron. When the soma is stimulated, this causes fibers to grow from it. These

fibers are dendrites and can be easily compared to the branches of the tree. (Smilkstein, Ch. 3)

While the development of neurons can be explained with a tree metaphor, a spark plug

comparison helps to explain how synaptic firing works. Neurotransmitters are released into the

synaptic gap. Endorphins are the fuel for synaptic firing.

The emotions we have while learning affect our ability to learn in a number of ways. The

body produces electrical chemicals, called hormones, when responding to stimulus. The creation

of hormones, or neurotransmitters, is what causes synaptic firing. The different hormones affect

how we respond in different ways. When the body produces endorphins, these make us feel good

and are good hormones for learning. However, noradrenaline, also known as norepinephrine, is

typically not good for learning. This produces stress, which while bad for producing synaptic

firing, is good for if you are in a “fight or flight” situation. For instance, if we are studying bears,

it would be beneficial to be without stress; having good hormones causing our synapses to fire

and retain lot of information about bears. However, when face to face with a bear, the stress

caused by this would likely stimulate the safest response, to run away and learn about bears in an

environment free of them.

I know that emotions affect learning, because it has happened to me throughout my entire

school career, from grade school through my many unsuccessful attempts at higher learning.

When I began college, an unfortunate cycle started to form where missing a single day of class

would lead to me abandoning the class completely. Typically, the cycle played out like this: I

would start to do poorly in a class or become too nervous about the work and I would miss a day

of that class. The stress of now being further behind, would encourage me to miss another day of

the class. Eventually, this would cause me to drop the class or simply stop showing up and

accept the failing grade. Sometimes, I would retake the class, hoping to do better this attempt,

but I would fall prey to the same cycle again and again; the stress worsening each time.

To ensure that my learning process is as successful as possible, I will need to employ

certain helpful strategies. In order to prevent missing that initial class, the JMU Learning

Toolbox suggests I use the LIST method. This method had me “look” at what is causing me to

miss the class, “identify” the consequences that come with missing the class, “set” goals for

myself to motivate my attendance and, finally, to seek out and “talk” to my teacher about how

we can work together to improve my attendance. The toolbox also provides daily planners to

help ensure that I am organized and know what I need to be doing and when. Other strategies I

can employ are better time management and developing self-discipline. For time management,

using the daily planners will help me, making sure to block off time to devote to studying and

preparing for class. I must use my free time wisely and be sure to postpone unnecessary activities

until my work is completed. (Landsberger, www.studygs.net/timman.htm) In order to develop

self-discipline, I should maintain my schedule and review how I kept to it, so that I can help

identify where I can improve my routine. (Landsberger, www.studygs.net/discipline.htm) If I am

able to set goals, figure out what I need to accomplish those goals, and keep to a daily plan, I

should be able to break the cycle that is keeping me from my best learning process.

Works Cited:

Smilkstein, Rita. We're Born to Learn: Using the Brain's Natural Learning Process to Create

Today's Curriculum, 2nd Ed. Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Corwin, 2011.

"The Learning Toolbox." The Learning Toolbox. JMU, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Landsberger, Joe. "Study Guides and Strategies." Study Guides and Strategies. N.p., n.d. Web.

16 Feb. 2016.