COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE FOR CORPORATE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Considering
the amount invested in training, the return on their investment in learning and
growth is not seen by many organizations. Only 37 percent of firms believe
their systems are effective, (Singaraju, Carroll, and Park (2015 as cited in
Bersin, Geller, Wakefield, & Walsh, 2016, p. 7). The small return on
investment (ROI) for corporate training is referred to by Beer et al. (2016) as
the "great training theft" (p. 1). They argue that organizational
learning investments do not translate into positive changes for companies (Beer
et al., 2016, p.1). In a 2008 review of internal and family medicine residents
who enrolled in an online seminar on diabetes recommendations, this conviction
that training is inadequate was mirrored. The study found that within 8 days of
finishing the module, participants lost half of their awareness gains. In lieu
of learners scoring the tutorial "very good" or "excellent"
55 days after completion of the lesson, improvements in information were
negligible (Bell et al., 2008, p. 1164).
Around
the same time, it could be more important than ever for workers to be able to
understand and adapt. 84 percent of executives cited learning as
"important or very important" according to the 2016 Deloitte Human
Resources Report (Bersin, Geller, Wakefield, & Walsh, 2016, p. 6). A
analysis released in the MIT Sloane Management Review (Kane et al., 2016) found
that 90 percent of managers or executives "anticipate that digital trends
will largely or moderately disrupt their industries" (p. 3). Gratton and
Scott (2016) expect that along with the expertise workers need the working
world of the future will change and develop dramatically. In a quickly evolving
digital world, much of the skills staff learn today will gradually become
outdated.
Instant
access to information through mobile phones, instant messages and ever rising
internet speeds compound the fast rate of transition. Deloitte's 2014 research
by Bersin characterized modern learners as overwhelmed, busy, restless,
unconnected, collaborative, and motivated (Tauber & Wang-Audia, 2014, p.
4-6). They proposed that designers create online courses have "5-10
seconds before they click away to grab someone's attention" (p.10). In
line with that, Microsoft's 2015 report measured the average adult's attention
span to be smaller than that of a goldfish (Microsoft, 2015, p.6).
One
possible mechanism to resolve the absence of organizational training-related
ROI may be to further tailor training systems to how workers think. Current
neuroscience research has significantly improved our understanding of how
knowledge leading to memory development that is important for learning is taken
in, stored and maintained (Collins, 2016, p. 50). Our knowledge of neuroscience
can provide clues as to how the positive effect of corporate growth initiatives
can be improved. The latest research on the biology of memory development will
be explored in this article and a continuous article on its future use for the
transformation of learning in a business environment.
Learning - on neuroscience perspective
Neuroscience
is an evolving yet increasingly growing area powered by developments in
neuroimaging, particularly Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) (Stuart, 2014, p.3). Rapid innovations in
fMRI and PET scans have allowed researchers to see neurochemical behavior in
the brain during the encoding, consolidation and retrieval of data used for
memory creation (Stuart, 2014, p.3). This has broadened the comprehension of
how learning takes place in the brain and the variables that improve or hinder
learning.
There
are many different meanings of neuroscience, including "psychology,
physiology, philosophy and even computer science, engineering and
physics," since it incorporates several scientific disciplines (Collins,
2016, p. 7). The concept of cognitive neuroscience suggested by Rugg in 1997
will be included in this literature review: "Cognitive neuroscience seeks
to understand how cognitive functions and their manifestations in behavior and
individual opinion emerge through brain activity" (p. 1). This literature
review would cover research both on the function of the brain, as shown by
neuroimaging, and by perception or learning, the production or manifestation of
this activity.
Since there are various concepts of
neuroscience, there are also different definitions of learning that can be
crossed with and confused with, memory, and different forms of learning. We use
our memories to remember, according to Collins (2016), but possessing a memory
is not enough to count as learning (p. 50). We must be able to decipher that
memory later to demonstrate learning in order for learning to take place (p.
50). As such, there is a strong relation between the development of declarative
memories (or memories that can be expressed) and learning.
Knowledge
must be encoded, preserved and recovered at a later date in order for
declarative memories to be created (Collins, 2016, p. 141; Davachi, Keifer,
Rock, D., & Rock, L., 2010, p. 2; Rasch & Born, 2013, p. 683). In
mediating the development of declarative memory, the hippocampus, part of the
limbic system, plays a central role in (Collins et al., 2016, p. 56). Studies
suggest that the hippocampus has to be properly stimulated to encode memories
(Davachi et al., 2010, p. 2). The pre-frontal cortex, amygdala and caudate
nucleus comprise other regions of the brain addressed in this literature review
and implicated in memory development.
Reference
AON Hewitt and The
Business Council of Canada (2016, March). Developing Canada’s future workforce: a survey of
large private-sector employers. Retrieved from http://thebusinesscouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Developing-Canadas-Future-Workforce.pdf
Beer. M., Finnstrom, M., and Schrader, D. (2016). The
great training robbery (Harvard Business School No. 16-121) Boston:
MA.
Bell, D., Harless, C., Higa, J., Bjork, E., Bjork, R.,
Bazargan, M., & Mangione, C. (2008). Knowledge retention after an online
tutorial: A randomized educational experiment among resident physicians. Journal
of General Internal Medicine, 23(8), 1164-1171.
doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0604-2
Bell, M., Kawardi, N., Simone, P., & Wisehart, M.
(2014). Long-term memory, sleep, and the spacing effect. Memory, 22(3),
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Collins, S. (2016). Neuroscience for learning and
development: How to apply neuroscience and psychology for improved learning and
training. London: Kogan Page.
Davachi, L., & Dobbins, I. (2008). Declarative
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Davachi, L., & Wagner, A. (2002). Hippocampal
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learning. Journal of Neurophysiology, 88(2), 982-990.
doi:10.1152/jn.2002.88.2.982
Davachi, L., Kiefer, T., Rock, D., & Rock L. (2010).
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Gratton, L. & Scott, A. (2016) The 100-year
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Information.
Kane, G.C., Palmer. D., Nguyen Phillips. A., Kiron, D.,
and Buckley, N. (2016) Aligning the organization for its digital future.
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(Ed.), Cognitive neuroscience: Studies in cognition, 1st ed. (pp.
1-9). London: Psychology Press.
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learning factbook; Benchmarks, trends, and analysis of the US training
market, Bersin by Deloitte, 2015, http://marketing.bersin.
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Development (2014). Neuroscience in action: Applying insight to
L&D practice.
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Developmental cognitive neuroscience is a multidimensional and interdisciplinary field that attempts to explain how cognitive development is supported by changes in underlying brain structure and function, and how brain organization changes over developmental time (Johnson 2011).
ReplyDeleteLearning mechanisms extract potentially useful information from
Deleteexperience, while memory carries the acquired information forward in time in a computationally accessible form that is acted upon by the animal at the time of retrieval (Gallistel & King 2009).
Agree, neuroscience is an evolving yet increasingly growing area powered by developments in neuroimaging. Rapid innovations in fMRI and PET scans have allowed researchers to see neurochemical behavior in the brain. possessing a memory is not enough to count as learning, according to Collins (2016). We must be able to decipher that memory later to demonstrate learning, he says (Collins, 2016).
ReplyDeleteAccording to (Marr 1982), in associative learning theory, the brain rewires itself so as to perform better in the experienced world, but it does not represent what it is about the world that makes the new performance better suited to it. When so conceived, the association-forming process may be mathematically modeled, but it is not the physical realization of a computation (or a memory).The information-processing framework, by contrast, is closely allied to the computational theory of mind, which holds that a necessary level of analysis in connecting neuroscience to behavioral phenomena is an analysis of the computations that the brain performs in extracting behaviorally useful information from raw experience .
DeleteBased on research conducted on neuroscience organizations could use gamified courses. These courses could be created with a special focus on strategy, to drive performance in key concepts and for a deeper learning for the employee. This is mainly because video games can help improve attention, efficiency, and visual-spatial skills (Bleich, 2017).
ReplyDeleteThe first documented use of the term “gamification” was in 2008 (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke 2011) and was defined simply as using game design elements in non-game contexts. Since 2008, gamification as a concept has been broadened and defined by others as follows.
Delete• The process of using game thinking and game mechanics to solve problems. ((Deterding, et. el, 2011)
• The use of game mechanics, dynamics, and frameworks to promote desired behaviors. (Lee, & Hammer 2011)
• The trend of employing game mechanics to non-game environments such as innovation, marketing, training, employee performance, health, and social change. (The Gartner Group)
• Gamification is using game-based mechanics, aesthetics, and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning and solve problems. (Kapp, 2012).