Learning Theories and
The Brain
The Brain
Focuses on how learners process, store, and retrieve information.
What is Cognitivism?
The body’s automatic response to a perceived threat.
What is Freeze Flight Fight?
A mental framework for organizing and interpreting information.
What is a Schema?
The ability to learn, reason, and solve problems.
What is Intelligence?
The drive or reason behind actions and behaviors.
What is Motivation?
Emphasizes observable behaviors and external stimuli in learning.
What is Behaviorism?
Awareness and regulation of one’s own thinking and learning processes.
What is Metacognition?
The ability to hold and manipulate information in the mind for short-term use.
What is Working Memory?
Attitudes or beliefs about one’s abilities and potential.
What is Mindset?
A metaphor for resilient individuals who can thrive in most environments.
What is a Dandelion?
A network in the brain that regulates alertness and wakefulness.
What is the Reticular Activating System?
Chemicals in the brain that transmit signals between neurons.
What are Neurotransmitters?
The theory that the average person can hold 7±2 items in their working memory.
What is Miller’s Law?
The belief that abilities can develop through effort and learning.
What is a Growth Mindset?
A metaphor for sensitive individuals who thrive in ideal conditions but struggle in adversity.
What is an Orchid?
Motivation driven by internal rewards and personal satisfaction.
What is Intrinsic Motivation?
A short online activity to refresh and refocus the brain during learning.
What is a Virtual Brain Break?
A lasting increase in the strength of synaptic connections essential for learning and memory.
What is Long-Term Potentiation?
The belief that abilities are static and cannot change.
What is a Fixed Mindset?
Using information in new ways or in new situations.
What is transfer?
Concentrated mental activity that focuses on a limited amount of information in sensory memory and working memory.
What is attention?
An emotional response that overwhelms logical thinking triggered by the amygdala.
What is an Amygdala Hijack?
The process of stabilizing and strengthening memories after initial learning.
What is Consolidation?
Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.
What is Grit?
Changes in gene expression influenced by environmental factors without altering the DNA sequence.
What is Epigenetic?