How The Brain Builds Knowledge: A Simple Guide For eLearning Professionals

"Some dictionaries describe learning as the "acquisition of knowledge," but cognitive neuroscience says that knowledge is actually built, not acquired. The brain loves looking for patterns and actively constructs understanding by connecting new information to existing mental structures. If we were to visualize this process, we'd say that each piece of information acts as a brick that forms networks of knowledge."

"The brain begins to build knowledge by paying attention. Only information deemed relevant or novel passes into working memory. This information undergoes encoding, which transforms sensory input into neural representations, the mental structures we use to identify visual objects and information. Studies have shown that attention enhances neural activation and amplifies these structures. In practice, this means that learners who pay attention encode more information and progress faster through the process of building knowledge, while distracted learners encode less and tend to forget more."

The brain constructs knowledge by detecting patterns and linking new information to existing mental structures. Attention filters information so only relevant or novel input enters working memory, where encoding turns sensory input into neural representations used to identify objects and information. Focused learners encode and retain more, while distracted learners encode less and forget more. Working memory serves as a limited-capacity temporary holding space, typically organized into a small number of chunks, and can be overloaded by excessive or densely presented information.

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