As an infant develops, certain tasks or behaviours are practised to the point where they become automatic. Eating, walking and speaking – these are some of the numerous tasks that are undertaken frequently. When establishing a new sequence of tasks, the brain utilises a wide range of neural regions. Initially requiring considerable focus and cognitive energy to execute, neural pathways are established and gradually strengthened as these tasks are performed repeatedly.
The establishment of novel tasks requires more cognitive focus, effort and energy to create neural structure. As each task is established and the task is practised, the neural structure becomes more efficient, engaging fewer regions within the brain and utilising less energy to implement the task. Once they are well-practised, these tasks are implemented with little or no conscious thought or effort. Learning and practise results in the establishment of a regular behaviour pattern. When less focus upon detail associated with a specific action is required, automatic habits are formed.
This automaticity can be useful with all sorts of tasks, from establishing daily living routines to specific academic skills. In the early years of formal education, learning to read, reciting and retrieving mathematical tables and processes require the establishment of automatic memory skills. The more efficiently these skills have been embedded in memory, the more automatically this knowledge or process can be retrieved, even when the individual is under stress.
Many high-ability students have incorporated automaticity in the early years of personal and academic development; however because they learn rapidly, these students tend to dislike and avoid rote learning, preferring to understand abstract concepts rather than rote-learn concrete facts and processes. In order to achieve academically, both an understanding of complex concepts and automaticity of simple facts and specific processes will be required. Students must decide what information needs to be committed to memory. It is important to identify memorisation strategies that are interesting enough to heighten interest, engage and maintain focus to allow the critical learning to take place.
Once committed to memory, information – whether factual or related to processes – must be retrieved at the appropriate time. This retrieval may be required during a stressful period of time, such as when tests and exams are scheduled. Stress generates cortisol, a biochemical that reduces memory function. Learning to the point of automaticity can embed information at a deep level of memory, withstanding the impact of moderate stress. Even if students experience stress associated with assessments, automatized learning is more likely to be retrieved. Not everything can be committed to such a deep level of learning. By selecting content carefully, developing automaticity can be a powerful strategy for learning.
© Michele Juratowitch
michele@clearingskies.com.au