Purpose
Neuro-Link assist educational institutions with determining learners’ neurological design and measuring the drivers that optimize their brain performance. We help students improve their performance, but we believe: YOU CAN’T IMPROVE WHAT YOU CAN’T MEASURE!
The following study is an ongoing study. Neuro-Link assists the Centre for Student Counselling and Development at an internationally renowned university to help first year students to adjust and cope with the pressure of their studies. Psychologists working at the Centre in the field of Applied Neuroscience of Learning are trained and accredited to administer and interpret the Learning Receptiveness Profile™ (LRP™) Toolbox for Students.
CASE HISTORY
Since 2011, Neuro-Link consulted on a regular basis with the Centre for Student Counselling and Development regarding the application of educational neuro-science in the higher education learning environment. The LRP™ is utilized to equip individual students as well as groups of students with knowledge about their learning and thinking preferences. Students are empowered to manage their studies, stress as well as themselves according to their own unique learning profiles. Students with a better understanding of their own learning preferences as well as the underlying principles of educational neuroscience may be in a better position to, through optimal management of themselves and their studies, experience success.
AIM
The purpose of this case study is to investigate the impact of the LRP™ Toolbox for Students on the overall well-being and performance of students who require study assistance during their first year.
SAMPLE SIZE
460 students
Actions Taken
- A Learning Receptiveness Profile™ Student Performer Brain Profile assessment was compiled of all first year students who approached the Student Counseling Department for study assistance.
- Counselors from the Student Counseling Department assisted students with teaching them with comprehensive wellness and learning strategies and stress coping skills.
- A post-evaluation of the drivers that optimize brain performance will be done 6 months after the initial assessment again and results will be added to determine the differences between the drivers of the pre and post evaluations.
Results
The LRP™ Student Performer measures two categories of a students’ learning receptivity:
7 Factors That Make Up Their Neurological Design:
- Lateral Hemispheric Preferences – 48% of students are more right brain hemisphere oriented and 52% of students are more left brain hemisphere oriented. This correlated roughly with the balanced preference in society with regards to hemispheric preference. The slight shift to more left hemisphere orientedness may be due to the fact that educational institutions tend to emphasize and accommodate the learning functions of the left brain hemisphere still more than those of the right brain hemisphere.
- Expressive or Receptive Preference – 55% of students are Receptive and 45% of students are Expressive. There is a slight shift towards more students having a Receptive learning preference. This confirms that university students who attend full time university have a slight preference to be more receptive when learning, preferring to observe or listen first when learning. There is however good balance between expressive and receptive balance as a fair portion of student prefer to learn through verbal or non-verbal expression.
- Rational or Emotional Preference – 55% of students have a Rational approach to learning which means they are more academic. 45% of students have a more Emotional approach which means they are more experiential learners. There is a slight shift towards more students having a Rational learning approach which means that they would prefer a theoretic approach to learning more and enjoy reasoning about what they learn. This confirms the distinct theoretical preference of university students who attend full time university.
- 4 Figurative Brain Languages: Your brain speaks 4 figurative learning and thinking languages. This will indicate what role people play in a group, how they communicate and how the prefer to function in every day life. There is a fair balance between the different quadrants as represented in society. The sequence in order of priority was 32% Doers who are action and task oriented, 29% Counselors who are people and relationships oriented, 20% Analysts who are detail and factual oriented and 20% Strategic thinkers who are creative and innovative.
- Sensory Preferences: People learn through what they see, hear and do. Differently stated, people are combinations of Visual (see), Auditory (hear) and Kinesthetic (do) learning. The sequence of sensory learning preferences in order of priority are 36% Auditory, 34% Kinesthetic and 30% Visual. It correlates with more full time university students being receptive and the nature of learning as a full time university student.. Although people in the general society tend to be more visual learners, it is the smallest preference in this case study.
- Total Average For 6 Drivers That Influence Brain Performance: The case study measured the following averages for the students with regards to these drivers: Brain Fitness 40%, Coping with Stress 58%, Sleep 53% , Learning Skills 47%, Attitude 64% and Brain Food 47% . The total average of drivers that will influence ease, speed, results of learning and overall brain performance and brain health is 52%. This number indicates that there is a serious need for improving all the skills above. What is more concerning is that statistical trend lines indicate that Brain Fitness, Coping with Stress, Attitude and sleep is in a downwards trend that suggest these drivers may decline more in future.
- Brain Fitness: Brain fitness is the single biggest lacking factor of the drivers that influence brain performance.Taking into consideration that these university students are the cream of the crop of so called “First World” learners, who must have the highest APS scores, similar to GPA scores in the USA, to qualify for acceptance to universities, strongly suggest that most learners, including university students are not sufficiently equipped with appropriate learning receptiveness skills for universities or for that matter the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Significance of Case Study
The LRP™ Student Performer brain profile assessment is a comprehensive, multi-dimensional, neuroscience instrument designed to help students understand their neurological design and optimize their brain, thinking and learning performance.
The LRP™ Student Performer assessment:
- Clearly is a comprehensive assessment for learners to identify where their learning difficulties are and offers suggestions to address these needs;
- Is a great self-management tool to improve learning results, lifestyle and brain health and also offers a post-test to re-evaluate progress;
- Confirms that alignment between learning preferences and learning strategies contribute to better learning results and more ease with learning;
- Defines and clearly illustrates the principle of learning receptiveness and has profound positive development and performance improvement implications for all students;
- Offers a new and holistic framework of drivers that optimize brain performance which have novel implications for performance improvement and/or improving brain health or wellness for learners;
- Offers a comprehensive, scientific understanding of the mechanisms of brain fitness which has profound learning and performance improvement implications and illustrates a profound need among students;
- Brain fitness as a driver to optimize brain performance, has never been included in any formal assessment before. It also seems to have a significant impact on students’ learning performance which have profound problem solving, critical thinking, creative thinking and learning performance improvement implications for all students for success in their future;
- Offers a clearer understanding of neurological dominance and its implications for learning and thinking;
- Offers a ground breaking framework for understanding the neurological aspects of learning.
