Ep 3. Conscious, Explicit Learning

The Learning Brain is an educational series that aims to explore the science behind how humans learn. In season 1 episode 3 - Conscious, Explicit Learning, the focus is on how humans learn consciously. The episode goes on to explain how conscious and explicit learning has played a crucial role in the evolution of Homo sapiens aiding the development of skills and knowledge acquisition.

The episode begins by taking an evolutionary perspective on learning strategies in primates by tracing how primates communicate, making use of facial expressions and body language. The program then moves on to explore the advancements of human learning and how it has contributed to the significant advancements in our daily lives.

The episode examines explicit learning, which is conscious and deliberate, with the help of a series of experiments that test how humans learn new skills. Through the experiments, the show discovers that explicit learning tends to work well when people are able to recognize their failure, assess how to correct that failure and then put it into practice. However, this type of learning tends to be slow, effective but time-consuming.

The episode reveals how learning to read and write, which is a conscious, explicit process, has changed the way humans store knowledge. The program explores how important writing was in the historical development of civilization. Humans were able to store information and pass it along to future generations in a way that was never before possible. The episode points out that learning to read is one of the most transformative developments in human history. It has allowed for the spread of knowledge, ideas, history, and culture on a massive global scale.

The program continues by reporting on current research in the field of cognitive psychology and neuroscience, which shows that the explicit learning process is not restricted to learning to read and write, but is also important in developing other skills, such as music and mathematics. The episode talks about how deliberate and conscious practice can lead to significant changes in one's brain structure, which can translate to increased skill and expertise.

The program takes the time to explain how the explicit learning process can be enhanced through feedback. Feedback from experts is one way to ensure that learning is on track, leading towards competency in a given area. The feedback process also helps reduce mistakes and promote continuous improvement. Feedback is a key step in explicit learning, which means that the teacher, mentor or coach has a vital role to play in enhancing the learning abilities of their students.

In conclusion, Conscious, Explicit Learning is an episode that explores some of the most profound developments in human history. Humans have developed communication, writing, reading and other skills to such a level that we are beyond any other creatures on the planet. This episode explains the scientific approach to learning through experimenting and studying our brains. The program highlights how explicit learning has impacted human life for millennia and will continue to do so for centuries to come. It is an excellent episode for anyone interested in learning and how to maximize their potential through conscious and explicit learning strategies.