5. Twelve general principles for classroom application

1. All learning is physiological. Neuroscience has concluded that educational intervention causes physiological changes in the brain that affect both its structure and organisation. Brain structures involved in basic biological regulation are also part of behavioural regulation and are indispensable for the acquisition and normal function of cognitive processes.

University students are adults, with acquired habits of nutrition, exercise, relaxation, etc., and therefore have their own natural and individual rhythms and cycles. Action must therefore be taken in the direction of appropriate coordination of teaching in order to alter personal biorhythms as little as possible. Action can be taken at two levels: i) subject coordination – avoiding excessive workloads concentrated in time; and ii) curriculum coordination – so that the different subjects are coherent in the presentation of their learning objectives.

2. The brain/mind is social. The brain is modified by the interaction between multiple genetic factors, the environment and the surroundings, so that cognitive and affective stimulation by the environment plays a key role in human development.

It is essential to create a “social” climate in the classroom. In this sense, so-called “working groups” should be avoided and “group work” should be encouraged, i.e. the joint and changing cooperation of students should be promoted in order to prevent the formation of closed groups. On the other hand, participation in class should be encouraged. Social embarrassment” feeds student isolation, which the teacher should avoid at all costs. In those subjects where this is possible, practical work experience organised as “field trips” achieves both learning and social climate objectives.

3. The search for meaning is innate in human beings. Human beings possess what some authors have come to coin as the “sacred curiosity” to explore and sniff out what they do not know, in an attempt to clear the way to the truth. Numerous operations are integrated into the search: memory, perceptual, imaginative, inferential operations, so that all are geared towards creating new paths, i.e. inventing possibilities.

Organisational arrangements and teaching methods should provide the classroom with a safe and familiar environment. However, it should be borne in mind that the human brain has an underlying need to discover the unknown, which can be stifled if subjects are presented with closed content that does not require additional, personal input from the learner. University classes, therefore, should encourage interest in novelty, discovery and research, generating patterns of action in students that lead them to act on their own to investigate the broad spectrum of knowledge that surrounds each subject to combine enriching environments with complex challenges.

4. The search for meaning occurs through patterning. The human brain learns once it is able to organise information and categorise it. In the process of sorting, the brain tries to find meaning in order to draw patterns and resists forming these patterns if it does not find that meaning. Information with which the brain cannot form patterns, information without meaning, is isolated and partial information about something that does not make sense of the rest of the information and therefore remains in a peremptory state of rapid extinction.

Mental organisation can be promoted by an appropriate organisation of the subjects in the curriculum (curriculum coordination) and by a favourable organisation of the contents in each subject (subject coordination). It is important in all this that the learning-time binomial is taken into account in accordance with fundamental criteria of chronopedagogy. In addition, joint problem solving in the classroom should be encouraged, as well as the introduction of new concepts with a critical thinking approach.

5. Emotions are critical to patterning. Mental ordering, which is necessary for learning, is influenced by emotions, so that the brain makes classifications of information based on expectation, biases and biased judgements, degree of self-esteem and social interaction. Emotions and learning, therefore, cannot be separated.

The cognitive and affective domains of all human beings are intrinsically inseparable. It is important that each student feels real and effective support from teachers, school administrators and institutions. Teachers, for their part, must foster an adequate emotional climate in the classroom by using effective communication strategies that are close and that allow for a climate of dialogue and mutual respect and acceptance in order to develop day by day and at all times the processes of reflection and metacognition in each of the students, which are so important in their learning development. It is an objective of both the teacher and the university institution to gain the “trust” of their students and to avoid, through appropriate emotional pumping, ending up with “trusting” students who see their teachers and universities as the ultimate goal of their learning career.

6. The brain is plastic. Neuroscience has shown that the brain is an organ that is in continuous transformation; the internal structures of the brain are capable of transforming themselves according to the action demanded of them (neuroplasticity). A phenomenon that is simultaneous to the process of neuroplasticity is neurogenesis or the formation of new neurons from stem cells. Studies on brain plasticity show that from the experiences to which an individual is subjected, his or her neurons will develop more or fewer connections. Stimulation, experience, is therefore crucial for brain development.

It is essential that the neurogenesis time be respected as much as possible, so it is advisable for each subject to begin with content that helps students to achieve this “accommodation” of the brain. The first contents should not immediately deal with new concepts, but should start with a reminder of conceptual positioning and should state what the subject aims to cover, as well as introduce the new perspectives of reasoning that will be necessary.

7. Learning involves both attention and peripheral perception. The brain can absorb information of which it is aware and to which it pays attention. But it is also capable of absorbing information that lies beyond its field of attention, i.e. peripheral stimuli. These stimuli, of complex origin, include both that which can be perceived without attention and that which, even with attention, cannot yet be perceived consciously.

Teaching materials play a very important role in learning. Peripheral perception is activated by the use of graphs, illustrations, strategy designs by means of concept maps, relating concepts to art or music, etc. The teacher’s enthusiasm in the classroom and the environmental conditions of noise and temperature can significantly affect attention and thus the cognitive processes that lead to learning. The non-verbal language of communication is of great importance, as it can convey the teacher’s emotions of passion for the subject.

8. Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes. Many signals that are peripherally perceived by the senses enter the brain without the person’s awareness and interact at unconscious levels. Unconscious processes are capable of some logical reasoning, much more so than generally believed, and this reasoning, once properly exercised through experience, can, when time is short, lead to advantageous conscious decisions.

Understanding that unconscious brain processes have a very important cognitive function, it seems obvious that fostering them is consequently positive. It does not seem obvious how to do this, but it is likely that with the support of an appropriate educational modality, as well as the help of ICT to encourage sensory memories, in addition to the fact of doing it in a climate of respect and opportunity, it can make the student activate this facet of unconsciousness and with it all the associated cognitive processes.

9. Learning is fostered by the development of associative memory. There are at least two types of memory: a spatial memory system that does not require repetition and allows immediate recall of experiences, and a set of systems for systematic recall that allows recall of isolated information; the more remote an item of information is from prior knowledge and experience, the greater the dependence of its recall on the systematic or repetition-based memory system.

Teaching that focuses on memorisation processes should be avoided. Memorisation is often useful and necessary, but it should be noted that memorisation-oriented teaching does not facilitate the transformation of information into learning and most likely interferes with the subsequent process of interpreting the surrounding world.

10. Learning is a process. As a process, it must follow orderly and progressive guidelines in which the brain must be given the necessary time to generate the appropriate brain structures through the generation of relationships between the different information perceived and one’s own life experience.

The intrinsic plasticity of the brain means that the timing of the complex learning process must be respected according to the criteria of chronopedagogy. These times can be optimised by teaching based on a relationship to one’s own experience and to concepts already learned. The university represents an excellent opportunity for teachers to orientate their class development towards demonstration activities, project-based learning, field trips, viewing videos of experiences, experiments involving student interaction, etc. Successful teaching, therefore, depends on encouraging the use of all the senses to immerse the learner in a multitude of complex and interactive experiences. In this sense, the use of ICT in the classroom as a tool can be very important.

11. Learning is positively influenced by challenging and negatively influenced by threatening environments. The brain slows down in threatening situations, generating a feeling of helplessness that paralyses neurogenesis and greatly slows down learning processes. Negative stress, such as fear of evaluation or shyness, can generate negative threat effects. However, the brain learns optimally when it is correctly challenged in a positive way.

The student must perceive each subject as a learning opportunity. Therefore, both the teaching staff and the institution must provide a relaxed atmosphere for the student, free of threatening situations. It is important, in this sense, that the written tests represent, and are perceived by the students as such, new learning opportunities and not mere documents with the character of a qualifying test. Adequate time planning, as well as the coordination of the subject and the subjects in the curriculum, ensures that the student does not perceive the “opportunity” offered as a “threat”.

12. Every brain is unique. Although all individuals possess the same set of systems, including the senses and basic emotions, the way they integrate and communicate with each other is unique to each individual. Furthermore, since neuroscience has shown that learning changes brain structure, it can be said that the more an individual learns, the more unique he or she becomes.

Teaching should be developed from a multi-faceted perspective, taking into account the visual, tactile, emotional and auditory preferences of each student, in order to appeal to their individual interests and enhance their optimal brain development. On the other hand, Special Educational Needs (SEN) is a very important aspect for the teacher to detect and consider.