Did you know that your brain has two ways it learns? In school you probably hear your teachers asking you to focus on your work. And you may feel like they say that too much. Well, you may be right. It turns out that your brain needs time to relax as well as time to focus. Let's learn a bit more about these two modes (or ways) of thinking.
When you are in the focused mode you are concentrating on the subject. It might be science or math, social students or English, whatever course you are sitting in or doing homework for, if you are hard at work learning the content you are in the focused mode. It is important because it is in this mode that we begin to understand the concepts and we need to work in this mode over time to gain mastery of the concept.
So what is the diffuse mode? Just as important as the focused mode is the brains need to relax, to lay back and just let thoughts wander. We are not focused on the content. Instead we might be taking a walk, chatting with friends, eating popcorn and watching a movie or sleeping. This allows our unconscious mind to work and while those neurons on the brain working without our knowing it, they are making connections.
Have you ever woken up in the morning and realized you know the answer to the math problem you were struggling with? That is because the diffuse mode of learning was happening when you were sleeping.
What does this mean to you? You need to spend time in the focus mode to master what you are learning, but you also need to spend time in the diffuse mode, allowing your brain to make connections. How much time? The Pomodoro technique suggests spending 25 minutes in the focused mode and then switching to the diffuse mode for about 5 minutes. There is more on this technique on the Pomodoro Technique page.
Resources:
Oakley, Barbara. A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2014.
When you are in the focused mode you are concentrating on the subject. It might be science or math, social students or English, whatever course you are sitting in or doing homework for, if you are hard at work learning the content you are in the focused mode. It is important because it is in this mode that we begin to understand the concepts and we need to work in this mode over time to gain mastery of the concept.
So what is the diffuse mode? Just as important as the focused mode is the brains need to relax, to lay back and just let thoughts wander. We are not focused on the content. Instead we might be taking a walk, chatting with friends, eating popcorn and watching a movie or sleeping. This allows our unconscious mind to work and while those neurons on the brain working without our knowing it, they are making connections.
Have you ever woken up in the morning and realized you know the answer to the math problem you were struggling with? That is because the diffuse mode of learning was happening when you were sleeping.
What does this mean to you? You need to spend time in the focus mode to master what you are learning, but you also need to spend time in the diffuse mode, allowing your brain to make connections. How much time? The Pomodoro technique suggests spending 25 minutes in the focused mode and then switching to the diffuse mode for about 5 minutes. There is more on this technique on the Pomodoro Technique page.
Resources:
Oakley, Barbara. A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2014.