The following are time-stamped, self-transcripted exerpts from Andrew Huberman’s incredible Huberman Lab Podcast with Dr Immordino-Yang (released 5th June 2023 – I’ve included the full 2hr41min-episode at the end). The episode is entitled ‘How Emotions and Social Factors Impact Learning’; a must in foundational knowledge for anyone working in education.
All quotes are from Dr Mary Helen Immardino-Yang.
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Flexible Knowledge 1.01.15-1.02.42
‘We are taught that to know something is to own something in yourself and that you take that with you and you impose it on the world forevermore. “I know how to do algebra 2 and I can do it whenever you ask me” kind of thing. That’s what a good student is.
Whereas when people learn to engage in their own knowledge states in more curious, open-minded, flexible ways, then we dispositionally teach ourselves to check our assumptions, to re-think what we think we know and – this is key developmentally – to notice when we need to do that and when we should just plough ahead…
What we’re doing, I think, right now to ourselves, both in the education system and in things like social media, is reinforcing our own biases by diving down rabbit holes where you re-hear the same thing over and over again which reinforces your own belief systems.
[…] The responsibility I think we have as individuals and groups, as humans, given the amazing intelligence we have, is to rise above that, and actually look back at our own selves reflectively and deconstruct our preferences, deconstruct our values and our beliefs, and systematically query them.’
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Road vs. Result — Emotion = Memory 1.20.17-1.21.17
‘Whatever you’re having emotion about is what you’re thinking about. And whatever you’re thinking about, you could hope to learn about, remember something about, understand differently. They key question for educators is: everybody’s always having some kin of emotion all the time, unless they’re dead or unconscious; what are people’s emotions about in this space?
Whatever the emotions are about, that’s what you’re learning about. If the emotions are about the outcomes – “Did I get it right? Am I gonna flunk? Did I get an A+? I’m so smart! I’m so stupid!” – if those are the main drivers, then that is what you’re learning about.
If true emotions are about the actual ideas in play – the math, the physics, the ‘why does the ball roll down the ramp? Wait a minute! That’s the same as why the moon…’ – when the emotions are about ideas, then what you’re engaging with is learning ideas.’
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What DO you like? 1.21.48-1.22.23
‘How do you engage kids? You engage kids by setting out rich problem spaces and problems that invite them to try to engage with something that peaks their curiosity that’s meaningful to them. Or have them bring something in. The kid who really hates it – “What is it that you do you find interesting, kid?” Start there!
Start using your academic skills to give you power to do what it is you’re interested in doing. That’s the way in!’
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Critical Time for Critical Thinking 1.59.15-2.00.53
‘There are really important conversations going on right now around reframing the experience and outcomes and aims of schooling around civic discourse and reasoning.
There was just a massive report that produced by the National Academy of Education – and other academies collaborating with it – around this topic. Helping us to move as a society towards a space where we learn to lay ideas out and develop skills for reasoning around those ideas including bringing ethical, experiential, emotional, cultural values to bear, but then being willing to deconstruct and engage with those ideas, whether they’re the ones that are commensurate and fluid with our experience or whether they’re the ones that appear to be conflicting.
[….] We don’t really understand our own position unless we appreciate someone else’s disagreement with our position; unless we can actually articulate and appreciate how that person’s opinion is opposed to mine.’
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Create Spaces for Open Discussion 2.22.05-1.23.20
‘Schools should be focused across disciplinary domains – whether it’s maths, social studies, history, the arts, sports – should be focused on helping young people and teachers develop capacities and dispositions for deconstructing, and constructing again, safe cultural spaces to think together about interpretations, about narratives, about stories, about assumptions, about ideas, because as we engage in those thoughts together – we call that civic discourse, right? – we learn rules for not triggering and sensibilities for not endangering another person’s ability to engage on equal footing with us.
Because if we trigger those unsafe, dangerous places for people, they can’t neurobiologically then engage with us deeply around sharing their perspective…
We have to trust one another.’
Full podcast episode:
James Egerton 