Example, Stimulus, Punishment: Three Ways the Brain Learns its Lessons

So explained Dr. José Dunker during the “Lessons for Brain Learning” conference, organized alongside Listín Diario’s Plan Lea

The psychiatrist and family therapist Dr. José Dunker proposed three modes by which the brain absorbs new lessons: through example, through stimulus, and through punishment, which constitute the three channels for influencing a person’s conduct.

Dr. Dunker’s remarks came during the “Lesson for Brain Learning” conference organized by the Education Studies Center at Funglode (Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo) and Listín Diario’s Plan Lea.

The psychiatry specialist noted that studies have discovered the existence of “mirror neurons” through which the brain tends to reproduce behaviors carried out in its environment,
providing the mechanism by which the example channel operates.

He explained that the brain is designed to follow a leader, hence why “teachers, parents, company managers, and public officials should set a good example for those they lead.”

Dr. Dunker, also an expert in health administration, stressed
that “if you want the best school you need the best teachers,” while calling for investment in teacher training so they can serve as appropriate role models for students.

Dr. Dunker carried on to define stimulus as “offering a prize after a behavior is carried out,” confirming that this mechanism is needed not just for children and students but also for employees and citizens as part of the learning process. “The action
that is celebrated is repeated,” he emphasized.

Praise for behavior causes levels of dopamine – the pleasure hormone – to increase in the brain.

Punishment is the application of a penalty for a behavior that breaks rules. “When a person knows there are consequences, an organ in the brain accumulates that experience and fears carrying out that action.”

“If you don’t punish a student who
misbehaves, you’re promoting a bad example,” he noted.

Following Dr. Dunker’s talk came the panel “Neuroscience: How does applying it influence our children’s education?”, composed of Leonor Elmúdesi, subdirector of the Lux Mundi School; Máximo de la Rosa, teacher at the San Judas Tadeo School, and Agripino Rosario of the Regional Federation of the Association of Fathers, Mothers, and Friends of the School
(APMAE) and the Ministry of Education.

Paul Goris, coordinator of the Applied Educational IT Unit at Funglode, offered the opening remarks. He noted that given the crisis in traditional education worldwide, new deductive methods are needed to allow education to advance and to prepare new generations to handle new kinds of knowledge.

Rosario Vásquez, head of Listín Diario’s Plan Lea, spoke about the program’s work
with the national education community. She invited teachers, students, and families to take advantage of the newspaper’s learning services, now offered digitally over the platform: http://planlea.listindiario.com.

Patricia Hernández, marketing manager for Listín Diario, presented the categories of content offered over the Plan Lea digital platform.

The audience, composed of education experts, teachers, students, and parents, was headed by the former minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (MESCyT), Ligia Amada Melo.

Related link: http://www.funglode.org/