Brain Waves Syncing During Learning: A Key to Success
A study led by New York University has found that when individuals learn together, their brainwaves tend to vibrate in unison. This study also discovered that brainwaves give an indication of how well individuals learn. It is said that the more individuals brainwaves synchronize, the greater the learning success.
The researchers studied nine groups, each comprising of four students and one teacher. EEG electrodes were attached to each participant which monitored the brainwave activity while the students attended short lessons on a range of topics.
The research discovered that the participants’ alpha brainwaves, which are between eight and twelve Hertz, became synchronized during the lessons. When the teacher’s brainwaves peaked, it was followed 300 milliseconds later by a peak in the students’ waves. This was consistent with the time it took for spoken language to be understood.
Wearable electroencephalogram (EEG) technology was used to measure the brainwaves of the students and teachers. Afterward, questionnaires were used to measure how much of the learning content the participants retained. It was found that the better the individual brainwaves of a subject were synchronized with those of the entire group, the greater the learning success.
This study provides new clues towards collecting collective brain data from study groups simultaneously in a real-world setting. The research team recommends that there should be wider use of the wearable EEG technology to measure brainwaves for educational purposes, and more research into the relationship between brain-wave synchronicity and learning success.
