Reply to comment

Immordino-Yang and Damasio’s article “We Feel, Therefore We Learn: the Relevance of Affective and Social Neuroscience to Education” discusses the function that emotion plays in learning and thinking. The authors argue that cognitive activity can not be divorced from emotional influence. They place their explanations in an anthropological and evolutionary context.

I am curious about how to apply these theories to a science curriculum. One issue that is common in chemistry courses is massive amounts of material must be memorized by the student. This material is often no retained after either the course or evaluation are completed. Based on the information presented in the article, is it possible to enhance student retention of material by accessing or treating the emotional component of learning differently? Is there a reason why students are able to remember their friends phone numbers better than academic facts? Does my intense interest in chemistry explain why I was able to tell my neurologist that helium was the second element in the periodic table after suffering a severe concussion? What did my chemistry teacher do to ingrain the material so deeply in my mind? For reference, I was unable to remember my birthday or mother’s name.