A presentation by Valerie Bissland at the BSA Futures of Ageing Conference held on 19 July 2010 at The British Library Conference Centre, London, UK

1. BSA: Futures of Ageing, 19th July, 2010
Val Bissland
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Strathclyde University
v.bissland@strath.ac.uk

2. Ways of learning in later life:
Older adults’ voices.
How older adults’ preferred learning and
communication styles fit with recent insights
from neuroscience about adult learning.
Neuroscience and adult learning
Adaptive potential of the human brain
Interplay between the emotional and
cognitive
Emotional and Cognitive ‘fitness’ offers
protection against ageing effects

3. Understanding the Brain: the birth of a
learning science. OECD 2007
Executive Summary
‘Far from the focus on the brain reinforcing an exclusively cognitive,
performance-driven bias, it suggests the need for holistic approaches.
These recognise the close interdependence of physical and
intellectual wellbeing, and the close interplay of the emotional and
cognitive, the analytical and the creative arts’ (p.18).
‘Movitation is more
important than youth
for successful learning’
(p. 23).

4. Cognitive reserve and the neurobiology
of cognitive ageing. Whalley et al.,
Ageing Research Reviews 3, 2004.
‘Recent studies have not
supported traditional teaching
that brain ageing involves
widespread and severe loss
of neurons and their
synapses. Contemporary
studies have shown that there
is a restricted loss of neurons
in relatively few cortical
areas..’ (p. 371)

5. The Mature Mind by Gene Cohen
Director of the Centre for Ageing, Health and
Humanities, George Washington University
• The brain is constantly resculpting
itself
• New brain cells form throughout life
• The brain’s emotional circuitry
becomes more balanced with age
• The brain’s two hemispheres are
used more equally by older adults

6. The Art of Changing the Brain: enriching
teaching by exploring the biology of
learning. James Zull
“Learning is physical. Learning
means the modification, growth,
and pruning of our neurons, and
the reshaping of our neural
networks. Through experience we
are cultivating our own brain.
Jim Zull, Professor of Biology and Director of
the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and
Education, Cape Western University.

7. The Art of Changing the Brain: enriching
teaching by exploring the biology of
learning. James Zull
The Experiential Learning Cycle –
activating many areas of the cortex

8. Older Adults’ Voices:
Learning metaphor –
‘A healthy way to learn’
- Exploring meaning through dialogue (socially
constructed and negotiated)
- Learning through shared social experience
- Stimulating sensory experiences
- Peer teaching (a joint endeavour)
- Collaborative learning (cf. ‘chalk and talk’)
- Collaborative teaching (teacher as learner)
- Learning on the Internet

9. Ways of learning in later life:
Older adults’ voices.
How older adults’ preferred learning and communication styles fit
with recent insights from neuroscience about adult learning.
Dialogue
Emotional engagement
Bring learning to life
Construct own understanding
‘Blended’ learning
Learning through teaching
v.bissland@strath.ac.uk