Doped on Dopamine

This is an image of a classroom.

Emotions play a pivotal role in how our students learn and retain information. Dopamine has been called a feel-good chemical. Human brains are hooked on it. The poker machine player gets a dopamine shot when the numbers line up. A sportsperson receives a dose of it if they score the winning goal, basket, touchdown, or point. Musicians live on it. Anyone who performs in front of a crowd thrives on dopamine (yes, you teachers, I’m talking to you). 

Of course, you see where this is going, right? We can make dopamine work for students. As a teacher, who doesn't give every student a warm welcome when they arrive at school? 

We guide and assist every learner. Our feedback loops for students form as large a part of our classrooms as our teaching strategies. I’d argue the feedback loops take more importance at times.

A positive environment feeds on itself. Sometimes, it needs more effort and emphasis. You know the times. That recalcitrant student who won’t engage. That student arrives after an argument with their parents—that bored student. 

A hit of dopamine could be the answer. The trouble is, we can’t administer it. Or can we?

Our learning is tied to our emotions. When learning at school, a happy brain remembers more than an unhappy one. Dopamine helps create brain conditions where learning will happen more readily than one charged with adrenaline. 

If our classroom environment fosters dopamine production, half our job is done. Even better, there’s a stress-free, no-fuss way of measuring the effectiveness of dopamine production. At the end of your day, ask yourself:  

Did my students enter my room at the same speed they left it?

Mike Cooper

Writer, educator. connect discover think learn

http://www.mikecooper.au
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