Learning from Success - MIT Study

TAGteach is all about learning from success, clearly marking success and reinforcing it. The TAGteach approach is illustrated by the TAG triangle: Identify, Highlight and Reinforce. A recent study using monkeys by MIT researchers sheds light on why the TAGteach approach works so quickly and so well.

"We have shown that brain cells keep track of whether recent behaviors were successful or not," Miller said. Furthermore, when a behavior was successful, cells became more finely tuned to what the animal was learning. After a failure, there was little or no change in the brain - nor was there any improvement in behavior.

After a correct response, the electrical impulses coming from neurons in each of the brain areas was more robust and conveyed more information. "The signal-to-noise ratio improved in both brain regions," Miller said. "The heightened response led to them being more likely to get the next trial correct, too. This explains on a neural level why we seem to learn more from our successes than our failures."

For more information and a link to the original study click here.

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