Solving the Frankenstein Problem

Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang's presentation challenged educators to move beyond "Frankenstein" approaches to education that focus on isolated skills and mechanisms toward understanding learning as a holistic, emotionally-driven developmental process. As a USC neuroscientist and former teacher, she presented compelling neuroimaging research showing that meaningful learning engages the same brain systems that regulate survival, consciousness, and bodily functions. Her core argument is that emotions are not separate from cognition but are the substrate through which complex thinking occurs.

The research demonstrates that when students engage in "transcendent thinking" - moving beyond immediate contexts to consider broader implications and personal meaning - they activate brain networks associated with self-reflection, narrative construction, and physiological regulation. Students who show greater propensity for this type of thinking demonstrate measurable brain growth over time and report higher well-being and life satisfaction in young adulthood. Dr. Immordino-Yang contrasts transactional, externally-focused learning (the "game show" model) with transformational learning that integrates knowledge into students' sense of identity and purpose. The presentation concludes with classroom examples showing how different pedagogical approaches either promote surface-level engagement or foster the kind of deep, personally meaningful learning that literally changes students' brains and lives.

"We are not isolated inside our own skulls... biologically speaking, culturally speaking, socially speaking, cognitively speaking, developmentally speaking we are interdependent on one another to co-create one another's environment for neural functioning."

"Emotionally engaged thinking activates the same brain systems that keep you alive... thinking does not sort of ride on top of biological survival it embeds itself in those very same mechanisms."

"Relevance in the context of disciplinary learning for adolescence is the experience of feeling like me while I'm thinking about ideas... that is Relevance with a Big R and that grows the brain."

• Dr. Immordino-Yang argues that focusing on isolated skills and mechanisms misses the holistic nature of learning. How might you be inadvertently creating "Frankenstein monsters" in your teaching by separating skills from meaning? What would it look like to teach skills in service of bigger ideas rather than as ends in themselves?
• The research shows dramatic differences between surface-level "game show" engagement and deep reflective thinking that moves beyond immediate contexts. How can you distinguish between these types of engagement in your students? What specific pedagogical moves might shift students from transactional compliance toward transcendent thinking about your subject matter?
• Dr. Immordino-Yang distinguishes between practical relevance (using skills in daily life) and deeper relevance (feeling like "me" while thinking about ideas). How might you help students experience this deeper form of relevance in your discipline? What's the difference between showing students how they'll use knowledge versus helping them feel personally connected to the ideas themselves?