Prof. Allan L. White from the University of Western, Australia gave a lecture for students of the Mathematics Education Department, FMIPA UNY, last Wednesday (20/11/2013), in the faculty seminar room. In his presentation, Allan White said that mathematics is important for brain development. Thinking, learning, and acting can change human genes so that they can shape brain anatomy and human behavior.

“Teachers can get frustrated when students forget math formulas, etc. That's because students only memorize, they have no meaning in the learning process. "So, it is a challenge for us as the next generation of young people and teachers to make education better, especially in mathematics," he explained. “Diligent Students can follow the teacher's instructions to memorize facts or carry out a sequence of tasks repeatedly. Maybe even get the right answer. But if they have not found meaning by the end of the learning episode, there is little chance of long-term retention.”

Allan White also explained that teenagers can accurately process 7 pieces of new information in 1 second. An 80-year-old man only gets 2 pieces of information per second. And in 10 sessions of 30 minutes, you can increase your turbo speed. (witono)