Why the problem with learning is unlearning: A framework to facilitate neuroplasticity

When our students enter the “real world of work”, they will be constantly dealing with the UNKNOWN, the unfamiliar, rare, novel events and situations. They will be confronted with limited incomplete information; yet they must learn to decide and be accountable for their (in)actions if they are to progress. In these hostile contexts, our students’ ideas often stall and they soon find themselves “stuck” in the heat of battle (unable to move). At these trying moments, they have a tendency to cling on to their past habitual practices, their visions of the world shrink, and they oversimplify the complexity of the situation. In moments like these neuroplasticity is key: DROP YOUR TOOLS, RE-CONSTRUE and UNLEARN! This TLC@AOM2025 interactive session will showcase a “strategic doing” hands-on framework anchored on scientific evidence designed to help open up the alternatives whenever our students find themselves stuck and their visions of the world shrink. Fellow educators will walk away from the session empowered in grooming the next generation of problem-solvers for a broken world.