Learning, Not Regurgitation

Learning, Not Regurgitation

'You can't teach an old dog new tricks'
(^isn't true)

This common idiom reflects all too familiar pattern of trying to do something the wrong way (like pounding a square peg into a round hole). Using the wrong tools can make tasks feel impossible. The common strategies we use to learn can be like trying to carry water in a sieve. yinful fixes this. We use buckets.

In Facilitating Learning with the Adult Brain in Mind: A conceptual and practical guide, Catherine Marienau and Kathleen Taylor break down the neuroscience and tools to help our adult minds learn.

tldr; 

  • You can teach 'an old dog new tricks'
  • Adults can learn better than kids, you just have to use the right tools
  • Adults learn differently because they recall life experience—when you use meaning, emotion, and reflection you can get a deeper, more nuanced version of learning

Note this is best read with Growth→

How Learning Works as an Adult

Brains remain capable of change—neuroplasticity—throughout life. Adult learning happens when we stop trying to download facts, but make meaning through experience, emotion, and reflection. Real learning occurs when: 

  • We are invited to reexamine assumptions
  • Connect new knowledge to lived experience
  • Feel safe enough to tolerate the discomfort that often comes with change. 


In fact, learning gets better with age because we can link experience to theory to layer in depth and complexity. All things in life have a push / pull (yin / yang) dynamic. The more of the dynamic between opposite forces we can hold, the more our knowledge turns into wisdom. 

Principles of Adult Learning

  1. Meaning—Making is Central
    Adults don’t just absorb information; they interpret it through the lens of what they already know. Learning is reconstructive—it builds on or challenges existing beliefs, values, and mental models.
  2. The Brain Remains Plastic
    Contrary to the myth that older brains are "set in their ways," neuroscience shows that adult brains remain adaptable. Learning literally rewires neural pathways—especially when the material is emotionally meaningful and cognitively challenging.
  3. Emotion Deepens Learning
    Emotion plays a key role in attention, motivation, and memory. When learners care about the topic or feel something strongly, the amygdala and hippocampus work together to store the memory more effectively.
  4. Challenge + Support = Growth
    Adults learn best at the edge of their comfort zone. Too much stress can shut down learning (triggering the limbic system), but moderate challenge—paired with psychological safety—stimulates growth.

How Yinful Makes Learning Easier

  1. Tap into Prior Knowledge. 
    - Using modern science as a bridge
    - Weaving in metaphors and analogies
    - Personal storytelling 
    - Sharing common beliefs and experiences

  2. Engage Emotionally
    - If you are here, you likely have an emotional investment
    - Practices of Play help you test theories

  3. Invite Disorientation (Gently)
    - We highlight paradoxes that are usually over simplified (ex. the need for safety + risk)
    - You'll find tangents via deep-dives and links 

  4. Create Safety
    - We made it self-guided
    - There aren't worksheets or things we track

  5. Repetition + Reflection
    - We'll send you a few gentle nudges, this helps learning sink in
    - We share the same concepts multiple ways
    - We weave in moments of reflection  

  6. Metacognition Matters
    - We share how learning works here and in our courses 

Final thoughts

Learning takes effort, but not as much as you might think. We do as much of the leg work as we can, so you can learn through play and curiosity.

Grow→

Back to blog