The Science Behind the “Aha!” Moment

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Written by Nicole Lehman

I think we can all admit that one of the highlights of being a teacher is seeing the “Aha!” or lightbulb moment go off in our students’ faces. We work so hard to help them understand a complex subject, or their brains have a hard time grasping what we find to be obvious, and so, after many attempts, we finally find the right thing to say and BAM! The light bulb comes on. These are the moments that make you smile at the end of a hard day/week/month. If only they weren’t so rare a sighting!

Research Behind the “Aha!” Moment
Research has found how and why these moments occur and offers suggestions on how to create an environment to inspire more of these moments. Besides the fact that they make us feel good as teachers, “Aha” moments have several benefits for students, including stronger long-term memory with that information. Research shows that after an “Aha!” moment, a person is unlikely to go back to his or her previous state of not knowing (Ishikawa et al. 2012, p. 2).

One might think these random moments are just happenstance. If so, why keep reading? If they’re going to happen, they’re going to happen. However, there actually is scientific reasoning behind these moments. A decent amount of research has been done in the area of cognitive psychology and studies involving fMRI and EEG readings of the brain. In all honesty, this research hurts the brain, and you pray for an “Aha!” moment yourself whilst reading the data, so I won’t make you try. Instead, I’ll summarize and share what you can do in the classroom to help promote more of these “Aha!” moments. I’ll provide references for those studies at the end if you are really interested in finding out more.

“Aha!” moments and insight often go hand in hand with problem-solving. Solving insight problems often requires unconscious thought, as the solution can’t simply be arrived at following step-by-step instructions or a specific formula retrieved from working memory. Insight problems can be connected to various forms of practical, artistic, and scientific creativity, as well as perception, joke comprehension, and problem-solving (Shen et al., 2015).

Features of the Aha! Moment:

  • An individual comes to an impasse where he or she is making no progress toward a solution;
  • The individual is often not thinking about how to solve the problem when the solution suddenly comes to him or her;
  • Along with the suddenness of the solution’s arrival comes a feeling that the solution is true;
  • These problems often require insight or creative thinking to solve, meaning different steps are taken than when solving a non-insight problem;
  • Emotions prior to problem-solving may affect the chance of an “Aha!” moment occurring; and
  • Emotions at the time of finding a solution during an “Aha!” moment can affect the accuracy of the said solution (Ishikawa, Toshima, & Mogi, 2019; Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; Shen, Yuan, Liu, & Luo, 2015).

To follow up on the last two points, if the individual is in a positive mood and feeling happy, calm, and confident, an “Aha!” moment is more likely to occur.

Classroom Applications:

  • Provide situations in the zone of proximal development;
  • Create a learning environment that promotes confidence and learning through persistence when struggling to find a solution;
  • Provide/encourage “brain breaks” to allow the brain to quiet down and stop thinking about the problem at hand. Encourage students to put their phones/iPads/other devices away and turn off the music to quiet their brains.
  • Understand that not all students are likely to have “Aha!” moments, because their strength is more geared toward non-insight problems. Provide opportunities for them to practice insight problems and pair them up with strong problem-solvers. (Students with high working memories will struggle because they want to follow instructions or a formula to get to the answer).

“Aha!” moments are great confidence-boosters for both the student and the teacher, and they do sometimes occur simply by happenstance. If we can understand why and how they can occur, we can create more opportunities for our students to boost their confidence and enjoy their learning experiences. So, be patient, reflect on your lessons and the style of the problem needing a solution, and take notes on how your students are learning so you can provide your students with strategies useful for finding answers using insight.

Nicole Lehman’10 serves as an instructor at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School – New Ulm MN. Nicole is also enrolled in MLC’s Master of Science in Education program with an emphasis in special education.

References
Di Biase, C. (2018, November 12). Getting students to that ‘aha!’ moment in the math classroom. Retrieved from https://www.hmhco.com/blog/getting-students-to-that-aha-moment-in-the-math-classroom.

Ishikawa, T., Toshima, M., & Mogi, K. (2019). How and when? Metacognition and solution timing characterize an “aha” experience of object recognition in hidden figures. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01023

Jung-Beeman, M., Bowden, E. M., Haberman, J., Frymiare, J. L., Arambel-Liu, S., Greenblatt, R., … Kounios, J. (2004). Neural Activity When People Solve Verbal Problems with Insight. PLoS Biology, 2(4), 500–510. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020097

Kounios, J., & Beeman, M. (2009). The aha! moment. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(4), 210–216. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01638.x

Robinson-Riegler, B., & Robinson-Riegler, G. (2012). Cognitive psychology: applying the science of the mind. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Rock, D. (n.d.). Neuroscience provides fresh insight into the aha moment. T D, 65(2), 44–49.

Shen, W., Yuan, Y., Liu, C., & Luo, J. (2015). In search of the ‘Aha!’ experience: Elucidating the emotionality of insight problem-solving. British Journal of Psychology, 107(2), 281–298. doi: 10.1111/bjop.12142

Please, share YOUR thoughts!