What the Black Cab Drivers of London Taught Us About Learning and “Ability”

Photo by Humphrey Muleba

In the last decade we have seen the emergence of technologies that have given researchers new access into the workings of the mind and brain. One area that has emerged in recent years and stunned scientists concerns “brain plasticity.” Study after study has shown the incredible capacity of brains to grow and change within a really short period.^1,2,3

A set of findings that caused scientists to change what they thought about ability and learning came from research on the brain growth shown by Black Cab drivers in London.

Why Study Black Cab Drivers?

It turns out that to become a Black Cab driver in London applicants need to study for two to four years and during that time memorize an incredible 25,000 streets and 20,000 landmarks within a 25-mile radius of Charing Cross in London. At the end of their training period the Black Cab drivers take a test that is simply and elegantly called “The Knowledge.” The Knowledge is known to be one of the world’s most demanding courses, and applicants take the test an average of 12 times before passing.

Shifting Our Thoughts about Learning and “Ability”

In the early 2000s scientists chose to study London Black Cab drivers to look for brain changes as the drivers took years of complex spatial training, but the scientists were not expecting such dramatic results. Researchers found that at the end of the training period the hippocampus in the taxi drivers’ brains had grown significantly.^2,3

In other studies, scientists compared the brain growth of Black Cab drivers to that of London bus drivers. Bus drivers learn only simple and singular routes, and the studies showed that they did not experience the same brain growth.² This confirmed the scientists’ conclusion that the Black Cab drivers’ unusually complex training was the reason for their dramatic brain growth.

The studies conducted with Black Cab drivers, of which there have now been many,^2,3 showed a degree of brain flexibility, or plasticity, that stunned scientists. They had not previously thought that the extent of brain growth they measured was possible. This led to a shift in the scientific world in thinking about learning and “ability” and the possibility of the brain to change and grow.

Connecting it to the Classroom

If you learn something deeply, the synaptic activity will create lasting connections in your brain, forming structural pathways, but if you visit an idea only once or in a superficial way, the synaptic connections can “wash away” like pathways made in the sand. Synapses fire when learning happens, but learning does not happen only in classrooms or when reading books; synapses fire when we have conversations, play games, or build with toys, and in the course of many, many other experiences.

The new evidence from brain research tells us that everyone, with the right teaching and messages, can be successful in math, and everyone can achieve at the highest levels in school.

Excerpted from Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching by Dr. Jo Boaler.

Dr. Jo Boaler is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and co-founder and faculty director of youcubed. She serves as an advisor to several Silicon Valley companies and is a White House presenter on girls and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The author of 11 books, including Mathematical Mindsets, and numerous research articles, she is a regular contributor to news and radio in the United States and England.