What does this brain-based guideline tell us about the way people learn in the virtual classroom?
Multi-modal sensory learning aids memory
New information must have context
Learning begins with what the learner already knows
Stories, analogies and metaphors help learners make connections
All of the above
What does this brain-based guideline tell us about the way people learn in the virtual classroom?
Multi-modal sensory learning aids memory and recall.
New information must have context.
Learning begins with what the learner already knows
Stories, analogies and metaphors help learners make connections
All of the above
This story demonstrates one aspect of the brain guideline: Neurons that Fire Together Wire Together.
A teacher was trying to help her students learn to read aloud effectively. She explained that one should pause at a comma, come to a full stop at a period, and sound emphatic when an exclamation mark appeared at the end of a sentence. Despite her explanations, her students continued to race through their reading with few pauses, full stops, or emphasis. Finally, exasperated, she had them put on their coats and take their reading outside. There she had them walk while they read. She told them to pause and physically slow down when they came to a comma. They had them stop dead in their tracks when they came to a period. She had them jump up and down when they hit an exclamation point. After 15 minutes of practice, she brought the students back inside. From that day forward, they remembered to pause at commas, stop at periods, and emphasize sentences with exclamation marks.
One more story: Two years ago, I took my two teenaged daughters to Washington, D.C. and Williamsburg. I dragged them to national monuments, national parks, museums, Civil War battlefields, and Civil War cemeteries. We visited the monument for General George Pickett, an ancestor on my mother’s side, who fought for the south in the Civil War. These are Grayce and Jessica’s feet at the site of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech. To say that my teenagers were reluctant tourists is an understatement. I listened to a lot of complaining. So imagine my delight when my older daughter Grayce called me this past week with excitement in her voice, “Mom, we’re studying the Civil War in American History! I’ve been to all of the places we’re talking about! There are pictures of the Lincoln Memorial in our textbook! I’ve been there! I’m reading about General Pickett! This is so cool! Now I know why you wanted us to see those monuments and battle fields! I told my teacher that my family is related to General Pickett.”
The notion of mirror neurons was first observed by scientists studying monkeys. Scientists now think that humans as babies begin to recognize social behavior within the first hour of life, trying to match gestures and mirroring facial expressions. The mirror neuron system plays a part in our ability to imitate others, speak a language, feel and show empathy, and understand the behavior of others.
Arnold Bennett was an English playwright and novelist who wrote in the late 1800’s.
Mirror neurons and emotions are strong connected. Where we once thought that the brain understood and interpreted the behavior and actions of others through logical thought, scientists now believe that we understand, not through thinking but through feeling.
These are all ways to capture and keep attention so that people aren’t tempted to multi-task.
Derek Redmond at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
Another way to say this is “Failure precedes success.” Now the interesting thing about this brain-based guideline is that you want to support each learner’s competence, confidence, and ability to learn while at the same time creating a safe space to fail and learn from that failure.
Not too much stress (or we trigger negative emotions and shut down learning)
Not too little stress (or people get bored and start multi-tasking)
But just the right amount of discomfort (so we engage interest and attention)
Practice creates new neural pathways, eventually creating “shortcuts” to answers. The trick is that we first must practice the right things and we must receive feedback so we can adjust and improve.