How the Brain LearnsHow the Brain Learns
It don’t mean a thing if you…
can’t remember it don’t make
sense don’t focus or don’t care
How the Brain LearnsHow the Brain Learns
Practice Experimentation Watching/Listening Connecting Reflecting Social construction Meaning making
Exterior Parts of the BrainExterior Parts of the Brain
Frontal Lobes – planning & thinking
Temporal Lobe – sound, speech, LTM
Occipital – visual processing
Parietal lobe – orientation, calculations
Interior Parts of the BrainInterior Parts of the Brain Limbic System –
generation of emotions
Thalamus – processes sensory stimuli – except smell
Hippocampus – checks info in working memory to stored experiences
CerebrumCerebrum
Thinking, memory, speech and muscular movement are controlled by areas in the cerebrum.
Frontal Lobe – Monitors:– Higher Order thinking– Directing Problem Solving– Regulating excesses of the emotional system
LogicalAnalyticalFact BasedQualitative
HolisticIntuitiveIntegratingSynthesizing
OrganizedSequentialPlannedDetailed
InterpersonalEmotionalKinestheticFeeling Based
Limbic Mode
Cerebral Mode
LEFT
MODE
VERBAL
RIGHT
MODE
Non
VERBAL
Brain TransmissionsBrain Transmissions
Neurons transmit impulses along an axon and across the synapse to the dendrites of the neighboring cell
1,000,000,000,000,000 synapses1,000,000,000,000,000 synapses
Learning occurs by changing the synapses so that the influence of one neuron on another also changes.
The more complex the skills demanded in an occupation, the more dendrites were found on the neurons – creates more sites in which to store learnings
How the Brain LearnsHow the Brain Learns
Connections the brain finds useful become permanent; those not useful are eliminated as the brain selectively strengthens and prunes connections based on experience.
What are the implications for teaching?
Effective TeachingEffective Teaching
Requires:– Planning– Essential elements of
effective instruction– Competent teacher– Constant stream of decisions– Students actively engaged– Compatibility to how students
learn
The Brain is a novelty seekerThe Brain is a novelty seeker
The brain has a persistent interest in novelty.
An environment that contains mostly predictable stimuli lowers the brain’s interest
Using Novelty in LessonsUsing Novelty in Lessons Humor
Movement – get the blood flowing
Multi-sensory Instruction – interesting colorful visuals - & talk about their learning
Quiz Games – helps students rehearse – adds repetitions for long term memory
Music – helps motivate and helps memory
Information Processing ModelInformation Processing Model
LearningStoringRemembering
– Are all dynamic and interactive processes
Information Processing ModelInformation Processing Model
It limits its scope to the major cerebral operations that deal with:– Collecting– Evaluating– Storing– Retrieving information– The parts that are most useful to educators
Information Processing ModelInformation Processing Model
Sight
Hearing
Touch
Smell
Taste
ImmedMemory
WorkingMemory
Sense & Meaning
SensoryRegister
out
LongTerm
storage
Self ConceptPast Experiences
CognitiveBeliefSystem
MemoryMemory
Short term memory:
– All of the early steps of temporary memory that lead to stable long term memory
Immediate Memory – holds data for 30 seconds
Working Memory – limited capacity – conscious activity – captures our focus and demands our attention – occurs in the frontal lobes
Working MemoryWorking Memory
Capacity – varies with age 5 years or younger – 2 items + or - 1 Between 5 - 14 5 items + or - 2 14 and older 7 items + or - 2
The limited capacity explains why we need to memorize a song or poem in stages – increase capacity through “chunking”.
How can this relate to learning new vocabulary words?
Working MemoryWorking Memory
Time Limits– Age dependent
Pre-adolescents – 5 – 10 minutes Adolescents & Adults – 10 – 20 minutes
Fatigue or boredom sets in resulting in a loss of focus - unless a change in the way the individual is dealing with an item.
Data Affecting Survival
Data Generating Emotions
Data for new learning
WORKING
MEMORY
Priorities for Working Memory
Criteria for Long term StorageCriteria for Long term Storage
We cannot recall what we have not stored
Emotional experiences have a high probability of being permanently stored
Does it make sense? (oh now I see)– Learner can understand based upon experience
Does it have meaning? (how will I use it)– Is the item relevant
Sense & MeaningSense & Meaning
Sense and Meaning are independent of each other
When new learning is comprehensible (sense) and can be connected to past experiences (meaning) – retention is dramatically improved.
Sense & MeaningSense & Meaning
Students often listen to things that make sense but lack meaning.– If they do not find meaning after the learning
episode – there is little likelihood of long term storage
– Teachers often wonder why students forgot the lesson – (meaning – relevance must be clear) ie. Learn it because its on the test
Sense & MeaningSense & Meaning
Past experiences always influence new learning.
Teachers spend about 90% of their planning time devising lessons so that students will understand the objective (sense) – they need to be more mindful of helping students establish meaning.
Integrating the curriculum increases meaning and retention
Teachers must understand the intent of the standards
ModerateTo
High
VeryLow
Very High
ModerateTo
High
MEANING PRESENT?
Sense Present ?
Probability of being Stored in Memory
RetentionRetention
Research has shown that:– The greatest loss of newly acquired information
or a skill occurs within 18 – 24 hours
If a learner cannot recall information within 24 hours – there is a high probability that it was not permanently stored
Self ConceptSelf Concept
Continuum – very low to very highEmotions play an important part in forming
a person’s self concept.
People will participate in learning activities that have yielded success for them and avoid those that have produced failure
Self ConceptSelf Concept
Hierarchy of Data Processing:
– When a concept struggles with an emotion, the emotion almost always wins!
– It is possible for the rational system (frontal lobe) to override emotions – but that takes time and conscious effort.
Self ConceptSelf Concept
The learner must believe that participating in the learning situation will produce new successes rather than repeat past failures.
A teacher teaches children, not merely content. It is vital to create the conditions for success – educational & human relations skills (intentionally maximizing success)
Self ConceptSelf Concept
The self concept is important in controlling the feedback loop and determining how the individual will respond to almost any new learning situation.
What are the implications for instruction?
ConstructivismConstructivism
Students are more likely to gain greater understanding of and derive greater pleasure from learning when allowed to transform the learning into creative thoughts and products.
(learning on a continuum, direct instruction provides a foundation, inquiry or constructivism, cooperative learning can take the learning to new and creative levels)
How the Brain Learns –How the Brain Learns –Why it is Important?Why it is Important?
When do students remember best in a learning episode?
How can I help students understand and remember more of what I teach?
Why is focus so important, and why is it so difficult to get?
How can humor and music help the teaching learning process?
How can I get students to find meaning in what they are learning?
Why is transfer such a powerful principle of learning, and how can it destroy a lesson without my realizing it?
How the Brain Learns –How the Brain Learns –
Physical aspects associated with learningHow the brain processes informationMemory – Retention & LearningThe power of TransferBrain Specialization and LearningThe Brain and the ArtsThinking Skills and Learning
Instructional ApproachesInstructional Approaches
Direct InstructionCooperative LearningInterdisciplinary UnitsIntegrated Thematic Units
Using Humor to Enhance LearningUsing Humor to Enhance Learning
Gets Attention Creates a positive Climate Increases retention
– Emotions enhance retention– Positive feelings from laughter
increase probability of retention– It is an effective discipline tool– No teasing or sarcasm
Increase processing time through motivationIncrease processing time through motivation
Generate Interest – powerful motivator
Establish Accountability Provide Feedback
– Prompt– Specific– Corrective
Level of Concern
Motivation
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1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Level of Concern
Deg
ree
of
Ori
gin
al
Lea
rnin
g
Degree of Learning
Increase processing time through motivationIncrease processing time through motivation
Level of Concern– Provide consequences
– Visibility & Proximity
– Varying the amount of time allotted to complete a task
– Varying the amount of help or support available.
Motivation
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1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Level of ConcernD
egre
e of
Ori
gina
l Le
arni
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Degree of Learning
Creating Meaning in new LearningCreating Meaning in new Learning
Modeling
– Accurately & unambiguously highlight the critical attributes
– Teacher presents first to ensure students get it correct during this prime time when retention is the highest.
– Avoid controversial issues that evoke strong emotions that can redirect the learner’s attention
– Emotions can shut out rational thought
Creating Meaning in new LearningCreating Meaning in new Learning
Using examples from students’ experience
– Brings prior knowledge into working memory which promotes making sense and attaching meaning.
– It is important that the examples are clearly relevant to the new learning – should be planned in advance.
Creating Meaning in New LearningCreating Meaning in New Learning
Creating artificial Meaning– Mnemonic Devices
Homes – Great Lakes Roy G Biv – red, green , blue FACE Man Very Early Made Jump Suits Using New
Plastics
Using Closure to Enhance Sense & MeaningUsing Closure to Enhance Sense & Meaning
It is during closure that a student often completes the rehearsal process and attaches sense and meaning to the new learning.
Closure is different from Review– The student does most of the work by mentally
rehearsing and summarizing the concepts and deciding whether they make sense and have meaning.
Using Closure to Enhance Sense & MeaningUsing Closure to Enhance Sense & Meaning
Closure is an investment that can pay off dramatically in increased retention of learning.
Closure is one of the most under used elements of effective instruction.
Using Closure to Enhance Sense & MeaningUsing Closure to Enhance Sense & Meaning
Closure can occur at various times:
– It can start a lesson – think about two causes of WWII that we studied yesterday and be prepared to discuss them….
– It can occur during a lesson – Complete this problem on area before we move on to finding the volume…
– It should also take place at the end – to tie the entire lesson together…
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