Brainfriendly methods and practices use the natural abilities of the human brain optimising the way people think and learn. Applying brain friendly learning involves a balance of comfort and stimulation, keeps a student motivated and is a form of student-centred teaching. Rote learning and teacher-centred classes were the ways we learned when I attended primary and high school. It is not strange therefore that I can no longer remember many of the topics I learned during those days, even though in some occasions I had high grades. More brain friendly learning took place when I studied physiotherapy and I enjoyed about every minute of the four years of study. In Holland physiotherapy was a qualification obtained in a TAFE environment, with most teachers still actively operating in a clinical setting. Learning was mostly hands-on in a relaxed environment with collaborative and cooperative learning techniques and peer-teaching. Classrooms were spread out all over Amsterdam instead of over one campus, which meant lots of bike trips in between classes, allowing the brain a break from filling with important information and enjoying conversation with friends. The one class not many of us enjoyed were the anatomy lectures delivered by a professor who absolutely had the knowledge but was unable to transfer that to us. Now, a teacher myself, I try to incorporate all that was good and assisted with my learning to ensure students in my classroom will remember content for a long time to come.
activity 1
For my brain to stay active, take in content and engage the higher cognitive processes it needs regular fuel (food) and water, as well as natural light, outside stimulation through vibrant colours on the wall or from furniture, and an engaging facilitator delivering a topic that has meaning to me. Depending on what it is I need to learn, I like to sit at a table, a bean bag or on the floor with lots of pillows with music in the background. This means that an absence of any of these may limit my ability to learn or lead to the brain being easily distracted.
Unfortunately, some of the rooms where I have delivered training, from class rooms to board rooms, have often been too cosily warm and have been devoid of fresh air and natural light with the paint on the wall dulled by age. At high schools students use standard, back straining furniture and are normally not allowed to eat in class, a rule often broken by me seeing that I could not go without a snack for longer than one hour.
Unfortunately, some of the rooms where I have delivered training, from class rooms to board rooms, have often been too cosily warm and have been devoid of fresh air and natural light with the paint on the wall dulled by age. At high schools students use standard, back straining furniture and are normally not allowed to eat in class, a rule often broken by me seeing that I could not go without a snack for longer than one hour.
activity 2
It was good to refresh the memory and listen to the panel discussing factors that influence Optimising Learning. All panel members had thought-provoking contributions, with the main messages relayed being as follows:
·
Positive emotions in the form of feeling connected to the school, feeling proud and engaged, having trust, having fun and joy in the learning process, being connected with peers and teachers and an overall satisfaction about the learning process all increases a student’s wellbeing. On the other hand, sustained stress, sustained boredom or sustained frustration can inhibit the learning process. If the student is faced with an inadequate challenge such as the task being too easy the student may
feel the task is worthless; if the task is too hard the student may feel too much pressure to deliver and become stressed. However, when the student is facing and able to overcome an individual level of achievable challenge (such as when playing a video game and advancing to the next, somewhat more difficult level) dopamine is released in the brain which enhances the student’s wellbeing, their pleasure and their level of learning.
The importance of relationships in learning - Cooperative learning can lead to stronger peer relationships (between students) and stronger relationships between teacher and students. This can lead to the student being more engaged, use higher order thinking skills / cognitive levels, and remember the information more strongly and effectively. This positive interaction can also lead to a perception by the student that they are ok and can have an effect in the brain leading to increase in dopamine. This in turn – will make the student believe that they can achieve the next thing and lead to perseverance over errors, motivation, resilience, willingness to take on a harder challenge and as such a perseverance to continue learning.
A negative interaction with peers or the teacher, boredom by the student or the student believing the content is not relevant can lead to the student dropping out of school. The increasing level of demand on teachers – how and where will they find the time to implement a culture of brain friendly learning for the students if that is not already part of their repertoire? It seems that the quality of teaching is more important than the size of the class. However, we tend to forget that the quality of the teacher and their life depends on the sustainability of the teacher’s workload and what they do day to day. The teacher’s workload should not be defined by the amount of hours they are teaching, but the number of educative relationships they are trying to maintain and foster. And a good teacher - student relationships will assist with building neuroplasticity so that the learned information will remain in the student’s memory.
We have a tendency to teach students certainty and pre-digested facts (‘junk-food’) which doesn’t lead to growth of knowledge, analysis or preparedness for the future but on which they are being tested; good grades by students will have positive implications for teachers. This is contrary to the positive learning ideology consisting of positive relationships as discussed in the DVD. We seem to be more focussed on certainty in a child’s mind rather than for them to have healthy doubt and for the teacher, through a positive relationship, assist the student with further investigation, exploration and problem
solving.
·
Positive emotions in the form of feeling connected to the school, feeling proud and engaged, having trust, having fun and joy in the learning process, being connected with peers and teachers and an overall satisfaction about the learning process all increases a student’s wellbeing. On the other hand, sustained stress, sustained boredom or sustained frustration can inhibit the learning process. If the student is faced with an inadequate challenge such as the task being too easy the student may
feel the task is worthless; if the task is too hard the student may feel too much pressure to deliver and become stressed. However, when the student is facing and able to overcome an individual level of achievable challenge (such as when playing a video game and advancing to the next, somewhat more difficult level) dopamine is released in the brain which enhances the student’s wellbeing, their pleasure and their level of learning.
The importance of relationships in learning - Cooperative learning can lead to stronger peer relationships (between students) and stronger relationships between teacher and students. This can lead to the student being more engaged, use higher order thinking skills / cognitive levels, and remember the information more strongly and effectively. This positive interaction can also lead to a perception by the student that they are ok and can have an effect in the brain leading to increase in dopamine. This in turn – will make the student believe that they can achieve the next thing and lead to perseverance over errors, motivation, resilience, willingness to take on a harder challenge and as such a perseverance to continue learning.
A negative interaction with peers or the teacher, boredom by the student or the student believing the content is not relevant can lead to the student dropping out of school. The increasing level of demand on teachers – how and where will they find the time to implement a culture of brain friendly learning for the students if that is not already part of their repertoire? It seems that the quality of teaching is more important than the size of the class. However, we tend to forget that the quality of the teacher and their life depends on the sustainability of the teacher’s workload and what they do day to day. The teacher’s workload should not be defined by the amount of hours they are teaching, but the number of educative relationships they are trying to maintain and foster. And a good teacher - student relationships will assist with building neuroplasticity so that the learned information will remain in the student’s memory.
We have a tendency to teach students certainty and pre-digested facts (‘junk-food’) which doesn’t lead to growth of knowledge, analysis or preparedness for the future but on which they are being tested; good grades by students will have positive implications for teachers. This is contrary to the positive learning ideology consisting of positive relationships as discussed in the DVD. We seem to be more focussed on certainty in a child’s mind rather than for them to have healthy doubt and for the teacher, through a positive relationship, assist the student with further investigation, exploration and problem
solving.
Activity 3
Annotation of each stage has been provided as well as how it has been applied in the workshop delivery I currently do.
Sensory Stimulation- When emotions are engaged in learning, as with impactful learning experiences using visual, aural and tactile stimuli through video, pictures, discussions, activities and the like, endorphins are increased and students have a higher rate of remembering what they learn. As such students need to feel safe and secure or their “flight or fight” response kicks in and they will not learn and/or remember.
Application in workshop delivery – providing the power point hand-outs on soft colour paper. Slides mainly have pictures and little text. |
RAS & Amygdala - like an old-time telephone operator, the amygdala takes incoming information, analyses it and then
channelling it elsewhere if it is important enough. The amygdala has a complex task that involves countless cognitive functions and coordination with various parts of the brain—hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, cerebellum and others. Exercise and an enriched environment (lots of mental stimulation) spark brain activity and promote neurogenesis (generation of more neurons); on the other hand, stress and anxiety (as can occur when students face a standardised test) as well as aging appear to decrease neurogenesis and as such the ability to interpret, recall and understand information. Application in workshop delivery – a relaxed environment where interactive discussion forms the centre part of the workshop |
Brain Friendly Strategies -positive emotions during the learning process such as being
engaged, feeling of trust and connection with peers and the teacher, fun & joy will assist memorising the information delivered. Relevant playful learning is memorable learning. Application in workshop delivery – all participants are active contributors to the workshop in the form of experience, questions, scenarios, discussions with feedback provided instantly. The tone is serious but overall light interlaced with humour. |
Hippocampus - a vital part of the brain’s memory pathway that maintains a record of contexts and places
Application in workshop delivery – all participants bring an extensive range of experience and skill and are encouraged to share this with the group. · Plasticity – increased neuroplasticity assists with learned information remaining in our memory Application in workshop delivery – a connection between current skill and knowledge and new information is made continuously so that participants get a good understanding of how to apply the new information in a clinical setting. |
Types of memory (Sources: Britannica Guide to the Brain, MedicineNet.com)
Short-term memory: A phase of memory in which a limited amount of information may be held for several seconds or minutes. The average memory capacity for normal adults is seven items plus or minus two.
Working memory: Process in which information is temporarily stored until either encoded in long-term memory or dropped.
Long-term memory: The final phase of memory, in which information storage may last from hours to a lifetime.
Episodic memory: The recollection of singular events in the life of a person. It is the memory of life experiences centred on yourself.
Semantic memory: All explicit memory that is not autobiographical, such as knowledge of historical events and figures, or the ability to recognize friends.·
Procedural memory: The long-term memory of skills and procedures, such as flying an airplane or tying your shoes.
Short-term memory: A phase of memory in which a limited amount of information may be held for several seconds or minutes. The average memory capacity for normal adults is seven items plus or minus two.
Working memory: Process in which information is temporarily stored until either encoded in long-term memory or dropped.
Long-term memory: The final phase of memory, in which information storage may last from hours to a lifetime.
Episodic memory: The recollection of singular events in the life of a person. It is the memory of life experiences centred on yourself.
Semantic memory: All explicit memory that is not autobiographical, such as knowledge of historical events and figures, or the ability to recognize friends.·
Procedural memory: The long-term memory of skills and procedures, such as flying an airplane or tying your shoes.
Activity 4
I could have easily spent days exploring Dr. Judy Willis’ website clicking on every single link and reading one interesting article after another. Before I knew it I was five clicks away and reading something associated with learning but not related to neuroscience. It helped that the video clips were in short chunks which were easy to follow and provided just the right amount of information to digest and link to real scenarios. The article “five tips for building strong collaborative learning” (Edutopia, 2012) provided great information and I was able to link it to the last four weeks of workshop delivery as stated in the forum post:
Most of us probably realise that to promote collaborative learning the classroom geography is important. In “five tips for building strong collaborative learning” (Edutopia, 2012) it was stated that “eye contact is key to fruitful discussions”. I found this to be true while delivering the same 3 hour workshops multiple times in a variety of venues. The idea was to be a facilitator guiding the group through a pre-set list of topics and associated information but for the group to provide scenarios to link the topics and possible issues to real life and as such seeing how the newly learned information fitted in. The preferred set up was ‘café style’ in groups of 3-5 participants, where everyone was still able to see me and view the guiding power point, but also look at each other and discuss topics in small groups. Occasionally the workshop had to be delivered in a lecture theatre with fixed rows of chairs all facing the front, and although participants were allowed to sit where and how they preferred to enable them to work in their groups, the workshop seemed to be far less interactive and more energy was required to promote discussion.
Reference:
Edutopia (2012). Five Tips for Building Strong Collaborative Learning. Retrieved June 2014 from: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-tips
Most of us probably realise that to promote collaborative learning the classroom geography is important. In “five tips for building strong collaborative learning” (Edutopia, 2012) it was stated that “eye contact is key to fruitful discussions”. I found this to be true while delivering the same 3 hour workshops multiple times in a variety of venues. The idea was to be a facilitator guiding the group through a pre-set list of topics and associated information but for the group to provide scenarios to link the topics and possible issues to real life and as such seeing how the newly learned information fitted in. The preferred set up was ‘café style’ in groups of 3-5 participants, where everyone was still able to see me and view the guiding power point, but also look at each other and discuss topics in small groups. Occasionally the workshop had to be delivered in a lecture theatre with fixed rows of chairs all facing the front, and although participants were allowed to sit where and how they preferred to enable them to work in their groups, the workshop seemed to be far less interactive and more energy was required to promote discussion.
Reference:
Edutopia (2012). Five Tips for Building Strong Collaborative Learning. Retrieved June 2014 from: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-tips
activity 5
Understanding Learning: Lessons for learning, teaching and research (John Hattie) - Post on forum
What stood out for me in the article ‘Understanding Learning: Lessons for learning, teaching and research’ (John Hattie) was the fact that we focus too much on “‘achievement’, ‘standards’ and ‘ability’ instead of on ‘learning’”. Although we choose to learn because we ‘do not know’, errors and mistakes are viewed negatively instead of the “opportunities to learn”. It seems that we tend to forget that we need to know something (‘surface knowing’) before we can think about it (‘deep knowing’) let alone apply this knowing in problem-based learning.
Hattie stated that “learning is the process of developing sufficient surface knowledge to then move to deep or conceptual understanding”. This process of learning is best assisted with the student being engaged during teaching time which includes “specific teaching to the skill” where tasks are appropriate and challenging for the student to complete “with room to make and correct errors”. Timely two-way, student – teacher, feedback is important in this process.
Teaching a cluster of physiotherapy units in the Allied Health Assistance Certificate it is important that the student has a good grip and understanding of the biomechanical aspects of human movement (surface knowing) before they can implement an exercise program (deep knowing). Biomechanics is hard to teach let alone to learn, with never enough academic or teaching time. However, this year it was made a little easier with the workbook supported by a
Moodle platform, with YouTube videos and extra information, as well as in-class games providing immediate feedback in regards to the gap between student’s current level of knowledge and expected learning outcomes.
What stood out for me in the article ‘Understanding Learning: Lessons for learning, teaching and research’ (John Hattie) was the fact that we focus too much on “‘achievement’, ‘standards’ and ‘ability’ instead of on ‘learning’”. Although we choose to learn because we ‘do not know’, errors and mistakes are viewed negatively instead of the “opportunities to learn”. It seems that we tend to forget that we need to know something (‘surface knowing’) before we can think about it (‘deep knowing’) let alone apply this knowing in problem-based learning.
Hattie stated that “learning is the process of developing sufficient surface knowledge to then move to deep or conceptual understanding”. This process of learning is best assisted with the student being engaged during teaching time which includes “specific teaching to the skill” where tasks are appropriate and challenging for the student to complete “with room to make and correct errors”. Timely two-way, student – teacher, feedback is important in this process.
Teaching a cluster of physiotherapy units in the Allied Health Assistance Certificate it is important that the student has a good grip and understanding of the biomechanical aspects of human movement (surface knowing) before they can implement an exercise program (deep knowing). Biomechanics is hard to teach let alone to learn, with never enough academic or teaching time. However, this year it was made a little easier with the workbook supported by a
Moodle platform, with YouTube videos and extra information, as well as in-class games providing immediate feedback in regards to the gap between student’s current level of knowledge and expected learning outcomes.
activity 6 & 8
It is not about what I am going to do differently (Activity 8) as I have already changed some of my approaches since starting this class. Stress and boredom are not only detrimental to the student, they can also negatively influence our teaching capabilities. Having to deliver the same workshop
multiple times in a short time frame, I had to ensure that I remained interested in the content to be delivered, learned from the participants as they learned
from me and that no two workshops were going to be exactly the same. Adjusting those things that didn’t fully work out and enforcing those that did took place on the run following trial and error and feedback from students. My initial thought of the teacher as the font of all knowledge many years ago has
definitely been replaced by the teacher as facilitator and I feel quite comfortable in that role; we can learn so much from our students. Although exhausting, highly interactive workshops can get the best out of the participants as well as out of you, the teacher. And with the help of some brain friendly startegies teaching can be quite a bit of fun.
Some of these strategies came from “25 brain friendly strategies” (Activity 6):
http://www.readingprof.com/papers/Brain-Friendly%20Strategies/3_Twenty-Five%20Brain-Friendly%20Strategies.pdf
multiple times in a short time frame, I had to ensure that I remained interested in the content to be delivered, learned from the participants as they learned
from me and that no two workshops were going to be exactly the same. Adjusting those things that didn’t fully work out and enforcing those that did took place on the run following trial and error and feedback from students. My initial thought of the teacher as the font of all knowledge many years ago has
definitely been replaced by the teacher as facilitator and I feel quite comfortable in that role; we can learn so much from our students. Although exhausting, highly interactive workshops can get the best out of the participants as well as out of you, the teacher. And with the help of some brain friendly startegies teaching can be quite a bit of fun.
Some of these strategies came from “25 brain friendly strategies” (Activity 6):
http://www.readingprof.com/papers/Brain-Friendly%20Strategies/3_Twenty-Five%20Brain-Friendly%20Strategies.pdf
In her review of Dr Judy Willis’ book “Inspiring Middle School Minds: Gifted, Creative & Challenging” (Great Potential Press, 2009), Diane Horban explains the recurrent message from Dr Willis to “avoid teaching to the test and eliminate the “dumbing down” of lessons into skill and drill worksheets used for test purposes only”. Challenging lessons should be created which “engage the
adolescent brain with inquiry, questioning, and timely, constructive feedback” and which “focus on the interests of our students, give students choices, make information relevant, and stimulate curiosity”.
Over the past four weeks I had to deliver a three hour workshop of fairly dry content over and over to different participants. All participants came with varying degrees of knowledge and experience in regards to the content. To make it not only interesting for the participants and ensure they got the most out of the workshop, but also interesting and fun for me to deliver the same content every time, I included the brain friendly following strategies:
·
Handouts were provided on four different coloured paper and participants were asked to choose one in the colour of their liking. This in itself provoked
discussion as some participants jokingly wondered if there was an underlying psycho analysis going on.
·
Participants had a tendency to sit at a table with people they knew. To encourage discussion and learning from each other participants were asked to sit in small groups with people they did not know or only vaguely knew. At times this was met with frowns and unhappy faces. Participants then had to learn a little bit about one person at their table, write a name tag for them and introduce them to the rest of the group. A table question was included such as ‘favourite holiday destination’ or ‘favourite tv show or series’. Although these table questions had absolutely nothing to do with the content, it started conversation and frowns were often replaced by smiles and laughter. Having to introduce someone provided the platform for participants, even those who had planned not to open their mouth at all, to speak up, ask questions or contribute to discussions.
adolescent brain with inquiry, questioning, and timely, constructive feedback” and which “focus on the interests of our students, give students choices, make information relevant, and stimulate curiosity”.
Over the past four weeks I had to deliver a three hour workshop of fairly dry content over and over to different participants. All participants came with varying degrees of knowledge and experience in regards to the content. To make it not only interesting for the participants and ensure they got the most out of the workshop, but also interesting and fun for me to deliver the same content every time, I included the brain friendly following strategies:
·
Handouts were provided on four different coloured paper and participants were asked to choose one in the colour of their liking. This in itself provoked
discussion as some participants jokingly wondered if there was an underlying psycho analysis going on.
·
Participants had a tendency to sit at a table with people they knew. To encourage discussion and learning from each other participants were asked to sit in small groups with people they did not know or only vaguely knew. At times this was met with frowns and unhappy faces. Participants then had to learn a little bit about one person at their table, write a name tag for them and introduce them to the rest of the group. A table question was included such as ‘favourite holiday destination’ or ‘favourite tv show or series’. Although these table questions had absolutely nothing to do with the content, it started conversation and frowns were often replaced by smiles and laughter. Having to introduce someone provided the platform for participants, even those who had planned not to open their mouth at all, to speak up, ask questions or contribute to discussions.
Before a start was made with the actual content delivery participants were asked about their inquiries, the topic they hoped to hear discussed when they signed up for the workshops. In their groups they were asked to write down a minimum of three questions or topics on A3 paper with a whiteboard marker. Three colours were provided with some groups writing each topic in a different colour. All questions/topics were read out to the whole group which showed that participants often had similar queries and even the stand-out question was often one other participants were interested to hear the answer to. Participants were informed that I would come
back to these questions/topics during the delivery but definitely at the end to ensure all were dealt with. If a topic was outside the scope of the workshop participants would be informed of this and an explanation
would be provided (hardly any topics fell in this category).
·
During the delivery, most questions were “reflected back” to the group to see if others were able to use their experience and knowledge to answer it. In this way peer learning was encouraged, with me as the facilitator and not the font of all learning. It also provided me with an opportunity to learn and use the new learned information in other workshops.
·
The power-point presentation consisted of a total of 18 slides, most of them containing photos or pictures and very little text. (see button below for link)
For me the telling sign that participants were engrossed in the workshop was the fact that every workshop went over time (10-15 minutes). Not once did people leave early (unless they had other engagements) or did they become restless in their chairs. Most participants took their time to fill out the evaluation form, which was double sided and contained half a dozen open questions. Feedback overall has been extremely positive, not only in regards to to the content delivered but also to the way it was delivered and the fact that backgrounds, real scenarios and knowledge and experience were taken into consideration.
Reference:
Horban, D. (2012). Inspiring the Adolescent Brain. MiddleWeb. Retrieved June 2014 from: http://www.middleweb.com/4075/inspiring-the-adolescent-brain/
back to these questions/topics during the delivery but definitely at the end to ensure all were dealt with. If a topic was outside the scope of the workshop participants would be informed of this and an explanation
would be provided (hardly any topics fell in this category).
·
During the delivery, most questions were “reflected back” to the group to see if others were able to use their experience and knowledge to answer it. In this way peer learning was encouraged, with me as the facilitator and not the font of all learning. It also provided me with an opportunity to learn and use the new learned information in other workshops.
·
The power-point presentation consisted of a total of 18 slides, most of them containing photos or pictures and very little text. (see button below for link)
For me the telling sign that participants were engrossed in the workshop was the fact that every workshop went over time (10-15 minutes). Not once did people leave early (unless they had other engagements) or did they become restless in their chairs. Most participants took their time to fill out the evaluation form, which was double sided and contained half a dozen open questions. Feedback overall has been extremely positive, not only in regards to to the content delivered but also to the way it was delivered and the fact that backgrounds, real scenarios and knowledge and experience were taken into consideration.
Reference:
Horban, D. (2012). Inspiring the Adolescent Brain. MiddleWeb. Retrieved June 2014 from: http://www.middleweb.com/4075/inspiring-the-adolescent-brain/