Karen Boyes
Really engaging, well presented, discussion, questioning, humour, very little action on "PowerPoint"
Big gap between teaching and learning
If they can't remember what they have learned, what was the point of them being there?
Seven ways we can understand the brain and learning
1. Primacy
The first things that happen. Your brain will automatically remember your firsts.
Students will remember the first things a teacher says, the first look, the first thing that happens in the day, the first interction with others...
Creating a good "first" interaction - use music, friendly greeting,
Using music
60s music works with every age group...?
Use it to start lesson, positive atmosphere
Students have music in their heads all the time.
(apparently, people who commit suicide have been listening to dark music. Doesn't mean people who listen to dark music will commit suicide)
Have routine to start the lesson so no precious time lost. Routine to revise last lesson, prepare their books... Students don't know what to do so allows distraction
2. Recency
The thing that happens last.
Easier to recall most recent - revising of learning needs to happen at the end of each lesson
Brain can take in info for 50mins. (older research)
Learn for 50min, then 10min break. one first, one last
Learn for 20min, break for 5, learn for 20, break for 5. two firsts, two lasts.
Brain needs to have breaks to process learning.
When you can't get to sleep becasue your brain is working, it is becasue you have not had processing time during the day. On average it should only take 7 minutes to fall asleep.
Provide downtime in the classroom. Allow them time to process.
Your brain at deep focus can only do one thing at a time.
At a brain level, none of us can multitask. We can serial task - flick between. Serial tasking is slower, harder to focus.
Goldie Hawn schools - 3 times a day kids lie on the floor and be calm and quiet - process.
3. Repetition
Tony Robbins - "the mother of skill"
Perfect practice makes perfect. Practice makes permanent.
Good spellers look up. Poor spellers look sideways or down.
Fast recall looks up. Accesses different parts of your brain.
1 day: within 24 hours. info goes into short term memory and stays for 24 hours. If nothing is done with it in that 24 hours it gets lost - cannot be accessed.
Ensure students do something with info with 24. Read about it, talk about it, write about it, draw it, think about it...
By the time they get home, it's too late.
After 3 days, you will only be able to remember 30%. We need to try to hold on to the other 70%.
Blind summarise onto note cards after school. Read summarised notes the next day.
Permanent recall - 1 week, 1 month, 6 months.
4. Stands Out
People love stories, make them entertaining and they will remember.
First impressions count.
5. Association
Linking of info.
Link what they are learning to real life.
How do we know that what we say in classroom is what they understand we mean? If I say love, what do they understand? How might that be different to what I said?
6. Visual
80% of what your brain takes in it accesses visually.
We, older generation, read in Z pattern. New generation reads in an F pattern. Header, menu.
Best colour for memory - red. Fire engines, McDs, Stop signs, marking! Also, green, blue
Winners in Olympic games... red...???
How should students visually take notes?
Most people transform info in the brain into visuals.
7. Chunking
Breaking info into small pieces
Students can handle 7 pieces of info at a time.
10 Top Brain Foods
Water is one of two substances that crosses the blood-brain barrier. If there is anything in the water it is treated as food and goes to gut.
Breakfast - brain function depends on breakfast. Junk is better than nothing, but...
Blueberries
Nuts
Fish
Broccoli
Bananas
Yoghurt
Olive oil
Wholegrain bread
Spinach
Tomatoes
Random:
Vowels and consonants are stored in different places in brain. Placing of vowel stored different place to the actual vowel.
Fat is good for your brain.
Myelination - highways in the brain.
Sources:
John Medina - 12 brain principles - book
Dr. David Sousa - How the brain learns
Eric Jenson
Goldie Hawn (!) need to look up schools being set up - still three times a day, prime the brain and revise information,
