Helping the Brain to Learn

This week’s article summary is actually a short SlideShare entitled Sticky Teaching: Understanding What a Brain Can't Ignore . (Scroll to the bottom of the link to view the actual SlideShare.)

This is an appropriate complement to last week’s summary on brain myths many teachers believe.

This article focuses on ways to help ensure presentation of material sticks--within a brain that still contains many of the qualities needed for survival millions of years ago.

I am also linking another article the brain entitled Brain-Based Learning Techniques to Try in Your Classroom, which highlights three strategies to optimize learning:  frequent breaks from academics,  social-emotional learning’s complement to cognitive development, cognitive load theory, e.g., why phone numbers are seven digits long. 

Enjoy Halloween and remember to turn back the clocks Saturday night. (For me, that means an extra hour of sleep, for my kids, that means an extra hour of partying!)

Joe

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90% of what we now know to be true about the brain has been discovered in the last decade—but for the most part we’ve not changed how we teach.

The ABCs of Sticky Teaching

A: Awaken the Intrigue

B: Begin and End Often

C: Create Lots of Contrasts

D: Draw Them in with Stories

E: Emotion Drives Attention

F: Focus on the Big Idea

Why do these work?

Interrupts (starts and stops) make the brain check in: The reptilian brain checks to see if there’s any danger. When it discovers you’re boring, it checks out again.

Teach unpredictably but don’t quit the routines: Predictably reduces stress in the brain which helps it recover from other stress. Combined with repetition, it helps encode information faster.

The brain is wired for authentic stories: The brain is constantly trying to save your life. So everything else is competing with it. Stories build trust, which enables the brain to take a break.

The brain doesn’t need unnecessary details: When data is stored in the brain, only the “main thing” gets stored. Like reading headlines. So stick with the big idea and repeat it often.