How can brain research inform teaching strategies?
Learning Strategies
- Relate information to students life so there is MEANING to the new information
- CHUNK information into smaller digestible parts
- REHEARSE the information in different ways
Long-term Memory Strategies
1. MEANING MAKING - Relatable to One's Life
Meaning vs. Sense Meaning has connection with our past. Sense only provides comprehensible input.
Much of school makes sense, but doesn't have meaning.
Relating information to students' lives so there is meaning to the new information - relevant to their life (Jensen, 1998)
Read more about how meaning is critical for student learning
cognitiontoday.com/sense-making-and-meaning-making/
&
www.amle.org/making-sense-more-than-making-meaning/
2. CHUNKING - Digestible Bites
Break things into manageable parts (chunks) and logical steps.
Chunk information into smaller digestible parts (Thalman, Sousa, & Oberauer, 2018)
Read about chunking strategies
examstudyexpert.com/chunking-and-memory/
&
sproutsschools.com/chunking-for-better-memory/
3. REHEARSING - Practice New Learning
Mix up the ways that you have students rehearse their new learning & interleave the practice.
The more you rehearse or retrieve information you send a message to your brain that this information is valuable. The brain prioritizes information that is retrieved more often.
Examples:
Acronyms: Great Lakes (HOMES): Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, & Superior
Alliteration: Peter Piper Picked a Peck of ...
Rhyming: I before E except after C.
Acrostic Elaboration: My very educated mother just served us nine pies
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
Read more about rehearsal memory strategies
www.verywellhealth.com/elaborative-rehearsal-a-better-way-to-memorize-98694
REHEARSAL INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES "Practice Knowing"
Marilee Sprenger identifies instructional strategies that are based on how our brain memorizes. This includes procedural, declarative (explicit), automatic (implicit), and emotional memory.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/199213/chapters/The-Lanes-Less-Traveled@-Instructional-Strategies-for-Episodic,-Procedural,-Automatic,-and-Emotional-Memory.aspx
4. PROCEDURAL MEMORIES "Knowing How"
- Create a physical action to accompany the info - Repetition
- Rehearsal in another form (drawing, performance ...) - Consistency
Read the difference between procedural an declarative memory :
www.livescience.com/43595-procedural-memory.html
Read more about
www.simplypsychology.org/declarative-memory.html
5. DECLARATIVE (Explicit) MEMORIES "Knowing That"
Semantic Memory Strategies
- Graphic Organizers - Peer Teaching - Questioning - Summarizing - Debates - Timelines
Episodic Memory Strategies
- Bulletin Boards - Field Trips - Visual Aids - Teaching important information from the same location and/or student placement
Read more about declarative memory at
www.simplypsychology.org/declarative-memory.html
6. AUTOMATIC OR IMPLICIT MEMORIES "Triggers"
- Music or songs to remember (alphabet song)
- Practice repeating (2 times tables: 2, 4 ,6, 8 ... )
- Flash cards
- Call and Response (When I say, "Lincoln" - You say, "Gettysburg")
+ Acronyms: (Great Lakes) HOMES: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)
+ Alliteration: Peter Piper Picked a Peck of…
+ Rhyming: I before E except after C
+ Acrostic Elaboration: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies = Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
Read about the difference from Implicit (Automatic) to Explicit (Declarative) Memory at
www.simplypsychology.org/implicit-versus-explicit-memory.html#:~:text=Implicit%20memory%2C%20also%20known%20as,our%20conscious%20retrieval%20of%20memories
7. EMOTIONAL MEMORIES "Feeling That"
- Music
- Celebrations
- Role Play
- Enthusiasm for subject
Read about emotional memory and feelings
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intense-emotions-and-strong-feelings/201203/emotional-memories-when-people-and-events-remain
8. Learning Pyramid: Passive Teaching verses Participatory Teaching Methods
Effective teaching include participatory teaching methods, where learners participate in discussion, practice a new skill or knowledge or teach others. Read more about the learning pyramid at www.educationcorner.com/the-learning-pyramid.html |
9. 6 Brain-Based Tips for Teaching
By Suzie Boss based on research by Judy Willis Read more at www.slideshare.net/saskiarepcikova/edutopia-6tipsbrainbasedlearningguide
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10. Practice Strategies
Using Practice Effectively With Young Students
September 17, 2012 by Dr. David Sousa
Retrieved from https://howthebrainlearns.wordpress.com/page/2/
Practice allows the learner to use the newly learned skill in a new situation with sufficient accuracy so that it will be correctly remembered. Before students begin practice, the teacher should model the thinking process involved and guide the class through each step of the new learning’s application.
Since practice makes permanent, the teacher should monitor the students’ early practice to ensure that it is accurate and to provide timely feedback and correction if it is not. This guided practice helps eliminate initial errors and alerts students to the critical steps in applying new skills. Here are some suggestions by Hunter (2004) for guiding initial practice, especially as it applies to young students:
Limit the amount of material to practice. Practice should be limited to the smallest amount of material or skill that has the most relevancy for the students. This allows for sense and meaning to be consolidated as the learner uses the new learning. Remember that most preadolescents can deal with only about five items in working memory at one time.
Limit the amount of time to practice. Practice should take place in short, intense periods of time when the student’s working memory is running on prime time. When the practice period is short, students are more likely to be intent on learning what they are practicing. Keep in mind the 5- to 10-minute time limits of working memory for preadolescents.
Determine the frequency of practice. New learning should be practiced frequently at first so that it is quickly organized (massed practice). Vary the contexts in which the practice is carried out to maintain interest. Young students tire easily of repetitive work that lacks interest. To retain the information in long-term memory and to remember how to use it accurately, students should continue the practice over increasingly longer time intervals (distributed practice), which is the key to accurate retention and application of information and mastery of skills over time.
Assess the accuracy of practice.As students perform guided practice, give prompt and specific feedback on whether the practice is correct or incorrect, and why. Ask the students to summarize your feedback comments in their own words. This process gives you valuable information about the degree of student understanding and whether it makes sense to move on or reteach portions that may be difficult for some students.
Testing as a Form of PracticeMost people think the purpose of a written test is to evaluate a student’s achievement in the area being tested. That is a very limited view. Written tests can tell us so much more. For example, written tests can
Resources:Hunter, M. (2004). Mastery teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Using Practice Effectively With Young Students
September 17, 2012 by Dr. David Sousa
Retrieved from https://howthebrainlearns.wordpress.com/page/2/
Practice allows the learner to use the newly learned skill in a new situation with sufficient accuracy so that it will be correctly remembered. Before students begin practice, the teacher should model the thinking process involved and guide the class through each step of the new learning’s application.
Since practice makes permanent, the teacher should monitor the students’ early practice to ensure that it is accurate and to provide timely feedback and correction if it is not. This guided practice helps eliminate initial errors and alerts students to the critical steps in applying new skills. Here are some suggestions by Hunter (2004) for guiding initial practice, especially as it applies to young students:
Limit the amount of material to practice. Practice should be limited to the smallest amount of material or skill that has the most relevancy for the students. This allows for sense and meaning to be consolidated as the learner uses the new learning. Remember that most preadolescents can deal with only about five items in working memory at one time.
Limit the amount of time to practice. Practice should take place in short, intense periods of time when the student’s working memory is running on prime time. When the practice period is short, students are more likely to be intent on learning what they are practicing. Keep in mind the 5- to 10-minute time limits of working memory for preadolescents.
Determine the frequency of practice. New learning should be practiced frequently at first so that it is quickly organized (massed practice). Vary the contexts in which the practice is carried out to maintain interest. Young students tire easily of repetitive work that lacks interest. To retain the information in long-term memory and to remember how to use it accurately, students should continue the practice over increasingly longer time intervals (distributed practice), which is the key to accurate retention and application of information and mastery of skills over time.
Assess the accuracy of practice.As students perform guided practice, give prompt and specific feedback on whether the practice is correct or incorrect, and why. Ask the students to summarize your feedback comments in their own words. This process gives you valuable information about the degree of student understanding and whether it makes sense to move on or reteach portions that may be difficult for some students.
Testing as a Form of PracticeMost people think the purpose of a written test is to evaluate a student’s achievement in the area being tested. That is a very limited view. Written tests can tell us so much more. For example, written tests can
- Allow students to practice what they have learned
- Give teachers information about what each student has learned
- Help teachers analyze how successful they were at teaching their lesson objectives
Resources:Hunter, M. (2004). Mastery teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
11. Block Practice vs Interleave Practice
Block practice is where we focus on learning one skill or knowledge at a time
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Interleave (variety) practice is where we mix up the skills and knowledge
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Research shows that interleaving increases learning. So when assigning practice (homework) consider mixing it up.
Read: For more information read: Samara Freemark & Stephen Smith. (August 20, 2014). Variation is the key to deeper learning, American Radioworks, Retrieved from http://www.americanradioworks.org/segments/variation-is-key-to-deeper-learning/
Read: For more information read: Samara Freemark & Stephen Smith. (August 20, 2014). Variation is the key to deeper learning, American Radioworks, Retrieved from http://www.americanradioworks.org/segments/variation-is-key-to-deeper-learning/
Brain-Based Learning Strategy Resources - Based on Research
- Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D.T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology, Psychological Science in the Public Interest 14, 4–58. Retrieved from http://www.indiana.edu/~pcl/rgoldsto/courses/dunloskyimprovinglearning.pdf
- Clark, C. M., & Bjork, R. A. (2014). When and why introducing difficulties and errors can enhance instruction. In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.), Applying the Science of Learning in Education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrievable from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website: http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/asle2014/index.php Each chapter is designed to stand alone, so look through the table of contents and pick a chapter that is of interest to you. Then apply what you learn about learning to a lesson plan. If you are interested in more peer reviewed articles check our Robert Bjork's other publications: http://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/RABjorkPublications.php
- Samara Freemark & Stephen Smith. (August 20, 2014). Variation is the key to deeper learning, American Radioworks, Retrieved from http://www.americanradioworks.org/segments/variation-is-key-to-deeper-learning/
- What is Brain-Based Learning? Brain-Based Education is the purposeful engagement of strategies that apply to how our brain works in the context of education. Website By Eric Jensen
- Sprenger, M. (1999). Chapter 7: The Lanes Less Traveled: Instructional Strategies for Episodic, Procedural, Automatic, and Emotional Memory, Learning & Memory, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Publisher.
- Willis, J. (Summer 2007). The Neuroscience of Joyful Education, Education Leadership, 64.
- Willis, J. (May, 2012). Brain-Based Learning Strategies: Get Students’ Attention With a Radish,Teacher Hub Website.
- Watch Judy Willis' Science of Learning Video
- How to teach students about their brain, Judy Willis in Educational Leadership Dec 2009, V. 67 #4.
- Writing and the Brain, Judy Willis in National Writing Project May 2011.
- Three Brain-based Teaching Strategies to Build Executive Function in Students, Judy Willis on Edutopia, May 3, 2011.
- Stressed Memories: How Acute Stress Affects MemoryFormation in Humans, Marloes J. A. G. Henckens, Erno J. Hermans, Zhenwei Pu, Marian Joe, & Guillen Fernandez in The Journal of Neuroscience, August 12, 2009 • 29(32), p. 10111–10119.
- How the brain learns: The Blog by David Sousa
- Teaching with the Brain in Mind Summary by Eric Jensen
- Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the Brian in Mind, 2nd Ed. ASCD. Retrieved from https://titleiidgrants.wikispaces.com/file/view/Teaching+with+the+Brain+in+Mind,+2nd+ed.,+Rev.+and+Updated..pdf.pdf
- Read "What you should know about your brain" & think about how you could use this with your students to teach them about how they learn. Retrieved from http://www.radteach.com/page1/page8/page45/page45.html
- Brain-based Tips www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/6-brain-based-learning-strategies-that-help-teens-learn/