How the Brain LearnsDavid Sousa

1Sunday, July 1, 2012

Prepare the Brain to Take a Test

✦ Exercise✦ Fruit✦ Water

3Sunday, July 1, 2012

Information Processing Model✦A model for explaining how the brain deals with

information from the environment.

4Sunday, July 1, 2012

Probability data gets stored in memory✦ The way Sense & Meaning influence how information

is stored in memory.

Moderate to High Very High

Very LowModerate to High

LESSON MAKES SENSE PRESENT

MEA

NING

PRE

SENT YES

NO

YESNO

5Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sensory Preferences and Learning Style

6Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sensory Preferences and Learning Style

✦Understand students different learning styles

6Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sensory Preferences and Learning Style

✦Understand students different learning styles

✦Recognize we teach the way we learn.

6Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sensory Preferences and Learning Style

✦Understand students different learning styles

✦Recognize we teach the way we learn.✦Note, what do diverse learners need?

6Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sensory Preferences and Learning Style

✦Understand students different learning styles

✦Recognize we teach the way we learn.✦Note, what do diverse learners need?✦Avoid misinterpreting different learning style

behaviors with inattention or misbehavior

6Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sensory Preferences and Learning Style

✦Understand students different learning styles

✦Recognize we teach the way we learn.✦Note, what do diverse learners need?✦Avoid misinterpreting different learning style

behaviors with inattention or misbehavior

✦Understand your learning style and sensory preference can affect learning & teaching

6Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

✦Environment-free from threat or intimidation

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

✦Environment-free from threat or intimidation

✦How to deal with wrong answers?

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

✦Environment-free from threat or intimidation

✦How to deal with wrong answers?✦Avoid humiliation

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

✦Environment-free from threat or intimidation

✦How to deal with wrong answers?✦Avoid humiliation✦Make grading instructional NOT punitive

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

✦Environment-free from threat or intimidation

✦How to deal with wrong answers?✦Avoid humiliation✦Make grading instructional NOT punitive✦Establish democratic climates

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

✦Environment-free from threat or intimidation

✦How to deal with wrong answers?✦Avoid humiliation✦Make grading instructional NOT punitive✦Establish democratic climates✦Show support for school policy

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Developing a Classroom Climate Conducive to Learning

✦Environment-free from threat or intimidation

✦How to deal with wrong answers?✦Avoid humiliation✦Make grading instructional NOT punitive✦Establish democratic climates✦Show support for school policy✦Model the behaviors you value

7Sunday, July 1, 2012

Active Meaningful Learning

8Sunday, July 1, 2012

Active Meaningful Learning✦ASCD PD In Focus Video: 2nd Graders

8Sunday, July 1, 2012

Active Meaningful Learning✦ASCD PD In Focus Video: 2nd Graders

8Sunday, July 1, 2012

Active Meaningful Learning✦ASCD PD In Focus Video: 2nd Graders

✦Questions✦Why are experiential, hands on activities

important for students no matter what grade or age level? (large group discussion)

✦Think of your discipline & classroom, what is one thing you can do now to make a lesson more active and meaningful? (journal)

8Sunday, July 1, 2012

Increase Processing Time through Motivation

9Sunday, July 1, 2012

Increase Processing Time through Motivation

✦Generate Interest✦Establish accountability✦Provide feedback: students need prompt,

specific, and corrective feedback✦Frequent brief quizzes versus the unit test✦Formative vs. summative

✦Level of concern✦Helpful anxiety versus harmful anxiety✦Example:✦“This is going to be on the test.”✦“Knowing this will help you learn the next set of skills more

easily.”

9Sunday, July 1, 2012

Use Closure to Enhance Sense & Meaning✦Initiating Closure

✦Example: I am going to give you 3 minutes to think of the three causes of the Civil War…., be prepared to discuss them briefly.

✦Closure is different from review✦In review the teacher often does most of the work.

In closure, the student is doing most of the work by mentally rehearsing.

✦When to use Closure✦It can start a lesson, referring back.✦It can occur in the middle of the lesson-moving from

one sub-learning to the next.✦It can end a lesson-tie the sub-learnings together.

10Sunday, July 1, 2012

Safe Learning Environment

✦Safe Non-threatening Environment

✦Question✦What is one thing you can do now to ensure that

your classroom offers a safe, nonthreatening environment for students?

11Sunday, July 1, 2012

Learning PyramidAVERAGE STUDENT RETENTION RATES IN PERCENT OF INFORMATION STORED

IN MEMORY

Lecture5%

Reading-10%

Audio/visual-20%

Demonstration-30%

Discussion Group-50%

Practice by doing-75%

Teach Others-90%

12Sunday, July 1, 2012

✦ Journal prompt: Reflect on what a typical class you teach or a class you have experienced is like, either from the past or the present.

✦ Commercial break

13Sunday, July 1, 2012

SOUSA, HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS, 2006

14Sunday, July 1, 2012

SOUSA, HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS, 2006

15Sunday, July 1, 2012

Memory and Patterns✦ Memory, Emotion and Attention: ASCD

✦Follow-up Questions on which to reflect

✦ What techniques and strategies have your teachers used to capture your attention and engage you in learning?

✦ What are the effects of stress on learning from your experience?

16Sunday, July 1, 2012

Questions

17Sunday, July 1, 2012

Questions✦ What kind of emotions in school could

interfere with cognitive processing?

17Sunday, July 1, 2012

Questions✦ What kind of emotions in school could

interfere with cognitive processing?✦ What strategies or structures can schools

and teachers use to limit the threat and negative effects of these emotions?

17Sunday, July 1, 2012

Questions✦ What kind of emotions in school could

interfere with cognitive processing?✦ What strategies or structures can schools

and teachers use to limit the threat and negative effects of these emotions?

✦ What factors in the classroom can foster emotions in students that promote learning?

17Sunday, July 1, 2012

Questions✦ What kind of emotions in school could

interfere with cognitive processing?✦ What strategies or structures can schools

and teachers use to limit the threat and negative effects of these emotions?

✦ What factors in the classroom can foster emotions in students that promote learning?

✦ What strategies have you used to encourage positive emotions that promote learning?

17Sunday, July 1, 2012