Increase Student Performance through Brain-Based Learning
Did you know?
Investigators of the brain-learning connection have concluded that schools are not often structured in brain-friendly ways (Jensen, 2007). The primary effect is that almost all students experience a gap between their potential for learning and their performance in school (Smilkstein, 1993).
What we need to recognize is that the job of education is to create patterns by giving students a wide variety of experiences and a huge amount of input from real life, working with the actual pattern-developing function of the brain (Caine & Nummela-Caine, 2006; Goswami, 2008).
Memory consists of links between related concepts, and when one idea is activated, related concepts are elicited from the individual’s past experiences (Sprenger, 2007).
" A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled."
–Plutarch
The brain has a virtually inexhaustible capacity to learn. Every day we learn more and more about the brain and how it functions optimally. The more we know about the brain and the way it thinks and learns, the more we can tap into the vast potential of the human brain to improve education and increase student performance.
Although all learning is brain-based in some sense, there can be “brain-compatible” education or “brain-antagonistic” education. Structuring teaching and learning in “brain-compatible” ways is crucial to optimizing student performance and success.
Tips for increasing student performance through brain-based learning
Provide an enriched environment. An enriched environment stimulates the brain and the brain absorbs peripheral information subconsciously. Use colorful posters, visuals, props, and concrete items to add an enriched environment to your lessons.
Introduce the big picture. The brain seeks patterns and can make sense of information if it understands the “whole” of the concept. We look at the picture on the box when putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Without the big picture, the task is more difficult. Begin your lesson with the big picture to facilitate understanding.
Facilitate patterning. The brain gathers information and constantly searches for patterns to devise meaning. Help students chunk information, connect to prior knowledge, and discover patterns to facilitate the transfer of learning.
Emotions cement learning. Emotions release chemicals in the brain that signal, “This is important, remember it.” The brain places a higher importance on the emotions (episodic memory) than on information and facts (semantic memory). When we make learning fun, social, safe, personal, exciting, and engaging we use emotions to enhance learning and retention.
Practice in different modalities. Practice and repetition increase the efficiency of the brain. However, rote practice and similar repetition can be mundane and boring. Instead, provide repeated practice using multiple intelligences or different modalities (visual, auditory, tactual, and kinesthetic) to deepen understanding and comprehension.
Allow time for reflection and breaks. Allow time for students to reflect on the information and make personal connections. Personal connections add relevance and signal the brain to internalize the information. Incorporate journaling, discussion, debriefing, breaks, energizers, and so forth to help students make sense of what they learn.
Add creativity. When we add creativity to our lesson we take learning to the synthesis level. We ask students to transfer the information learned to a new venue, thus tapping into the skills of brainstorming, higher-order thinking, and problem solving.
Caine, G., & Nummela-Caine, R. (2006). Meaningful learning and the executive functions of
the brain. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 110, 53–61.
Goswami, U. (2008). Neuroscience and education. In The Jossey-Bass reader on the brain
and learning (pp. 33–50). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Jensen, E. P. (2007). Introduction to brain-compatible learning (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Corwin.
Smilkstein, R. P. (1993). The natural human learning process. Journal of Developmental
Education, 17(2), 2–10.
Sprenger, M. B. (2007). Becoming a "wiz" at brain-based teaching: How to make every
year your best year (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Source: The above tips are based on PLS's graduate course Brain-Based Ways We Think and Learn®. For more information see "Featured Onsite Graduate Course" to the right.
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