Brain Based Research

Article Title: Using Brain Research in Your Classroom

Summary of Article

This article begins with the thought provoking words, ÐŽ§The human brain is a wonderfully complex and amazing organ.ЎЁ Complex is definitely the right word to describe the human brain. Researchers are now in the process of beginning to understand more about how the brain learns, and this research is particularly important for educators to know.

There are twelve major points that teachers should consider for use in their classrooms; they come from a presentation by David A. Sousa (September 2000). The 12 points are as follows:

1. Emotion increases retention: We are more likely to remember events linked to positive or negative emotions. Students will retain more in classes with enthusiastic teachers.

2. Keep challenge high and threat low: Learning benefits from challenge, yet suffers with threats. Positive reinforcement is important, and threats would not be used, or misused.

3. Laugh and learn: Humor increases learning and laughing can even increase retention from 15% to 50%! Humor, not sarcasm, helps students to focus.

4. Give students a chance to stand and move: Movement increases blood flow, which sends more oxygen to the brain. Instructional time should be broken up and students should be given the opportunity to get up and move around.

5. Involve multisensory approaches: Learning is more likely to happen if more than one sense is involved. OneÐŽ¦s visual, kinesthetic, and auditory senses should all be engaged. The more senses one uses, the better the chances for learning become.

6. Use graphic organizers to formulate patterns: The brain is a pattern seeker and does not like to learn isolated bits of information. Therefore the use of graphic organizers will help students manage new information and will also help their brain to see patterns.

7. Use metaphors: These can increase retention by as much as 40% and helps boys (who tend to be more visual) in particular. Similes, analogies and cartoons are all powerful techniques to use.

8. Keep the light on: Kids get sleepy when the lights are dim. Teachers should use all light available, especially classes without windows!

9. Take advantage of the primary-recency effect: The first and last parts of a lesson are where the most learning occurs so the beginning of a lesson should be used to emphasize the main points, the middle for details/elaboration, and the end for a summary of the main points.

10. Give guided practice: Students should be given time to practice with help before doing a task independently because it is difficult to unlearn errors once they have been set.

11. When you introduce new material, practice as a whole class and provide examples: Later students can work in their seats while you walk around and check their work. After that they can work independently. Classwork and homework should be checked regularly to catch mislearning; sooner is better than later.

12. Avoid teaching similar concepts at the same time: If new concepts are too alike, the brain becomes confused.

In conclusion, students need to be teaching each other and can even increase their retention four times as much by doing this. Synergy is an activity where the teacher pairs students who stand face-to-face and share what they have learned. Brain research continues to provide ideas about how learning takes place and can