The Brain and Learning

How the Brain Learns Best

            The article titled How the Brain Learns Best is particularly resourceful because the author, Dr. Perry, correlates brain function and teaching. “In a series of special features, we will be looking at how the brain works and what this can tell us about your teaching. First, however, it is important to remember that all learning is brain-based. Through the process of education, we are trying literally to change the brain — not the pancreas, spleen, or lungs. Indeed, education is practical neuroscience” (Perry, B.D., 2011). Perry re-emphasizes the importance of teachers’ knowledge of how “the brain senses, processes, stores and retrieves information” (Perry, B.D., 2011). For me, Perry’s article reminds me how quickly students brains “seek novelty” (Perry, B.D., 2011). When listening to empty facts that are not “functionally interconnected” (Perry, B.D., 2011), the brain will fatigue within minutes and the students will start to daydream or look elsewhere for stimulation. Students need to be able to connect the facts to something they already know. As Dr. Ormrod asks, “to what are people paying attention? What kinds of things draw their attention? In what ways do they think about something? What kinds of meanings do they attach to something? How do they interpret something? What do they think about in terms of, what can I do with this information?” (Ormrod, J., 2011). As a teacher, I need to focus more on how I can ensure the students are connecting the material being taught so they actually learn it.

Perry, B.D., How the Brain Learns Best Retrieved on May 12, 2011 from                      http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/brainlearns.htm

Ormrod, J., (2011) Information Processing and Problem Solving Laureate Education Inc.

Teacher Tap

     The website, Teacher Tap is a place to find resources for educators and librarians. This particular article is focused on brain-based learning. The article re-emphasizes the learners need to connect emotions with material being processed in order to learn it. When teaching children, this is extremely important. In my experience, emotion, motivation and learning are interconnected. If a student doesn't think he can do well in a class, he doesn't even try. I hear, "I'm not good at art" all the time. I grade only on effort and meeting the requirements of each assignment, and not natural skill. I base my grading on each student's ability to complete the task. But still, every once and a while, there is a student who lets her thoughts and emotions about art and her opinion about her inability to draw or be creative or use good craftsmanship in a composition. Of course this happens in other subjects as well. For me, I had extreme negative emotions connected to math. I felt very behind and "dumb" in math class. I felt that no matter how hard I tried, I still didn't "get it". "Even though they put out effort, they are never successful and fail to achieve their goals. As a result, they begin to feel stressed out by school and start to feel helpless and hopeless" (Lawson, C. 2011) 
        This article also has many links to other resources related to brain-based learning, which are very useful to educators, such as, myself. 



Lawson, C., Ph.D. (2011) The Connections Between Emotions and Learning Retrieved from http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/connect_emotions.php on May 15, 2011.


Teacher Tap Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic70.htm on May 15, 2011.