BRAIN BASED STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING & LEARNING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

By

Donna Gopaul-AugustineKathleen Estrada-Mottley

&Akuda Stella

WHAT ARE BRAIN BASED STRATEGIES???

According to Great Schools Partnership (2013), they are teaching methods/strategies based on the latest scientific research which shows the brain’s learning functions, including cognitive development and how students learn as they get older, grow and mature socially, emotionally and cognitively. (Great Schools Partnership 2013).

21st century classroom

Brainstorming & DiscussionBrainstorming

according to Moore (2015), is a small group activity used to generate ideas (Moore 2015).

*Discussion ought to be conducted in small groups, where the students do most of the talking and the teacher does most of the listening!!!

Drawing & Artwork

Drawing is a unique way of expressing

oneself!

Art is used to develop and memorize ideas and lessons through

imagery!

Field TripsAccording to Hughes & Moore (2015)

field trips connect schoolwork with the world thus making it tangible and memorable. Additionally, it stimulates questions and ideas and provide an

experiential text for students to study and internalize (Hughes & Moore 2015).

Games Learning through games

offer a medium for students to explore and integrate information in a fun an interactive manner. Games can be used for any age group and it is a fun way to keep students motivated and interested in class activities!!

• Board games • Card games• Computer games etc

FUN WAY TO LEARN!!

Graphic Organizers, Semantic Maps, and Word Webs

Word Webs, Semantic Maps, or Graphic Organizers are maps or webs of words. It is used to usually display the meaning based connection between a word or phrase and a set of related words or concepts.

References Great Schools Partnership (2013), Brain Based Learning. Retrieved from

http://edglossary.org/brain-based-learning

Hughes, L., Moore, C. (2015). Teaching Strategies. Retrieved from

www.learner.org/workshops/tml/workshop6/teaching3.html

Moore, K. D. (2015). Effective Instructional Strategies From Theory to Practice. California. Sage Publication Inc

.

The Center for Teaching (2015). Teaching Outside the Classroom. Retrieved from

www.cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/

Zorfass, J., Gray, T. (2015). Connecting Word Meaning through Semantic Mapping. Retrieved from

www.ldonline.org/article/61474/

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKfor

BRAINSTORMING.

DRAWING AND ARTWORK.

FIELD TRIPS.

GAMES.

GRAPICS ORGANIZERS,SEMATIC, MAPS AND WORD WEBS.

BRAINSTORMING AND DISCUSSIONWhy is brainstorming and discussion important?

Brainstorming and Discussion in the classroom is important because it allows the students to think about answers and in some instances the questions. The teacher should stimulate a situation is the classroom which allow the students to become involved in the lesson by voicing their opinions on the topic taught to understand, recall and be tested on what was taught in the class.

This point of view can be supported by the following:

“ When students talk about topics, they understand it better because their brains not only mentally process the information but also verbally possess it.” (Allen, 2008).

“ Students up to the age of ten (10) years learn better when an academic discussion is directed by the teacher. Adolescents and adults benefit from discussions led by a cooperative group”.(Jensen, 2007).

According to Gregory and Parry (2006), “ The most widely known technique for simulating creativity in the brain is probably the act of brainstorming where all ideas are accepted and there is a greater chance o reaching a workable solution.

Discussion and questioning during whole class cooperative group learning enable the brain to clarify concepts and hook new information with the information that the brain knows.(Brooks and Brooks, 1993).

Artwork and DrawingIt has been suggested that there is a positive relationship between thinking in art and thinking across the curriculum. ( Allen, 2008; Dewey, 1934)

Teacher should encourage students to use the artistic creativity in their brain to their cross curricular advantage. Have them draw a picture or chart depicting what they remember from a previous lesson.

According to Allen (2009) “ having student add drawings or doodles to their notes helps them comprehend and encode new content for later recall.

Different areas of the brain, including the amygdala and the thalamus, are activated when people are involved in art activities. (Jensen, 2001).

When children play, draw, dance and sing, they engage every sense and help wire the neurons for learning successfully. (Sousa, 2006)

Thinking in art precedes improvement in thinking in other curricular areas. (Dewey, 1934).

FIELD TRIPS

Field Trips are important to students since it gives them the opportunity to

have a new experience outside the classroom. When teachers carefully plan field trips, teaching and learning can take place in an environment where all the senses can be stimulated; sight, sound, smells, touch and even taste. Student remember what they see, hear and smell rather than reading it from a book.

“Field trips enable students to better recall what they have learned because they escape the day-to- day classroom routine and see their education through the eyes of others “.( Children’s Health Education Center, n.d.)

“Well-planned fields trips are better than lad experiments in emulating good science because students formulate questions about nature, devise methods for answering the questions, implement the methods, evaluate the answers, and share the results with others”. (Davis, 2002).

“Field trips, those that are virtual, enable teachers to create as many authentic, experiential experiences as possible. These spatial memories are embedded in the brain and need no rehearsal.” (Fogarty, 2001)

GAMESThere is a saying “You don’t stop playing games because you get old, You get old because you stop playing”. It was suggested by Mahoney (2005) “that one of the ten activities that keep people living beyond the age of eighty (80) is playing games”.

Games can be useful in the classroom, it helps to motivate students to get involved in the activity and as a result they it put their brain in a positive state, it also reduces stress. This can lead to the students wanting to learn new things and embracing new activities.

“Using game formats encourage students to cooperate with one another, helps them to focus and pay attention, and is motivating and loads of fun”. ( Algozzine, Campbell, and Wong, 2009a).

“When students perceive their learning environment as positive, endorphins are produced that stimulate the frontal lobes of the brain and give students a feeling of euphoria”. ( Sousa, 2006)

When students who are going to play a game actually construct it, the game becomes more effective”. (Wolfe, 2001).

GRAPIC ORANIZERS, SEMATICS MAPS, AND WORD WEBS.

Graphic organizers, semantic maps and word webs are all tool that teachers can use to facilitate learning and understanding in the classroom. The use of these tools activate both the left and right hemisphere of the brain.

“ Graphic organizers are effective tools for supporting thinking and learning in four major ways:

1) Abstract information is represented in a concrete format.

2) Relationships between facts and concepts are depicted.

3) New information is connected to previous knowledge.

4) Thoughts are organized for writing and for problem solving”. (Ronis, 2006).

“Graphics organizers represent a form of non-linguistic representation and are one of the most popular ways teachers can have students represent the knowledge that they have experienced”. ( Morzano, 2007).

“Having students create a mind or concept map is a meaningful strategy for helping them make sense of and learn vast amounts of a new content”. (Budd, 2004).

REFERENCES Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies That Engage

the Brain  edited by Marcia L. Tate ://www.corwin.com/upm-data/34980_Strategy_1.pdf

The Courage to Be Constructivist http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov99/vol57/num03/The-Cour

age-to-Be-Constructivist.aspx

Art as Experience (1934) http://www.personal.kent.edu/~jdrake3/JeffreyWattles/Aesthetics/Aesthetics11.html

Children's Health Education Center   

://www.bluekids.org/

Learning-disabilities https://www.scribd.com/doc/194283263/

Graphic Organizers - Mind Mapping - Concept Mapping References

http://www.graphic.org/links.html

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIESFOR BRAINSTORMING AND DISCUSSION

CLASS: FORM ONE

SUBJECT AREA: ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TOPIC: COMPREHENSION

EXAMPLES:

1)USE OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.

2)GROUP DISCUSSION OF THE COMPREHENSION PASSAGE.

3) USE OF MIND MAPS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPREHENSION.

Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers. - Josef Albers (1888-1976)

COMPREHENSION Bird Brains at Work by Anita N. Amin

Next time you see a pigeon flying across the sky, look at it carefully! Is it holding a can? Or a camera? Or wearing a backpack? If it's a carrier pigeon, it just might be a working bird. You've probably heard of working dogs that help police officers, or horses that help farmers. Did you know that carrier pigeons can be trained to help people too? What kind of jobs do these birds perform?

Mailman Carrier pigeons can be trained to carry messages to people. The note is placed into a small skinny can. The can is tied to the pigeon’s leg. Then the pigeon flies off to deliver the note. Carrier pigeons are good messengers because they’re fast and can fly long distances. They also have a good sense of direction. They can even reach places that people can’t. More than 800 years ago, Genghis Khan, an Asian ruler set up pigeon post offices across his lands! As recently as 2010, Cuba used pigeons to send election results to its mountain people.

Lifeguard From high up in the sky, specially trained pigeons can spot orange life jackets in the ocean. Sometimes it is difficult for humans to spot people lost at sea, especially when the weather is bad. However, pigeons can fly quickly over a large area of water in search of people.

Spy Many years ago, carrier pigeons were used to help our country during wars. “Spy pigeons” had small cameras that were tied to their feet. As a pigeon flew over enemy land, the camera snapped photos of the land below. This would allow our military to see where the enemies were and what they were doing. The pigeons have probably saved many soldiers' lives. These “spy” birds had a dangerous job. They had to dodge bullets, poisonous gas, and bullies like hawks. During World Wars 1 and 2, the USA and its allies even had huge pigeon armies. Thousands of pigeons served! They were like flying soldiers. A few even received medals for their brave work.

Scientist’s Helper In 2006, a group of scientists used pigeons to study air pollution in California. Special backpacks with miniature cellphones were strapped onto pigeons. As the pigeons flew, machines in the backpacks tested to see what gases were in the air. The cell phones sent information about the air to the scientists.

Bird Brains at Work. So next time you see a pigeon, stop and watch it closely. What might look like an ordinary bird to most people, might actually be a hard-working mail carrier, a scientist, a lifeguard, or even a spy!

USE OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

“When students believe that you have a “correct answer” in mind, they are slow to respond. On the other hand, a true open-ended question sincerely invites authentic reflection and discussion.”

Some examples of open-ended questions are: Why do you think the author wrote this comprehension?  What did you like or dislike about this passage? 

When we ask open-ended questions of ourselves and our students, the answers sometimes surprise us.

USE OF GROUP DISCUSSION

After the comprehension passage is read, the teacher should guide the students in a discussion about what the comprehension was about, the teacher should ask questions, give prompts and cues to encourage the students to come up with answers among themselves. This activity will encourage learning to take place.

For example: Why do you think pigeons were important to rulers in the past? Or, Give some reasons why you think pigeons were considered so important?

In order to achieve student-to-instructor and student-to-student interaction, faculty often employ discussion as a teaching/learning method. In a discussion forum, students acquire speaking and listening skills as they reflect upon and respond to the ideas of others. Guided by specific learning goals, students may engage with and challenge course subject matter as well as learn to think and analyze topics. (Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence 2014).

USE OF MIND MAPS

The use of Mind Maps in class is useful when working on all sorts of skills. For example,  students can use a Mind map to jot down the gist of the comprehension passage they have read.

Another great exercise is using Mind Maps to learn vocabulary. Mind Maps provide a visual learning mechanism that will help students recognize relationships they may miss in a more linear type of activity. 

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIESFOR DRAWINGS AND ARTWORK

CLASS: FORM ONE

SUBJECT AREA: SOCIAL STUDIES

TOPIC: REPUBLICANISM IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

EXAMPLES: Using drawings, create an image you think represent republicanism in your country.

DRAWINGS AND ARTWORK

Examples: Using the flag of

Trinidad and Tobago, describe the significance of the various colours.

DRAWINGS AND ARTWORK

Example:Draw the Coat of Arms of Trinidad and Tobago and describe what is represented on it.

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIESFOR FIELD TRIPS

CLASS: FORM ONE

SUBJECT AREA: SCIENCE

TOPIC: FOOD CHAINS, FOOD WEBS AND ECO-SYSTEMS.

FOOD CHAINS

EXAMPLES: OBSERVE A FOOD CHAINS ON THE NEXT FIELD TRIP AND SAY WHAT ARE SOME FEATURES OF IT.

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP

EXAMPLE: SHOW HOW A FOOD CHAIN IS DIFFERENT FROM A FOOD WEB USING THE VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP. (USE OF LAPTOPS IN THE CLASSROOM)

‘IN SCHOOL’ FIELD TRIP

EXAMPLE: SAY IF THERE IS ANY ECO-SYSTEMS ON THE SCHOOL’S GROUNDS.

DESCRIBE IT IN DETAILS.

Instructional Activities Organizers, Semantic maps, and Word Webs

CLASS: Form one

Subject Area: Science

Topic: Vertebrates

Examples: Using Semantic Maps, show warm blooded and cold blooded vertebrates

Word Web Example: Using the

following Word Web, name 4 vertebrates that live on land

Example: Using the following Word Web, name 4 vertebrates that live in water

Graphic organizerExample: Using the following graphic organizer insert names of relevant animals

Instructional activities using games Class : Form OneSubject Area: English Topic: Verbs

Example: Using scrabble, from the poem: The Young and the Restless create verbs

Word Search Example: Using word search, find the verbs listed

Charades: Example: guessing the verbi) Divide students into 2

groups, with instruction cards

ii) One student from each group perform the activity and the opponent guesses the action

iii) If the opponent guesses correctly, their team gets the point, however, if it is incorrect the point goes to the group that did the action

iv) The team with most points win