Using Brain Research to Inform Instruction By Marsha Volini
Mar 26, 2015
Using Brain Research toInform Instruction
By Marsha Volini
Let’s see what the research says about student learning…
Brain Research Tells Us That……
All learning begins with the self-system
The self-system determines whether we will engage in the learning and how much energy
or enthusiasm we will bring to the event
For something to be important to us, it must satisfy a basic need or be instrumental in
achieving a basic goal
Information that is not seen as relevant is discarded by the brain
From: What Every Teacher Should Know About Student MotivationBy Donna Walker Tileston
Motivation to Begin a Lesson
Neuroscience teaches us that…..
Most of what we learn comes to us through the 5 senses
The brain filters out 98% of all incoming information
The brain rules out that which it determines is not important
Emotion is the strongest force for embedding information into the brain’s long-term memory
We add emotion to learning through sound, celebrations of the learning, visuals, simulations, and real-world
applications
From: What Every Teacher Should Know About Student MotivationB y Donna Walker Tileston
Students Need A Positive Emotional Climate
• Acceptance by the Teacher: Students need to have hope that they can be successful in the eyes of the teacher
• Acceptance by Peers: Students need to feel safe in the classroom
• A Sense of Order: The brain seeks order and consistency
• Clarity of Tasks: Students need to understand directions and have adequate time before performing tasks
• Resources for Success: Including books, materials, computers, adequate time, and opportunities for practice
• Emotional Intelligence: Knowing one’s emotions; managing emotions; motivating oneself; recognizing emotions in others; handling relationships
From: What Every Teacher should Know About Student Motivation
By: Donna Walker Tileston
Where Does Learning Begin?
• Learning begins in the self-system of the brain.
• Within a matter of seconds, each student will decide whether to engage in the learning – the new task- or to continue what they are doing.
• The self-system determines whether students will engage in the learning and how much energy or enthusiasm they will bring to the event.
The Self-System of the Brain
• Is this task important to me? Is it personally relevant?
• Will I be successful? based upon past experience
• Do I have a positive feeling about the class itself?
The first component of the self-system is Importance
Strategies to help students determine importance
• Tell students why they are learning the information.• Ask students to compare and contrast what they already
know about the subject with what they will learn.• Build empathy. Did this ever happen to you? Did you ever
need to use this information?• Give the information real-world context.• Show relevance through the teachers’ attitudes, emotions,
and body language. Students prioritize the incoming data: body language is the highest priority; the tone, volume, and tempo of our voice is second; and the content and selection of our words is last.
• Tap into students’ curiosity to learn or to clear up confusions(See “Before & After” activity on following slide.)
“Before and After” sample activity
On the right, are statements from what the students will be learning. Before the lesson, students look at the statements and put true or false in the box “Before Learning”. After the lesson, students reread the statements and put true or false in the box “After Learning”.
(This can be used for making predictions, assessing prior knowledge, generating student interest, etc.)
Before Learning After Learning Statements
1. Only people traveling first class were saved when the Titanic sank.
2. Migration is when people settle in a new country
3. 1, 098 > 1, 201
The second component of the self-system is Efficacy
• Efficacy is the learners’ belief that they can do the task or learn the information.
• Self-efficacy is not based on good feelings about oneself, but on fact: “I know I can do this because I have had success in this before.”
Strategies to foster self-efficacy• Provide opportunities for all students to be successful.• Provide specific feedback. Students need to know what they are
doing that’s right, what needs improvement; and how they can make the improvements.
• Provide wait time after questions.• Give partial credit and provide clues when students are stumped.• Create a climate where students believe that the whole class is
learners working together and that it’s okay if one doesn’t know the answer.
The third component of the self-system is
Emotional Response• Emotion is the strongest force in the brain.• Negative emotion can literally shut down thought
processes when the learner is under great stress.(Next time you lose your car keys, see if you can do higher-level math in your emotional
state!)
• Positive emotions help shape our motivation to learn.• It is important to have a positive learning
environment – both physical and emotional structures- in place.
Strategies for using emotion in the classroom• Music – sounds of the times, sounds of the city, other
languages... • Costumes – connectors to learning and remembering• Symbols – connectors for factual information• Drama, simulations, and student interaction
The Metacognitive System
• Once the self-system sees that the learning is important, it can be done, and has a positive feeling about the learning, the learning is passed to the metacognitive system.
• The metacognitive system then sets personal goals for learning.
• Makes decisions about what to do when problems are encountered.
• Pushes the self to complete a task with high energy.
Students need to be taught specific strategies
for becoming organized and for setting goals!
The Cognitive System
• Processes information by making inferences, comparing, and classifying.
• Anytime that we present students with new learning or new tasks, the brain looks for existing connections in the brain that are based on prior experiences and prior learning (if any) then, new information can be connected to them.
Teachers can assist this system of the brain by…
1. Setting goals for the learning, posting them in the room and sending them to parents
2. Asking students to set personal goals because learning has to have personal meaning to the learners
3. Asking students to monitor their progress over time
4. Providing specific and consistent feedback to students to help them identify where they are in terms of their goals
5. Teaching students how to problem solve so that when they are not meeting their learning goals, they can change direction or determine changes that need to be made (You may want to have the students write down what they did, what went wrong, and what they will do differently next time.)
Some Final Thoughts About Using the Research to
Engage Students in Learning
• Connecting students’ prior knowledge, life experience, and interests with learning goals.
Engage Students in Learning by…
• Helping students connect classroom learning to their life experiences.
Engage Students in Learning by…
• Promoting self-directed, reflective learning for all students.
• Explaining clear learning goals for each student for each activity or lesson.
Engage Students in Learning by…
• Using a variety of instructional strategies and resources to respond to students’ diverse needs
• Recognizing when a lesson is falling apart and knowing what to do about it
Engage Students in Learning by…
• Facilitating learning experiences that promote autonomy, interaction, and choice.
• Providing opportunities for collaborative learning.
Engage Students in Learning by…
• Engaging students in problem solving, critical thinking, and other activities that make subject matter meaningful.
• Encouraging all students to ask critical questions.
Finally…Teachers cannot be motivated for their students.
but…
they can teach them skills to begin a task
and…
to complete it even when it becomes difficult.
Marzano (1992)
Eight Contributors to Student Motivation
• Instructor’s enthusiasm• Relevance of the material• Organization of the course• Appropriate difficulty level of the
material• Active involvement of students• Variety• Rapport between teacher and students• Use of appropriate, concrete, and
understandable examples