Brain Research

I’m sure many of you will think I’m a nerd, but I have spent this week reading up on the human brain. Although I have learned tons of interesting information, I thought I would share just a little of it with you about chunking. Many times we refer to chunks while we teach. For example, in accuracy we work on breaking words into chunks or in comprehension we have students break what they are reading into chunks. Although this technique is common, we don’t always apply it to our teaching of content. There is now a higher value on teaching content in even smaller chunks than ever before. The science showing that students can hold seven chunks in their working memory is outdated. Research now shows that two to four chunks is more realistic. The learners you are working with, and their background knowledge, can help us to determine the maximum load of the hippocampus. Too much content means the brain cannot process, and in the end we simply don’t learn.

Here are the basic guidelines:

·        Four to eight minutes of content when you are teaching items which students have less background knowledge and the complexity is greater.

·        Eight to fifteen minutes of content when teaching items in which the students have greater background knowledge and less complexity.

·        Longer than fifteen minutes of content is proven to be ineffective.

You may need to process this in chunks;)

Determination

I read an article the other morning about dieting, things that I already knew, but have stepped away from too long. Basically; Dieting is a process, not a program. We tend to look at programs, and marvel at the results, but many programs fail. Dieting is more successful as a life change, a belief change, and it is not a quick fix. It forces us to take a critical look at our eating and activity by asking questions like: “What makes dieting tricky?” “What is my greatest weakness?” “Do I work out?” Using questioning determines a nutrition plan that works. Following up and reflecting helps to stay on track. Working with others along the way can help us to stick with our goals.

Teaching is just like dieting. We are in an ever-changing process in which we need to ask ourselves questions, and reflect upon our teaching. We need to work with each other to refine our craft. We have to be willing to change and meet the needs of our students. Authors Kristine Mraz and Marjorie Martinelli say, “We believe that solid teaching is a process. Though you can use program materials, it will not work to follow a program one day after another without reflection, assessment, or responding to the unique students you teach.”

One solution will not work for everyone, because each of us is unique with habits, mind-sets, and beliefs that shape our lives. But, whether we are in the process of teaching or dieting or both, we are on a difficult journey. These processes take knowledge and interaction with our peers. The process does not happen overnight. We have to take one thing at a time, never stop moving forward, and strive to achieve our goals.