From drawing to viewing to remembering to learning, images help lecturers and teachers create the right kinds of neurotransmitters, help us leverage more nodes of the brain, and can been seen to help us remember far, far, FAR more than words can.
Bad vs Good in the Brain (…you won’t like the winner)
Our brains focus on negative experiences far more easily than positive ones. What should educators do with that knowledge?
A Neuroscience Primer: Lessons From Rwanda
Most educators know little (or nothing) about the brain, which is the single most important organ at use during learning. Here is a primer to start leveraging neuroscience in the classroom.
The Most Satisfying PD Ever
Creating professional development for people who genuine want it makes all the difference.
Friday Campus Connections
Join us every Friday to see how connectedness shows up in “real-world” stories and scenarios. Here are 5 articles, blogs, or other resources that illustrate the power of connectedness. Of course, we’ll keep blogging away too. We hope you’ll stop back by on Monday, to see our newest post. And don’t forget to follow us on twitter (@IICEorg). Happy Friday!
Friday Campus Connections
Join us every Friday to see how connectedness shows up in “real-world” stories and scenarios. Here are 5 articles, blogs, or other resources that illustrate the power of connectedness. Of course, we’ll keep blogging away too. We hope you’ll stop back by on Monday, to see our newest post. And don’t forget to follow us on twitter (@Ice_Inst_Org). Happy Friday!
We Treat Learning Like We Treat Weight Management (12 minutes)
Most companies never ask for a transcript, and for the few who do, it is only for those seeking their first job out of college. (Working inside education may be an exception.) After that, grades mean almost nothing. What companies instead seek are the things that grades, which become so easily gamed by both students and teachers, can diminish. After all, if the grade is all that matters, then trying new things and failing (actually promoting learning) will be negated. Teaching to a test, jamming information into short-term memory only to be lost a few weeks later will be the norm. Critical thinking will be lost. Problem solving based on context will be supplanted with algorithm practice absent of context.
Knowing More About Less
For those of you creating workshops of your own, we found some amazing benefits to practicing what we preach. This is a major differentiator for the Institute, actually leveraging brain science, learning research, and more as we learn and contextualize. We utilized the most effective practices from cognitive science, persuasion, and perception strategies in each session. From Interleaving to pattern finding to intentional creation of norepinephrine / dopamine / endorphin moments, we saw the power behind these learning frameworks. Participants had the opportunity to review and reflect often. Attendees also networked like crazy, establishing a community of practice that will follow them home. In other words, I am confident in saying that we all learned. I am also confident that learning will stick.
Learning Is No Joke
Unfortunately, we have a lot of historical baggage to contend with, making real learning much harder than it needs to be. We have generations of practitioners doing the only thing they know how to do (that which was modeled by former instructors), despite so much research and evidence suggesting a major pivot is in order. But we’re getting there.
Welcome to Jeff Presents…
“As a teacher, if I don’t know the answer, I’ll tell you I do. Then I will inform you that it’s much more important for you to find the answer yourself so as to learn it. Finally, once you find the answer, I’ll have you email me so I can tell you if it’s right…” Dr. Jeff Borden delivers keynote addresses and workshops in an unconventional manner. He actually uses what we know to be effective practices when speaking, teaching, facilitating, or consulting. What does that mean? We know that lecture is likely the single-worst form of communication available if the desired outcome is to remember and also an impetus for change. We know from brain research that PowerPoint stinks. We know from hundreds of years of learning experiments that listeners who “do” are far more impacted than listeners who solely listen. Jeff not only speaks about this very research, but actually models it in his presentations, ensuring audiences will laugh, possibly cry, but engage with ideas meaningfully and transformationally throughout.