Beyond the Comfort Zone: 6 Ways to Build Independent Thinking Image credit: iStockphoto The shift toward applying more executive function (EF) within learning and assessment will cause some discomfort in teachers and students. The transition will not eliminate the need for memorization, as automatic use of foundational knowledge is the toolkit for the executive functions. One way you can help your students shift from blindly following instructions and memorizing single right answers is to help them recognize their successful use of executive functions throughout their learning experiences. The end result will be a greater awareness by the students, not only for how their brains work, but also for how they can push themselves to connect what they can recall with real-world problems and opportunities they encounter. Low-Risk Experiences Using EFs in Common Core Topics Using your grade- and subject-appropriate topics, the following examples can be modified or serve as suggestions for building knowledge and understanding using executive functions. 1. 2.
Learning Techniques One of the things that we expect you to pick up by osmosis, but almost never mention explicitly, is techniques for learning itself. After you leave university, you will be expected to be able to learn by yourself for the rest of your life. And an hour spent addressing the meta-issue of learning skills pays off in reduced time to actually learn. A lot of work has been done over the past few decades about how people learn. This document suggests a wide range of techniques that may make your learning more effective. You may want to experiment with some of them to see if they work for you. I recommend the work on accelerated learning by Colin Rose and Brian Tracy. You can learn anything if you have a goal that requires it. There are a number of stages to learning, each of which involves a number of aspects. The right state of mind There are six aspects to being in the right state of mind to learn. Here are the six aspects: Find a personal reason to want to learn this material. Memorising
How the Brain Learns—A Super Simple Explanation for eLearning Professionals How the Brain Learns—A Super Simple Explanation for eLearning Professionals In his book, The Art of Changing the Brain, Dr. James Zull , notably suggested how David Kolb's famous four-phase model of the learning cycle can be mapped into four major brain processes. To grasp Zull's suggestion, you have to know first the four stages of Kolb's learning cycle. Concrete Experience: This is when learners encounter a new learning experience Reflective Observation: Learners reflect on the experience Abstract Conceptualization: Think/Study (learn from the experience)Active Experimentation: Applying and trying out what was learned Note that this is a recurrent four-stage process which, according to Dr. Process One: Get Information The information-gathering part of the cycle engages the sensory cortices--the outer layer of our cerebral cortex that gets input from the outside of world of experience. Process Two: Make Meaning First off, reflection needs time and space to happen. References:
Donald Schon (Schön) - learning, reflection and change Contents: introduction · donald schon · public and private learning and the learning society · double-loop learning · the reflective practitioner – reflection-in- and –on-action · conclusion · further reading and references · links · how to cite this article Note: I have used Donald Schon rather than Donald Schön (which is the correct spelling) as English language web search engines (and those using them!) often have difficulties with umlauts). Donald Alan Schon (1930-1997) trained as a philosopher, but it was his concern with the development of reflective practice and learning systems within organizations and communities for which he is remembered. Significantly, he was also an accomplished pianist and clarinettist – playing in both jazz and chamber groups. Donald Schon Donald Schon was born in Boston in 1930 and raised in Brookline and Worcester. Working from 1957-63 as senior staff member in the industrial research firm Arthur D. We must, in other words, become adept at learning.
chris argyris, double-loop learning and organizational learning @ the encyclopedia of informal education contents: introduction · life · theories of action: theory in use and espoused theory · single-loop and double-loop learning · model I and model II · organizational learning · conclusion · further reading and references · links · cite Chris Argyris has made a significant contribution to the development of our appreciation of organizational learning, and, almost in passing, deepened our understanding of experiential learning. On this page we examine the significance of the models he developed with Donald Schön of single-loop and double-loop learning, and how these translate into contrasting models of organizational learning systems. Life Chris Argyris was born in Newark, New Jersey on July 16, 1923 and grew up in Irvington, New Jersey. Chris Argyris enjoyed the outdoors – and, in particular hiking (especially in the mountains of New Hampshire and across New England). As well as writing and researching, Chris Argyris has been an influential teacher. Single-loop and double-loop learning
40 websites that will make you cleverer right now The indexed web contains an incredible 14 billion pages. But only a tiny fraction help you improve your brain power. Here are 40 of the best. whizzpast.com – Learn about our awe inspiring past all in one wonderful place. khanacademy.org – Watch thousands of micro-lectures on topics ranging from history and medicine to chemistry and computer science. freerice.com – Help end world hunger by correctly answering multiple-choice quizzes on a wide variety of subjects. artofmanliness.com – Blog/site dedicated to all things manly, great for learning life skills and good insights. unplugthetv.com – Randomly selects an educational video for you to watch. coursera.org – An educational site that works with universities to get their courses on the Internet, free for you to use. mentalfloss.com – Interesting articles guaranteed to make you smile and get you thinking. feelgoodwardrobe.com – Find out how the world of fashion really works and what you can do to combat it. lifehacker.com – Learn to hack life!
learning theory - models, product and process Photo by Antenna on Unsplash Contents: introduction · what do people think learning is? · learning as a product · learning as a process · experience · reflective thinking · making connections · committing and acting · task-conscious or acquisition learning, and learning-conscious or formalized learning · the behaviourist orientation to learning · the cognitive orientation to learning · the humanistic orientation to learning · the social/situational orientation to learning · the constructivist/social constructivist orientation to learning · further reading · references · how to cite this article See, also, What is education? Over the last thirty years or so, ‘learning’ has become one of the most used words in the field of education. Adult education became lifelong learning; students became learners, teachers facilitators of learning; schools are now learning environments; learning outcomes are carefully monitored. There has been a similar situation in the field of education. Taxonomies
Mobile Learning: 50+ Resources & Tips I believe mobile devices will transform education. This is why I created a free ebook, Effective Mobile Learning: 50+ Quick Tips & Resources with helpful tips and several resources to help support this trend. One reason is because mobile devices are designed in a way that forces the teacher to give control to the learner. When we equip a classroom with iPads, iPods, small tablets, or cellphones the learning is literally put in the hands of the students. The teacher has to facilitate and walk around the room to manage the learning. Below are a list of 50+ Mobile Learning resources & growing! Mobile Learning Free Ebooks Mobile Learning Posts/Presentations I’ve Given Mobile Learning LiveBinder of Resources Mobile Learning Mindmap of Implementation This mindmap is full of case studies, schools, teachers, free ebooks, and more to show real examples of mobile learning at its best.
120 Ways to Boost Your Brain Power Here are 120 things you can do starting today to help you think faster, improve memory, comprehend information better and unleash your brain’s full potential. Solve puzzles and brainteasers.Cultivate ambidexterity. Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, comb your hair or use the mouse. Write with both hands simultaneously. Switch hands for knife and fork.Embrace ambiguity. Learn to enjoy things like paradoxes and optical illusions.Learn mind mapping.Block one or more senses. Readers’ Contributions Dance! Contribute your own tip! There are many, many ways to keep our brains sharp.
Brain-Friendly Teaching (1): Putting Brain-Friendly Strategies To Work How can the findings of current brain research be applied in the classroom to help students perform best on standardized tests? Marilee Sprenger details seven steps to move information from sensory memory to long-term memory. "In the United States, most schools prepare for standardized tests by spending a large amount of time a few months prior to testing on review," observes brain expert Marilee Sprenger. "Although that has been known to raise test scores in comparison to schools that do not follow that process, it does not put information into long-term memory. According to Sprenger, meaning and emotion are key to placing information into long-term memory. The Law of Supply states that at higher prices, producers are willing to offer more products for sale than they would at lower prices, and that the supply increases as prices increase, and decreases as prices decrease. "Within those two laws are four central ideas; therefore, there are four bits of information.