Wed, Mar 19, 2008

Send  Print  Reprints  RSS

Primary Topic Channel:  ASCD

Studies show how the brain responds to different types of learning

Also of Interest Hope inspires educators at ASCD conference High-end monitors go missing from ASCD exhibits

“I’m going to talk about the brain and what we are learning about how the mind learns information. This isn’t a handout-type session, it’s one where your brain can wander and be inspired!” said presenter Judy Willis, an author and researcher who has a medical degree and a master’s degree in education.

To help attendees stay refreshed, and keep their brains in “RAD” mode—or in a continued state of attention with the help of visuals and different types of media—Willis showed a clip of The Graduate. “Like Dustin Hoffman, today’s students feel alienated from the values of society they’re about to enter. Also, educators are adrift in new technologies being discovered every day, with structure being replaced by creativity and open walls,” she said.

Willis said educators must consider neurological strategies in their teaching to help students become more engaged in the classroom, and she stressed the importance of individualized instruction.

“What we’re learning about the brain is that everyone learns differently, and just because one way of learning works for this half, doesn’t mean that it works for the other half; just because everyone learns one way, doesn’t mean this girl or that boy learns like the rest of the class,” she explained.