Are your teaching methods aligned with scientific research about how the brain works?

Eric Jensen is the maestro of brain-based learning, and we’re excited about hosting him as a presenter here at HCDE on October 22. Jensen defines brain-based education as “the active engagement of practical strategies based on learning and behavioral principles derived from neuroscience.”

Brain-based education, he says, is not a magic bullet to solve all of education’s problems. Yet, integrating brain research with our everyday lives is quite important.

Brain-based research is here to stay, but not without critics when it’s applied to the classroom.

The author of “Brain-Based Learning” cites several myths and realities about the subject.  Here are some of our favorites from Jensen:

Myth: More content per hour is better.
Reality: Each subject and each learner probably have an ideal amount of “ideas per hour” that can be learned based on learner background, motivation, learning skills and subject complexity and novelty. Only language acquisition occurs better with more content per hour.

Myth: More focused classroom attention by students on the teacher improves learning.
Reality: Students need time to digest, think, reflect and act on their learning for connections to strengthen.

Myth:  Rote memorization is brain-antagonistic.
Reality: The brain strengthens learning through repetition. It’s not repetition that’s bad; it’s when it becomes too boring. There are many creative and fun ways to review.

Myth: Emotions and Intelligence are separate.
Reality: While they may originate in separate areas of the brain, their paths usually cross in the orbitofrontal cortex. So, in a sense, they are inseparable.

Eric Jensen, our maestro of brain research, will be presenting at Harris County Department of Education headquarters at 6300 Irvington Blvd. on October 22. To say we’re excited is an understatement, and we are ready to fire up our neurotransmitters.

View the flier or register for the Eric Jensen workshop.

Source: http://www.jensenlearning.com/news/what-is-brain-based-teaching/brain-based-teaching

About the Blogger:
Andrea Segraves served in the public school system for 14 years as a teacher and  an administrator before being named the current Director of the Teaching and Learning Center for HCDE. She is a boy-mom who spends her extra time at the ball fields and reading educational literature.