When I began teaching over thirty years ago, I rejected the idea that boredom was an excuse for poor performance. I was working very hard to conduct excellent lessons, and was troubled when an occasional student wasn’t interested in my subject. I wasn’t an entertainer, after all; and wasn’t it was the child’s responsibility to succeed? I had done my job -- I had taught. It was the student’s job to learn.

But my purpose as a teacher: is to maximize student learning. It is to empower every youngster in my charge to function successfully in life, through the acquisition of retrievable skills and knowledge. I had been viewing teaching as an act, rather than as a vehicle for facilitating learning for every one of my students!

New Tools for Teaching
There is an explosion of information coming from cognitive science and brain research today, much of which we can apply to educational settings to enhance teaching and facilitate learning. This column will share brain-based tips and ideas to professional educators. Much of what research tells us validates what years of experience have taught us -- and much will be new and exciting. It is no longer sufficient to know our subject matter, our curriculum: we must know our students and how they best lea ärn. We can benefit from this research using it to help us do our jobs more efficiently.

Brain "Cravings"
From the very earliest infancy, the human brain tries to make sense of its environment. Each experience is measured against earlier, similar experiences that helps us see patterns and gain a sense of understanding and security.

As well, we now know that the brain seeks out -- actually craves -- certain things from its environment. The most basic of those is novelty; In fact, it is novelty or stimulation that causes neurons, or nerve cells in the brain, to grow connections with other neurons. This creates new neural combinations and communication between brain cells-- in other words, it opens the door to learning. Research tells us that any time the brain experiences monotony, whether it be extensive periods of lecture, constant group activity, ongoing noise, unchanging visual stimulat Mion -- it will "tune out," and again seek novelty. When there is novelty in a perception, the brain will attempt to understand: making new connections rapidly to pull together and comprehend its environment.What does this mean for the classroom teacher?

Classroom Connections

• The brain discards the routine and the monotonous
  
• Periodically changing your location in the classroom
  
• Alter the volume or pitch of your voice, or pace of delivery
  
• Insert a story or use humor in the lesson
  
• Use metaphors and analogies in explanations or demonstrations
  

Stimulation actually "grows" a brain!

• Introduce and use a variety of ideas and skills in instructional delivery: not all group work, not all seat work, not all debate, not all lecture, not all simulations, not all reading, not all worksheets, not all research, not all computer usage -- but a combination of activities and approaches.
  
• Teach to all modalities and that access multiple intelligences
  
• Have students read information, see information, say information, reflect, discuss or journal information, pair-share information. The entire brain will be accessed: and whole-brain connections will be made.
  "Neurons that fire together, wire together!"
• Students must be involved in content
• Shift activities no less frequently than every 8 minutes: perhaps from lecture to seat work to pair-sharing to group work to visual presentations to discussion -- keep those brains focused, on task, and CONNECTING!
  
  It’s the brain compatible way!
  

© Susan J.Jones