How does the brain learn? How should we teach for the students to learn?

Originally shared by Ranganayaki Srinivas

How does the brain learn? How should we teach for the students to learn?

1. Repetition is important. So we need to repeat information with different activities and help the students repeat information in different contexts or different tasks.

2. The basic concepts should be learnt so thoroughly that you can retrieve them automatically as you pull out your toothbrush and start brushing even if you are half asleep. Repeated practice is needed with students paying attention with full concentration.

3. Reward is a key component in learning. I have seen many teachers criticizing students and pointing out every mistake with the good intention of helping them to learn. They are quick to criticize but do not put in the efforts to find simple things the student has done well which can be appreciated. I have watched the wonder of how weak students transform when they are appreciated for what they can do instead of always being told what they can't do yet. Teachers! Please find something you can appreciate and make the students learn to appreciate themselves and their efforts. They will take a leap and move forward.

4. Provide visuals  when you teach, make the students think, make the students get involved with the five senses, their emotion and interest.

5. Start with revising a known item and link it properly to the teaching of the new item. Memory works better when the new is connected to the known.

6. Relax in the class and help the students relax. If you want to play the strict teacher in the class you will be under stress and your students will not be able to relax and learn. Students are more ready to learn when they are relaxed and comfortable.

7. Actively engage the students and make them get involved by getting a chance to teach others in class. While teaching what they know they learn better. At lower classes a set of words can be read out by the students with others repeating the same. The whole class gets more repetition and they wait for their turn to teach. In higher classes what is to be learnt is divided into sections and each group takes up responsibility to teach the other groups.

8. A little stress is good for learning. Too much stress is harmful. For all group activities or assignments set time limits and create a little stress with competition with other groups or deadlines for submissions. The little stress helps the students focus and learn  faster.

9. Do not except all the students to learn all that you are teaching immediately. Most of them need to sleep over the information to learn it and internalize it. After every difficult problem solving activities have relaxing supplementary activities.

10. Have activities of different types for teaching one concept to suit students of different learning styles as well as for providing opportunities for everyone  to multitask and learn. Integrate subject disciplines and language skills. Assign projects that require the knowledge of more than one subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HKWfM2Ikoc

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