Characteristics of Brain Compatible Teaching and Learning A

Characteristics of Brain Compatible Teaching and Learning: A practical example Silvia Arévalo Paula Belló English Teachers Argentina 2010

Brain-Compatible Teaching and Learning: A definition (Hall Haley, 2010: 8) • Brain-compatible learning and teaching is a comprehensive approach that uses current research from neuroscience fields. • Brain-compatible teaching relies on the way the brain naturally learns. This approach to teaching is based on what is currently known about the structure and function of the brain at several stages.

• During the past 20 years neuroscientists have studied how the brain works and the results of this work has important implications for teaching. • As teachers, we must understand basic principles on how the brain works in order to use effective strategies to help our students learn. In other words, we must understand the reasoning behind our teaching.

• A brain-compatible approach to teaching can be an excellent tool to address multiple intelligences and learning styles in the EFL classroom. Given that we know about learner differences, this approach provides tools for learning, problem solving and creating.

Brain-Mind Learning Principles Brain/mind learning principles in action by Renate Caine. • • • 1 - All learning is physiological. 2 - The Brain-Mind is social. 3 - The search for meaning is innate. 4 - The search for meaning occurs through patterning. 5 - Emotions are critical to patterning. 6. The Brain-Mind processes parts and wholes simultaneously.

• 7. Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception. • 8. Learning always involves conscious and unconscious processes. • 9. There at least two approaches to memory: archiving individual facts or skills or making sense of experience. • 10. Learning is developmental. • 11. Complex learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat associated with helplessness. • 12. Each brain is uniquely organized. • New Horizons. (date accessed 4/10/1210)

Brain compatible theories of teaching and learning Gardner´s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) • There are basically eight intelligences. • Every learner has the capacity of having all of these intelligences, but some are more developed than others in most individuals. • Educators should create learning environments that foster the development of all eight intelligences. • Teachers should support the development of multiple intelligences so that students can strengthen their underutilized intelligences. • This theory is basically learner centered. • Teachers have the role of reflective practitioner and facilitator and students act as reflective partners.

• • 1234 - Christison (1996) focuses that MI theory can be used by EFL/ESL teachers to examine their best teaching techniques and strategies. There are two steps to follow to apply this theory: Identify activities frequently used in our classes and categorize them. Track what we are doing with multiple intelligences. A possible procedure to follow might be to: Awaken the intelligence Amplify the intelligence Teach for/with the intelligence Transfer the intelligence Hall Haley (2010: 8 -9)

• Hall Haley (2010: 9 -10) emphasizes the fact that thematic and interdisciplinary units that provide cooperative learning and include variety of tasks and activities allow for multiple intelligences to be well represented and developed. • Glasgow (1996: 10) and Glasgow and Bush (1996) emphasize classroom use and real-world applications of such lessons. • Relating the eight intelligences to future career choices is especially valuable. • Hall Haley (2010: 11) also differentiates between Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles. • Intelligences are believed to be determined at birth. • Learning Styles can usually be taught, depending on the learner´s attitude and motivation toward the subject matter.

Differentiating Instruction (Hall Haley 2010: 15 -7) • Teachers should take into consideration that students have different speed of learning, different skills levels, interests, abilities and backgrounds. • Tomlinson (2000: 7) states that: • Curriculum tells us what to teach. • Differentiation tells us how to teach. • Differentiation implies making curriculum work best for a varied classroom.

• Tomlinson (1999): • Stresses the importance of the teacher as guide and facilitator who accommodates students differences: • There are 3 aspects of differentiating: • Content: Concepts, principles and skills that teachers want students to learn. • Process: Activities that help students make sense of and come to own the ideas and skills being taught. • Products: Culminating projects that allow students to demonstrate and extend what they have learnt.

• Anchor activities designed to help deepen student understanding of content while enriching language skills. • Provide students with more offers and whenever students are given options in learning activities they can increase their achievement and engagement. • Help meet varying student intelligences and learning styles. • May include extended content, related content, additional practice tasks or varied approach to apply the information learnt by students. • Some anchor activities include: researching information on the internet, creating questionnaires for the rest of the class, designing posters and power point presentations including the information learnt, journal writing, extra reading, extra listening activities, activities box, revision games. • To give another example we can mention Kagan Structures which include activities to foster thinking and communication skills or master of high consensus content.

Planning for Brain-Compatible Differentiated Instruction • In this presentation we would like to demonstrate the importance of careful planning for teaching both language and content using visual scaffolding and applying the MI. • Scaffolding: refers to the learning approach by which the teacher provides contextual support for meaning through the use of simplified language, teacher modeling, visual and graphics, cooperative learning, and hands-on learning (Ovando, Collier and Combs, 2003)

Classroom Scenario at Oakton School Haley (2010: 42 -5) • Mr. Fowler co- teaches World History with Mrs. Rizzo, an ESOL teacher, at Oakton High, Vienna, VA. • Their teaching practice draws on a content-based learning approach. The emphasis is on meaning with language input just slightly above the proficiency level of the learner. • They use a sheltered –content model in which students from different native language backgrounds are taught by a teacher in the subject matter and an ESOL teacher. Hall Haley (2010: 27)

Objectives : Students will be able to • talk about the Nile Delta’s geographical characteristics. • identify the two kingdoms in Ancient Egypt: The Lower and Upper kingdoms. Their location and characteristics. • learn about the first Egyptian dynasties, their government system, religion and civil life style. Materials • photocopies of reproducible pages for students. • Smart-board. • power point presentation about the River Nile and Egyptian Ancient history.

Teaching Face Warm up • This lesson begins with a quick review of students´previous knowledge about Ancient Egypt and the pyramids on the Nile River. • Brainstorm students´ ideas. • Revision of specific vocabulary. The teacher writes key vocabulary in the smart-board. Transition • Students continue to activate their prior knowlegde about Egypt with prompted vocabulary.

Activities • 1)- Students read a text and study the map of the Nile River Delta carefully. • 2)- Students interpret text and visuals and answer questions provided by the teacher. • 3)- Oral discussion about the topic. • 4)- Problem Solving Activity: Students calculate the width of the Nile River Delta. • 5)- Power Point presentation. Conclusion • These activities are designed to continue study of Ancient Egypt and the River Nile Delta. • For homework students were asked to complete language and grammar exercises using past tenses of regular and irregular verbs, while revising content leanrt in class.

Intelligences accommodated activities • Visual-spatial: identify the direction of the Nile River (visualize it in a map). Use of assistive technology to teach (smart board) • Logical-mathematical: calculate the width of the river´s delta’s shoreline. • Verbal-linguistic: read a text about the Nile River. Introduce specific vocabulary: cataract ( fall), delta, irrigation, etc. • Naturalistic: describe the geography of Egypt, the benefits of the Nile River´s floods for agriculture.

Diversity and sustained teaching • Today more than ever we encounter diversity in our schools. Most of us have culturally, linguistic and cognitively diverse students in our classrooms. We have seen that one way to meet this challenge is by creating brain-compatible teaching strategies. The idea is of this approach is to create and sustain teaching while differentiating instruction to face that diversity. • We need to clarify the meaning of sustained teaching. This term refers to the idea that lessons should accommodate to our students’ multiple intelligences and learning styles over a period of time. Hall-Haley (2010: XI)

Conclusion A brain-compatible approach • relies on the way the brain learns • provides effective strategies to help our students learn • can be an excellent tool to address multiple intelligences and learning styles in the EFL classroom. • helps in problem solving and creative activities • is learner centered • fosters reflective teaching • focuses on thematic and interdisciplinary activities that provide cooperative learning and include variety of tasks and activities.

Mr Fowler´s and Mrs Rizzo´s History-ESOL class Oakton School October 2010

References • Halley, M. (2010) Brain-Compatible Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners, Pearson, USA. • http: //www. fcps. edu/Oakton. HS/date accessed 10/10/2010 • 12 Brain/Mind Learning Principles in Action – One Author's Personal Journey by Renate Nummela Caine http: //www. newhorizons. org/neuro/caine%202. h tm/date accessed 4/10/2010