Nonlinguistic Representation

The more we know about the brain and how it acquires and keeps knowledge, the more we recognize how important visualization is to the brain.  It is estimated that the 95% of the work of the brain is visual.  That is pretty convincing.  Most of us need to see what we are talking about, we need to see to understand, and we need to see to make connections and create memory. 

While the word is powerful, images are often more powerful.  Consider the adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  It makes sense then, that we would try to provide visual images for our learners.  Those images might be actual pictures, they might be graphic organizers, they might be charts, graphs, and tables, but whatever they are, they give our students a visual representation of what is being learned.  I do not know about you, but I found this image much easier to comprehend than the text that accompanied it in my chemistry book.

There are many graphic organizers out there to use.  Some just use lines and shapes to help students get organized.  Others may use more interesting pictures, but their intent is to create a picture for students to see what they are learning.  It is powerful stuff.

The creator of the mind knew that our minds would need visual reminders.  Probably the best nonlinguistic representation of a lesson is the very life of Christ.  The Bible tells us, "The word became flesh and dwelt among us."  Christ became the embodiment of all the promises that God had given to us.  He became the salvation for which we all search and yearn.  We know how to live righteously because we have a picture of a righteous man.  We know how to live sacrificially because we saw His life.  We know how to be a servant because He first served us.  Yes, it is not a surprise that the creator of the mind would teach according to these brain friendly techniques. 

Requiring Homework and Practice

The next brain-friendly strategy for the classroom is requiring homework and practice.  There is a great deal of conversation about the value of homework.  Much of the negative conversations comes from the evidence that homework is often not done by students, but by parents.  If this happens, then, of course, the teacher cannot accurately assess from the result of homework if the students have a clear grasp of the concept being taught.  Other criticism is tied to the environment in which many of our students live.

When my son, who is now getting ready to enroll his older child in kindergarten, was in junior high school, the school made a ruling that no late work would be accepted in that school.  The reasoning behind the ruling was that many students were simply turning in late work for no particularly good reason.  The teachers, in an attempt to build responsibility in the students, decided that this would be a good idea.  In general, this did not affect my son adversely because he was a good student who actually enjoyed most of his academic pursuits.  However, I was impressed when I read an essay he had written for his English class on the subject of no late papers.  He pointed out that not all students lived in an academically encouraging environment.  In fact, he argued, some live in a fairly violent environment.  Expecting a child to turn in homework the morning after he/she has intervened in a family dispute to protect his/her mother was not practical at all.  Yes, there were students who simply did not do their work on time for no particularly good reason, but there were others who had excellent reasons and might not be able to share those reasons. To enforce a rule on all because some were in need of responsibility lessons simply did not make sense to him. However, that does not overshadow the value of practice to reinforce lessons.

So, how can we incorporate this strategy and still recognize the special circumstances of our students.  First, if teaching is not relational, it is nothing.  We simply need to know our students well enough to know which students may need some grace in this department.  Grace does not necessarily mean giving a pass.  It may mean scheduling a time in class when students can work on what is deemed to be homework.  Just because it is called homework does not mean it has to be done at home.  Sometimes, it means extending a deadline.  As teachers, we simply need to know our students well enough to know when to make such allowances.

The reason homework is effective is because it gives the opportunity to practice and improve new skills.  That practice can be done almost anywhere.  We teach our teacher candidates that students are not ready for independent practice, which in reality is what homework is, until they can work independently at an 85% correct rate.  That probably means that the day a new concept is developed in class is not the day for independent practice.  The students may need more guided practice before they are ready to demonstrate that kind of mastery. 

Reinforcing effort and rewarding

     Who does not enjoy hearing that they have done a good job?  Who does not get somewhat frustrated when they work hard and hear no praise on their effort?  Generally speaking, we all fall into those categories at some time or another.  Our students are no different.  They enjoy hearing that they have done a good job.  They are grateful when one recognizes that they have worked hard.  Even when the grade on an assignment is not an A, students do like to know that the teacher recognizes that they put in a lot of work on the assignment.  Frankly, I am more proud of at least one B on my transcript than several of the A's-- I worked much harder to get that B than I did to get some of the A's.

     So, how did Jesus include this strategy in His teaching? In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Jesus taught his disciples about prayer.  He used the image of asking, seeking, and knocking.

  The Greek term carries the idea not just of asking once, seeking for a moment, or knocking just once.  Instead, it carries the idea of asking and continuing to ask, seeking and continuing to seek, and knocking and continuing to knock.  We are called on to put forth effort.  The idea is that with effort, we see more results.

     Another way Jesus taught was by providing recognition for actions done.  When the poor widow put her single coin into the offering collection, Jesus recognized her for her action-- He reminded the followers that she had given all she had.

  That recognition not only reinforced what the lady did, it also taught those who were listening that what was required was to give all that they had.  Jesus has called us to give our all-- He demonstrated that by giving His all-- even to dying for us. Remember the young centurion who sought after Jesus to heal his daughter.  He told Jesus it was not necessary for Him to come to the centurion's house.  Jesus could simply heal her by speaking it into action.  Jesus healed the daughter and recognized the man for the faith that was greater than He had seen elsewhere. 

      Once again, the creator of the brain knows it best.  He used the strategies we are learning are most effective for learning new concepts to teach when He was on earth--- long before the first imaging of brains occurred. 

Master Teaching Continues

     We are learning so much about the human brain with the use of imaging techniques.  As discussed in previous blogs, as a result of this new information, we are better able to understand how the brain gets and retains new information.  Since I consider Jesus Christ to be the Master Teacher of Master Teachers, I have been exploring the idea that we should not be surprised that what we are learning to be effective means of teaching according to research were the strategies that He used when He taught since after all the Creator of the brain should understand it best.  Last blog talked about looking for similarities and hooking new information to something we already understand.  The next strategy is note taking and summarizing.

     I do not know if the image of Jesus and His disciples walking around with notepads and pencils is humorous to you, but it is to me. 

However, the idea of taking note of important ideas does seem to be a part of what He did.  For instance, on more than one occasion, He would call the disciples together after a day of service, and go over the events of the day.  Sometimes He would explain what He meant in some of His teachings. In other words, He summarized the lessons for them.  How rich those discussions must have been as the disciples had the opportunity to put it all together with Him. 
     We have the same opportunity to share with our students.  Often teachers at the end of a class will take time to review what has been learned in class. They will highlight the important learning points or have the class highlight them.  That sounds like summarization to me. We have much of Jesus' teaching because someone took the time to write it down for us. 

Master Teaching Part 2

     Master teaching refers to expert teaching.  As far as I am concerned, we have a superb example of Master Teaching and it is from the Master himself-- Jesus Christ.  Last post, I listed the nine most effective ways of introducing new information to students.  They are effective because they allow the learner to plug into the way the brain takes in new information and places it into memory.  The first once was the use of metaphors.  A metaphor is a powerful teaching tool because it connects new information to something that is already familiar to the student.  New research into how the brain learns emphasizes that new learning must be connected to something the student already knows.  It is this hook that allows the brain to more easily take in the new information.

     Jesus often used this type of teaching.  He said to His followers, "The kingdom of heaven is like a shepherd who had 100 sheep, and lost one.  He would leave the 99 in the pen and go to find the lost one."  Similarly, he talked about the a lost penny and a lost son.  Because His hearers understood about losing something special, they could understand what he was saying.  He often taught using farming metaphors-- perfect for an agrarian society.  Even before we knew this about the brain, He did, and He used it to proclaim His message to us.  What a great teacher!

Philosophy Part 4--Master Teaching

     No matter how much schooling we get, we improve our craft by practicing it and by taking clues from those who have done it well and probably have been doing it for a while.  As a Christian, I want to do my best.  The Bible teaches that as Christ's followers, we should do everything as though it is for the Lord.  Such an attitude means that we are attempting to do our very best, for we would not do anything half-way for the Lord.  It is a gift to the Lord and it is an act of worship.

     As a Christian, we have an excellent example of Master Teaching.  Jesus Christ, himself, referred to himself as a teacher.   According to the experts in the field of brain based learning, there are nine effective strategies for effectively teaching new concepts. Examining the strategies that Jesus used to teach his followers, we find that Jesus used these strategies to teach them.  Why would it come as a surprise that the Creator of the mind knows how it works best? 

The nine strategies are identifying similarities and differences,

 summarizing and note-taking,  

reinforcing effort and providing recognition,









requiring homework and practice,

expressing the concept in non linguistic representations,

using cooperative learning,

setting objectives and providing feedback,

generating and testing hypotheses,

and giving cues, questions, and advance organizers.

The teaching that Christ did actually included all of these strategies.  I will use the next few blogs to talk about them.  Can you think of times when Jesus Christ used these strategies to teach his followers?

First Week of School

      This post is a tribute to student teachers who have just finished your first full week of school.  Did you think you could be this tired?  Every semester at the end of student teaching, we bring our student teachers together for a time to debrief.  When we ask them what surprised them about student teaching, one comment that is always among the comments is, "I never knew I could be so tired."  Generally, they are referring to the first weeks.  They admit that they get into a rhythm and it gets better, but they are dragging by Friday of the first week.

                             

                                                 You might even say, they are dog-tired.  







     So to all you student teachers and even to the other teachers who have just opened the school year, I wish you a time to relax and refresh before Monday.  Most of you know that you will eventually get used to the grind, but these first days are tough.  You are my heroes.