The Science of Learning
We receive questions frequently about student learning. One question that has been asked several times and in numerous different ways is, "Can you recommend a short list of priorities for learning?" Those items should always include the following:
• Hands-on, minds-on, heart’s-in learning experiences (experiential learning)
• Relevance to the student’s personal life whenever possible (it is relevance that makes "rigor" achievable)
• Active learning, which is how the brain learns best and remembers most effectively (engagement)
• Student-centered learning, which increases the probability of student achievement
• Technology, manipulatives, and simulations followed by student writings on those experiences
• Metacognitive learning where students analyze, reflect on, and discuss their thinking processes
• Differentiated learning, since students learn at different rates and by different means
• Diverse learning styles using multiple intelligences to address the different ways of knowing and different ways of learning
• Build from the concrete experience to the pictorial/representational to the abstract/symbolic
• Provide a physically and emotionally safe learning environment• Build upon past learning and prior knowledge (schemas)
• Learners must apply their learning in order to establish long-lasting neural connections
• Capitalize on a child’s interests and strengths for motivation (requiring “Emotional Intelligence”), while helping a child learn how to “manage” his/her “emerging talents” (a.k.a. "weaknesses") competencies, and skills.
(Article by K. Wesson)
We receive questions frequently about student learning. One question that has been asked several times and in numerous different ways is, "Can you recommend a short list of priorities for learning?" Those items should always include the following:
• Hands-on, minds-on, heart’s-in learning experiences (experiential learning)
• Relevance to the student’s personal life whenever possible (it is relevance that makes "rigor" achievable)
• Active learning, which is how the brain learns best and remembers most effectively (engagement)
• Student-centered learning, which increases the probability of student achievement
• Technology, manipulatives, and simulations followed by student writings on those experiences
• Metacognitive learning where students analyze, reflect on, and discuss their thinking processes
• Differentiated learning, since students learn at different rates and by different means
• Diverse learning styles using multiple intelligences to address the different ways of knowing and different ways of learning
• Build from the concrete experience to the pictorial/representational to the abstract/symbolic
• Provide a physically and emotionally safe learning environment• Build upon past learning and prior knowledge (schemas)
• Learners must apply their learning in order to establish long-lasting neural connections
• Capitalize on a child’s interests and strengths for motivation (requiring “Emotional Intelligence”), while helping a child learn how to “manage” his/her “emerging talents” (a.k.a. "weaknesses") competencies, and skills.
(Article by K. Wesson)
