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)
