Skip to main content

Home/ "Brain Rules" Discussion/ Contents contributed and discussions participated by Lisa Durff

Contents contributed and discussions participated by Lisa Durff

 Lisa Durff

Brain Rules #5 - 135 views

brainrules
started by Lisa Durff on 02 Sep 08 no follow-up yet
  •  Lisa Durff
     
    Let's get back into it! "Homework is new learning". How do you feel about that statement? Is homework reinforcement as claimed by many & we learned in college? Or is it really new learning that is unfair to students? I have heard concepts need to be repeated 7 times before students can be expected to learn those concepts. I have only met one student who was bored with my repetitions (& he was a gifted learner).
Martha Thornburgh

Brain Rules Chpt. 4 - 76 views

brainrules
started by Martha Thornburgh on 12 Aug 08 no follow-up yet
  •  Lisa Durff
     
    He may be backed by research with those of his era. Peer-reviewed research serves this purpose. However, brains, by his own admission, are plastic. Brains have the ability to rewire themselves as described in "The Brain that Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge. Because listening and reading are two distinct activities that create comprehension of what is heard and what is read in two different brain areas, I really don't see why these two activities cannot be done simultaneously. I think those referred to as 'digital natives' are doing just that, just no one has performed peer reviewed quantitative research on it yet. There really has not been enough time to do such studies.
    What is far more relevant to my teaching is what fires together wires together. Or as page 84 says, "Memory is enhanced by creating associations between concepts." Our brains look for and remember patterns...in threes...and no more than 10 minutes long. I have found that time to be 12 minutes for me personally, whether in class, a meeting, inservice, or church. I long ago went to minilessons. To take Medina's ideas further, not only do we remember patterns, but associations between patterns/concepts. Connecting the dots one wise pastor said.
    So my challenge is to create strong associations between prior knowledge and current learnings using patterns to assist students in remembering information. Right away I think of patterns we all love - stories, metaphors, analogies (well maybe we don't love them, but we understand them), and humor. All of these uniquely human things have patterns to them we all recognize just because we are human.
 Lisa Durff

Brain Rules Chap 3 Wiring - 100 views

bookclub brainrules wiring
started by Lisa Durff on 04 Aug 08 no follow-up yet
  •  Lisa Durff
     
    Jennifer Anniston neurons notwithstanding, it is true that what fires together wires together. On page 57 Nedina writes, "Kandel showed that when people learn something, wiring in the brains changes." These words have obvious implications for education. In the same paragraph he states, "...these physical changes result in the functional ... reorganization of the brain....The brain is constantly learning things, so the brain is constantly rewiring itself."
    If this is the case, and there is every indication that it is, how can we as educators best exploit this rewiring to our advantage? Let's discuss how we can best do that.
Martha Thornburgh

Brain Rules Chpt. 2 Survival - 52 views

bookclub brainrules johnmedina plurk
started by Martha Thornburgh on 28 Jul 08 no follow-up yet
  •  Lisa Durff
     
    What do you say to that student (and their parents) who insist they must work alone? I told them if they did not collaborate they were not meeting the objectives and the grade would be lowered. Then the grade was lowered. Collaboration to me is essential for global cooperations and future employability. But is it essential for any learner to demonstrate it my class?
    Martha Thornburgh wrote:
    > My blog from Chpt. 2
    > http://digital-doors.blogspot.com/2008/07/brain-rules-chpt-2-survival.html
 Lisa Durff

Chapter 2 Brain Rules Survival - 48 views

bookclub brainrules johnmedina plurk
started by Lisa Durff on 27 Jul 08 no follow-up yet
  •  Lisa Durff
     
    In reading Chapter 2, it occurs to me as an educator that there is a need for both breadth and depth of knowledge which I may not be addressing adequately. How can I facilitate deeper study while also covering the breadth of a topic which is required by my school?
 Lisa Durff

That New Age Music Ad - 13 views

brainrules
started by Lisa Durff on 27 Jul 08 no follow-up yet
  •  Lisa Durff
     
    Any investigate the ad at the top of the page for iMusic? I am and am hearing a bad mix of New Age + Classical + Movie tunes. Which leads to an interesting question = Are all 'genius' involved somehow in music? Einstein played music. How many connections can we all make to music + superior intellect? Can use of the principles augment our own intellect? Is music part of that?
1 - 0 of 0
Showing 20 items per page