Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Why do we do what we do?

Why do we teach the way we do?  It seems to boil down to the following four reasons:

1. We teach the way we were taught in school. (Favorite teachers)
2. We teach the way we learn best. (Personal preference/learning style)
3. We teach the way someone told us how to teach.(Student teaching)
4. We teach the way that people learn best. (Brain friendly principles/environments)

My guess is that most people would respond with some combination of 1-3 above.  But how many of us are current with the latest information on brain compatible learning?  The last 10 years has been the decade of the brain when we have had access to look inside "the black box" and examine learning in action.  Very few things have been identified as causational, but boy, there seems to be so many correlational factors- many conclusions that substantiate the things that we already do in classrooms. The days of teaching based upon slobbering dogs and pecking pigeons have advanced to the study of branching dendrites and information processing models.  If you would like an 'easy-to-read course' on #4 above, please check out the books by Patricia Wolfe and David Sousa in my Recommended Resources section of my website.

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