Engagement and the Brain

Brain Based Learning Truths

We can't really talk about engagement without recognizing some fundamental truths about how we learn. How we learn should drive how we design our lesson flow.  What exactly IS thinking? 

Size Matters

Not brain size, but challenge size. We have to intentionally set challenges that are neither too easy nor too difficult. 

Dr. Daniel Willingham in his book Why Don't Students Like to Learn (2009), says, "People are naturally curious--curiosity prompts people to explore new ideas and problems, but when we do, we quickly evaluate how much mental work it will take to solve the problem. If it is too much or too little, we stop working on the problem if we can."  An appropriately sized challenge has an effect size of .59, which means it has a good chance of moving learning forward. 

 

Factual Knowledge Precedes Skill

In order for students to move to abstract concepts we build background knowledge. We build background knowledge by relating content to already known facts/learning.   This doesn't mean we can't begin with questions or inquiry; it simply means that we must make the learning relevant and scaffold previous knowledge. Abstract knowledge is rooted in the concrete. 

What We Focus on Matters

We move learning to long term memory when we move back and forth between working memory (things we've already learned) and the new learning. As we do this over and over, we increase automaticity of the skill and make room for new learning. However, scaffolding things we have already learned helps us continue to strengthen recall of that learning. Scaffolding has a .58 effect size. If we don't use it--we really do lose it. Thus we must engage in:

Deliberate Practice

.79 Effect Size

 

Deliberate practice

• is focused on a goal.
• is coupled with distinct feedback.
• is spaced throughout, not done at one time right before an assessment.
• is effective when students know why they are doing it and what success looks like.

As we teach students strategies to tackle challenges, we can begin by having them think about what they know. We can ask them to consider what relationships they see between the current challenge and past challenges. This strategy has a huge possibility to move learning forward (.93 effect size!). 

How will you embed spaced, deliberate practice in your remote learning environment?

Resources:

Corwin. (2019). Visible learning 250+ Influences on student achievement[pdf]. us.corwin.com https://us.corwin.com/sites/default/files/250_influences_chart_june_2019.pdf Links to an external site.

Hattie, J., Donoghue, G. (2016). Learning strategies: a synthesis and conceptual model. npj Science of Learning 1, 16013. https://doi.org/10.1038/npjscilearn.2016.13 Links to an external site.

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers. New York, NY: Routledge.

Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don't students like school. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.