Vol.3 no.1 
August, 2000
CP NEWS
"It's a new school
year: new faces,
new classes and collegues, new workloads, new challenges,…! It's also a time
for looking back to review the last year, the exams and the results while
planning the present based on the successes and an understanding of the
failures. I wish you, a great new school year and I am looking forward to
working with you."
GUIDE
BECOMING
STRATEGIC IN THE ESL CLASSROOM:
EXPLANATION
OF LANGUAGE MNEMONICS
THE 6 STEP
MASTER PLAN TO ACCELERATED LEARNING
ADJECTIVE?
WHAT'S AN ADJECTIVE?
THE BEST STRATEGY FOR UNDERSTANDING
MOVIES
This year marks the debut of the introduction of the reform in the classrooms
of the kindergartens and first cycle classes throughout Quebec. Next year will
be the second cycle (grades 3 and 4) with English classes for all. In two
years, the third and final cycle at elementary school and in three, the fourth
cycle or first secondary cycle will be included. Finally, the fifth and final cycle will embark on the
great adventure in four years.
Preparing for the introduction of the reform into the schools will take
center stage in all aspects of the educational landscape. It will be the focus
of all pedagogical in-service training. It will be the guage of all new
projects and experimentation. It will bring new ideas even new philosophies and
paradigms while melding the proven practices of the past.
Disclaimer: The
article - How Julie's brain works does not refer to anyone in
particular.
Reform
The final version of the ESL 2nd
cycle program along with a preview of the 3rd cycle was released
June 15th. It is available
in pdf format on the MEQ site at http://www.meq.gouv.qc.ca/dfgj/program/pdf/frm2000/prform04.pdf
or via http://www.meq.gouv.qc.ca/dfgj/program/1cyclep.htm
Paper copies will be distributed at future
training sessions.
The presentation of the program is in English
and a guide and summary in French will be available for parents and principals.
A simplified explanation of the implementation
of the Reform can be found on the Internet at:
La réforme de
l’éducation :
questions et réponses à l'intention des parents et du public
http://www.meq.gouv.qc.ca/virage/Boite_outils/ques_rep.htm
A form is included at the end of the document
for those interested in working for the MEQ on the new programs or exams.
SPEAQ
2000
«Aujourd'hui
DEMAIN TOMORROW Today»
October 26 at 7:30 PM, 27 and 28, 2000
Hilton Hotel, Quebec City http://station05.qc.ca/Partenaires/speaq/
TID-BITS
Congratulations:
to Robert Gauvin from Ste-Marguerite who has
been chosen as vice-principal at the amalgamated St-Patrice-Brossard elementary
school.
Exams 2000
I`ll be sending out a feedback sheet on the
grade 6 and secondary 3 exam to gather your comments.
Mailings
For the last two years, one copy of Reach-out
has been sent out to each of the 45+/- schools.
Since there are only about 50 ESL teachers, we
will attempt to gather the information of who teaches what, where. With that
information, we could better serve everyone and not need the hassle of schools making copies while some teachers
receive 4 or 5 copies. We could send Reach-out and material specific to your
level directly to you. While we will be contacting the principals for the
information, feel free to send in your particular coordinates to help ensure
you are included.
RREALS ESL Songbook and CD
A late-comer to the material shared by RREALS
members this year is a songbook and accompanying CDROM of popular English songs
from Jingle bells to Row Row Your Boat.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of
the book and either a CDROM or a cassette version of the songs, please contact
me with your name, school, etc. telling me which format you would prefer - CD
or tape.
Exchanges:
An exchange activity, whether it be a six month
individual, week-long group or an email correspondance is a possibility offered
to teachers and their students. SEVEC, inter-Quebec and European exchanges were
offered last year and are worth considering.
Here are a few resources for email exchanges:
- Classes@Classes
- Quebec English Schools Network
Project Center (Anglais, Immersion Française)
http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/ssn/index.html
- Classroom Connect http://www.classroom.net/
- Global SchoolNet, http://www.gsn.org/
- Intercultural Email Classroom
Connection Projects (IECC)
- KidLink, http://www.kidlink.org/
- le CyberSchoolBus des Nations Unies, http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/french/index.html
- Maya Quest, http://www.tme.nl/dln/mayaquest.html
ESL-LA Internet site: http://station05.qc.ca/css/cybersite/ESL-LA/
ICE-BREAKERS:
"One that I have used with great success
in the past is to tell the students on the first day that they will be introducing
themselves to the class by telling us three true things about themselves and
one false thing.
We have to guess which one is false. For example, a student might
say, 'Hi my name is Sue, my fours things are: I have played the
piano for ten years, I want to be a chemical engineer, I have four brothers and
no sisters, and I grew up in California.' We learn a lot about each other
this way and it is always fun trying to guess which statement is false.
The class must come to a consensus on which one we think is false." Ramrei,
Dallas TX
Last year's August edition included several
suggestions for ice-breaker activities to begin the year. They can also be
found on the Reach-Out web site at : http://station05.qc.ca/css/cybersite/reach-out/7/reachout7.htm
Meetings
While there is a
regional pedagogical day scheduled for the beginning of the year, I have
decided after much debate with myself, not to call an ESL meeting as I think
most teachers want to prepare their classes, classroom, … and settle in for the
new school year. Feel free to suggest otherwise for the future if I have judged
the situation poorly or call me if you would like to set up a meeting at your
school or between special interest groups.
"Perfectionnement"
For this year, the
provincial funds for in-service training were decentralized to the regions and
also cut back. While we asked for the funds for two different training
projects, only one was accepted in order to stay within the budget constraints.
The training session will be a joint regional session for the elementary
ESL teachers and specialists of the 3
francophone boards later on during the year. The reform will be the focus.
Other workshops will be offered for all during some of the regional pedagogical days which are
October 6, November 3, January 26, April 12 and May 18.
Becoming
strategic in the ESL classroom:
Follow-up
The two day session
last spring probably left as many questions as answers. Here are some
interesting statistics that might apply to the session as well as the
classroom.
ACTIVE LEARNING
It has been said that on average we remember
20% of what we read
30% of what we hear
40% of what we see
50% of what we say
60% of what we do
90% of what we see, hear, say and do
(Source - Accelerated
Learning for the 21st Century by
Colin Rose and Malcolm J. Nicholl)
I have
included some articles related to the session in this Reach-Out and I will
schedule a follow-up workshop on the topic. I think that while many principles
and notions are involved, there are two
main concepts to keep in mind; teaching strategies and teaching strategically.
Please take
note of any applications of the session that you can share later this year as
well as any questions.
INTRODUCING STRATEGIES :
C.A.L. APPROACH
http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/introlsCAL.html
The following
guidelines, developed by the Center for the Advancement of Learning, relate to
introducing students to learning strategies. The seven-step procedure for
introducing learning strategies is most effective with individual students but
may be used with small groups of students.
- Evaluate existing strategies
- Ask the student what strategy(ies) he/she
currently uses to address a task or an activity.
- Consider how useful the strategy(ies)
have been.
- Suggest an alternative strategy
- Suggest a different strategy or set of strategies,
providing reasons why the changes might be worthwhile.
- Because some learning weaknesses are
multifaceted, it may be necessary to develop a strategy plan
incorporating several strategies.
- Although one might relate to the student
the research behind the strategy, it would be more effective to indicate
how the student personally might benefit by using the strategy.
- If possible, relate strategy expectations
to specific course requirements.
- Describe the strategy
- The alternate approach is described to
the student, one strategy at a time if a multistrategy approach is
suggested.
- Amply illustrate each strategy with
examples, using current course content when possible.
- Set goals
- Establish goals for learning and mastering
the strategy with each student.
- Make the goals as specific as possible by
breaking the process into smaller parts or stages, indicating a time
frame, and indicating specific ways the strategy will be applied to
course content or assignments.
- Model the strategy
- Model the strategy(ies) for the student
and direct his/her practice of it.
- Starting with one academic discipline or
subject area is advised.
- Generalize the strategy
- Generalize the strategy or strategy set
to other disciplines or subjects.
- Consider specific ways in which it may be
applied to other information or tasks.
- Evaluate
- Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency
of the new strategy or strategy repertoire using a strategy summary
sheet.
INSTRUCTIONAL
MODEL APPROACH
http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/introlsmod.html
As adapted by
(REFERENCE) from Ellis, Deshler, Kenz, Schumaker, and Clark (1991), the
instructional model for teaching learning strategies shares commonalities with
the C.A.L. approach. The eight-stage process is outlined below (REFERENCE, p.
291).
- STAGE 1. Teacher pretests student and obtains a commitment.
- Phase 1. Orientation and pretest
- Phase 2. Awareness and commitment
- STAGE 2. Teacher describes the learning strategy.
- Phase 1. Orientatin and overview
- Phase 2. Presentation of strategy and
remembering system
- STAGE 3. Teacher models the strategy.
- Phase 1. Orientation
- Phase 2. Presentation
- Phase 3. Student enlistment
- STAGE 4. Students verbally practice the strategy.
- Phase 1. Verbal elaboration
- Phase 2. Verbal rehearsal
- STAGE 5. Students have controlled practice and feedback.
- Phase 1. Orientation and overview
- Phase 2. Guided practice
- Phase 3. Independent practice
- STAGE 6. Students have advanced practice and feedback.
- Phase 1. Orientation and overview
- Phase 2. Guided practice
- Phase 3. Independent practice
- STAGE 7. Teacher post-tests students and obtains a commitment.
- Phase 1. Confirmation and celebration
- Phase 2. Forecast and commitment to
generalize
- STAGE 8. Students generalize the learning strategy.
- Phase 1. Orientation
- Phase 2. Activation
- Phase 3. Adaptation
- Phase 4. Maintenance
Memory tips:
http://www.mindtools.com/memory.html
http://www.psychwww.com/mtsite/memory.html
1. Stop, look and listen. When you want to consciously remember
something, say it aloud. Make a mental picture along with your words to
help store it in long term memory. Say aloud - “ I will remember...”
2. To store information in long term memory it must be rehearsed.
Repeat the items you want to recall several times. As you do this, look
up and place them on a mental blackboard.
3. Chunk the information. Longer lists are more easily
recalled if they are divided into chunks of information. For example,
your shopping list of 12 items can be recalled if you chunk it down into groups
of three items each. Along with the chunking, use a pneumonic device like
using the first letter of each of the words and then saying aloud - m,e,b --
milk, eggs, butter.
4. Use visual location clues. Perhaps you want to remember
to call your friend when you get home. While you are still at the office,
before you get home, picture a telephone on your front door and your friend
smiling. That way, when you do get home, the exaggerated image will pop into
your mind and you will remember to call your friend.
5. Rhymes always add the kind of interest and connections the
brain likes to retrieve things.
6. Want to remember your secret codes and passwords - use the
numbers on your telephone keypad to spell out the numbers you want to recall.
For example, 4663 spells out home.
7. For studying - always use the P,Q,R,S,T or S,Q, 3R system.
P stands for preview. Look over the whole chapter or section of what you
want to learn. Give your brain a mental mind map of what the material is
about.
Q - Create questions about the material and give your brain a reason to
make the material important. You will want to answer your own questions.
R - RE-read the material.
S - Make a mind -map of the material by drawing a circle in the center
of a page with the main topic in it. Then draw other circles, squares or
rectangles with related information connected to the circle with a line.
T - Test yourself by looking up to activate your visual cortex and
recalling the map you drew.
SQ 3 R works just the same. Survey is pre-view, Q is Question, R
is for read the material, R is for recite the material using a mind-map with
pictures, and R is for review just before the test. Again, look up and
see the images which will trigger the words.
8. Use music when you study to increase the brain pathways and your ability
to recall the information. See the information on the Mozart Effect on
the web site at www.howtolearn.com
9. Write down information you want to remember - but add pictures
with the words.
Learning Foreign Languages
Foreign languages are the ideal subject area for the
use of memory techniques: the process of learning words is essentially a matter
of association - associating what is initially a meaningless collection of syllables
with a word in a language that we understand.
Traditionally this association has been carried out by
repetition - saying the word in ones own language and the foreign language time
and time and time and time again.
This whole tedious way of acquiring vocabulary can be
eliminated by three good techniques:
- Using mnemonic techniques to
link foreign and own-language words: the Linkword technique
- The Town Language Mnemonic
- The hundred most common words.
Systems
Needed
Before we explain how to remember vocabulary, you will need to
understand the principles of:
- 1. The Roman Room memory system
- 2. The link memory method.
Explanation of Language Mnemonics
1. The
LinkWord Technique
The LinkWord technique uses an image
to link a word in one language with a word in another language. The following
are examples of use of the LinkWord technique:
English:French vocabularyrug/carpet - tapis - image of an ornate oriental carpet with a tap as the central design woven in chrome thread
grumpy - grognon - a grumpy man groaning with irritation
to tease - taquiner - a wife teasing her husband as she takes in the washing.
The technique was
formalised by Dr. Michael Gruneborg. LinkWord language books have been produced
in many language pairs to help students acquire the basic vocabulary needed to
get by in a language (usually about 1000 words). It is claimed that using this
technique this basic vocabulary can be acquired in just 10 hours.
2. The Town Language Mnemonic (Editor's Choice)
This is a very
elegant, effective mnemonic designed by Dominic O'Brien that fuses a
sophisticated variant of the Roman Room system with the LinkWord system
described above.
The fundamental principle
rests on the fact that the basic vocabulary of a language relates to everyday
things: things that are typically found in a small town, city, or village. The
basis of the technique is that the student should choose a town that he or she
is very familiar with, and should use objects within that place as the cues to
recall the images that link to foreign words.
Nouns in
the town
Nouns should be
associated to the most relevant locations: the image coding the foreign word
for book should be associated with a book on a shelf in the library. The word
for bread should be associated with an image of a loaf in a baker's shop. Words
for vegetables should be associated with parts of a display outside a
greengrocer's shop. Perhaps there is a farm just outside the town that allows
all the animal name associations to be made.
Adjectives
in the park
Adjectives should
be associated with a garden or park within the town: words such as green,
smelly, bright, small, cold, etc. can be easily related to objects in a park.
Perhaps there is a pond there, a small wood, perhaps people with different
characteristics are walking around.
Verbs in
the sports centre
Verbs can most
easily be associated with a sports centre or playing field. This allows us all
the associations of lifting, running, walking, hitting, eating, swimming,
driving, etc.
Remembering
Genders
In a language
where gender is important, a very elegant method of remembering this is to
divide your town into two main zones where the gender is only masculine and
feminine, or three where there is a neutral gender. This division can be by
busy roads, rivers, etc. To fix the gender of a noun, simply associate its
image with a place in the correct part of town. This makes remembering genders
so easy!
Many
Languages, many towns
Another elegant
spin-off of the technique comes when learning several languages: normally this
can cause confusion. With the town mnemonic, all you need do is choose a
different city, town or village for each language to be learned. Ideally this
might be in the relevant country, however practically it might just be a local
town with a slight flavour of the relevant country, or twinned with it.
3. The hundred most common words
Tony Buzan, in his
book 'Using your Memory', points out that just 100 words comprise 50% of all
words used in conversation in a language. Learning this core 100 words gets you
a long way towards learning to speak in that language, albeit at a basic level.
Click
here to see the 100 basic words.
Summary
The three
approaches to learning language shown here can be extremely effective in
helping to learn a foreign language, in terms of pointing out the most
important words to learn, showing how to link words in your own language to
words in a foreign language, and showing how to structure recall of the
language through use of the town mnemonic.
The 6 Step Master Plan to Accelerated Learning
http://www.happychild.org.uk/acc/tpr/mem/0005mast.htm
One of the
things that is often said to me as I teach these techniques and principles in
both education and business is something along the lines of :
"Well I have tried that and it doesn't work for me"
or
"I can see how these techniques work but I don't know if
I want to put the effort in to learn how to use them" .
It often amazes
me that people get hooked on the process rather than the result. In my mind, to
be a really effective learner, you need to know exactly what it is you want to
learn, the level of proficiency you want to achieve in your subject or skill
and a deep understanding of the reason why you want to do it and its importance
to you. If you have those things clear in your own mind then the process does
not matter because you will do anything to achieve your goal as long as it
works. Now all of the techniques that I talk about work. Some may require more
effort than others to get to work and what may be easy for one person to use
may be very difficult for the next but if you are focussed on the result and it
is an important outcome for you, then you will do W.E.I.T. (Whatever it Takes).
When I reviewed "Accelerated Learning for
the 21st Century" by Colin Rose and Malcolm
J. Nicholl in January 2000, I told you about their 6 step M.A.S.T.E.R. plan for
Accelerated Learning and it is that process that I want to cover this month.
STEP 1 -
Motivate Your Mind
Probably the
most important step of the entire process. It is so very important that you are
motivated to learn for your own reasons because if you are not, when you have
to start working hard, it is likely that you will not put the right amount of
effort in. You need to do a WIIFM (What's In It For Me) exercise to prime your
mind and focus your energies on your learning. That way you will be able to
generate motivation to get started and use it to sustain your efforts when
things seem tough.
Step 2 -
Acquiring the Information
This is the data
gathering section of the process and it can be enhanced by knowing your
learning style and capitalising on it. We tend to learn using a combination of
Visual (what we see), Auditory (what we hear) and Kinesthetic (what we
physically and emotionally experience) strategies. We will always use a
combination of these three but there may be one which is dominant. Find out
which it is and focus your learning on that style.
Step 3 - Search
out the Meaning
It is so very
important to understand what you are learning rather than just memorise a
series of facts. As Rose and Nicholl say in their book "Turning facts into personal meaning is the central element to
learning". They go on say that in career terms, the ability
to develop a deep understanding and make sense of a jungle of information pays
much better than the ability to regurgitate a series of facts.
Step 4 - Trigger
the Memory
Once you have
developed a deep understanding of your subject, you will still have to lock it
into your long term memory and this is where many of the techniques that I have
written about on this site become relevant. My own favourite techniques are a
combination of Mind Mapping (which for me will give me 80-90%) of my learning,
and the use of memory systems (eg the peg system) and mnemonics to round off
the last 10-20%. That of course is my own personal preference but find what
works for you.
Step 5 - Exhibit
what you Know
This stage is in
my mind the most important part of the process. Too many of us spend hours and
hours and hours hunched over our notes and text books trying to learn and yet
we spend very little time practising the recall of the information that we have
learnt. So in effect we develop a very strong "IN" mental muscle yet
the "OUT" muscle that we will rely on in our exanimations is hardly
tested at all. Spend more time demonstrating what you know than putting it in
and keep adjusting and correcting until you get it right every single time. It
is by not following through on this process that causes the sort of comments I
mentioned before.
Step 6 - Reflect
on How you have Learnt
The most
successful people always monitor what they do, compare their results with their
desired outcome and adjust their approach if they are not getting what they want.
It is at this stage that you should review the techniques you chose to use in
step 4. Keep using the ones that are giving you the results that you want and
either get better at the others (I'd suggest you try using something a couple
of times instead of dismissing something because it did not work the only time
you tried it) or try something else.
And there you
have it, the 6 step M.A.S.T.E.R plan for Accelerated Learning. To remember the
steps just use the mnemonic MASTER for the first letter of each step of the
process. Let me know how you get on with this.
Mind Mapping
This month I am going to
tell you about what I believe to be the most powerful thinking tool currently
available. I am of course talking about the Mind Map® invented by Tony Buzan. So
what is a Mind Map? Well it is a graphical technique that mirrors the way the
brain works. The subject of interest is crystallized in a central image and
then the main themes radiate out from the central image on branches. Each
branch holds a key image or key word printed on the line. Details are added to
the main branches and radiate out.
Most people's notes are on
lined paper using blue or black ink which looks extremely boring. To make your
notes more attractive to your brain, add colour, rhythm and imagination and all
of a sudden taking notes becomes much more fun.
To draw a mind map do the
following:
1. Turn your page on its
side (landscape), making sure that it is plain paper.
2. Draw your central image
using at least 3 colours, making it a picture (speaks a thousand words) that
captures the subject of the Mind Map®.
3. Add the main branches
which represent the subject's main topics or themes using key words and images.
4. Add the detail with more
key words and images.
5. Use colour throughout
and make your Mind Map® as beautiful as possible.
6. Print your words clearly
and only use one word per line.
7. Use arrows to connect
linking ideas.
Mind
Maps® have a variety of uses including Note Taking and Note Making, revision
planning, essay planning and problem solving. The Mind Map® shown above
summarises the key points of this article. Of course the beauty of using Mind
Maps® is that these combine both left and right brain thinking, which means
that you will remember the information better than if you just had lines of
words (see the Amazing Brain fact from April 1998). Knowledge of your brain's
rhythms (see October 1998's article) will mean that by taking lots of breaks
during your studying and by reviewing your notes to prevent the information
that you have learnt from fading from your recall, you will learn much more,
much quicker and retain it for much longer.
Your Brain's Potential
In the brain there are
1,000,000,000,000 (a million million) individual neurons or nerve cells.
If each neuron can interact with
anywhere between 1 and 100,000 other neurons then the brain's potential for
pattern forming (the number of possible permutations) is a massive number that
even in normal text would require 10.5 million kilometres of space to write one
after the other!
That means that your brain has an
almost infinite capacity for storing information.
ESL.ABOUT.COM
I feature this site as a very
impressive source for all facets of ESL for all levels. It also offers a
newsletter with regular updates and suggestions that can be sent to you via
email. Here is a copy of a recent posting.
ESL.ABOUT.COM NEWSLETTER - Welcome
to About's English as a Second Language Newsletter
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
August 14, 2000
Vol. 2, # 32
~ New Quizzes
- Question Tags
- Uses of 'Like'
- Two Quantity Quizzes
~ New Listening Exercises
~ Confusing Words
----------- New Quizzes ----------------
USES OF LIKE
The correct use of 'like' is of fundamental importance in many basic questions.
The fact that these questions use 'like' as a verb or a preposition can further
complicate the issue. Ask the correct question using 'like' as either a verb or
a preposition.
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_like.htm
QUESTION TAGS
question tags are often used to solicit input or confirmation to what we are
saying. Using question tags well also promotes a keen understanding of the use
of various auxiliary verbs.
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_tags.htm
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Some nouns are countable which means you can use either the singular or plural
form of the noun, Other nouns are uncountable which means you can use ONLY the
singular form of the noun.
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_quantity1.htm
QUANTIFIERS
The use of various quantifiers (much, many, etc.) also depend on whether the
noun is countable or uncountable.
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_quantity2.htm
----------- New Beginner Listening Comprehension Quizzes -------------------
Practice your number listening comprehension. Listen to the people speaking
about different numbers and write down the number you hear. When you have
finished, click on the arrow to see if you have answered correctly. You will
hear the listening twice.
Numbers - 1
http://esl.about.com/library/listening/bllis_number1.htm
Numbers - 2
http://esl.about.com/library/listening/bllis_number2.htm
---------- Past Features -------------
CONFUSING WORDS
Many words are easily confused in English. For example: Did you get a raise or
a rise? Other words are easily confused because of different usage. For
example: while or during. Use these confusing words quizzes to help you learn
when to use which confusing word.
CONFUSING WORDS - 1
http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blconfusing1.htm
CONFUSING WORDS - 2
http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blconfusing2.htm
CONFUSING WORDS - 3
http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blconfusing3.htm
CONFUSING WORDS - 4
http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blconfusing4.htm
CONFUSING WORDS - 5
http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blconfusing5.htm
-----------Around About ------------
ITALIAN FOOD RECIPES
A favorite classroom activity is having students write recipes. Use these great
recipes provided by About's guide to Italian Food Guide, Kyle Phillips, to some
of the greatest food on Earth as examples.
http://italianfood.about.com/food/italianfood/blfeat.htm
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Let About's Guide to New York, John S. Irons, show you around one of the
greatest towns around.
http://gonyc.about.com/travel/gonyc/mbody.htm
---------- From the Forum ------------
Follow these threads and add your comments or questions:
SOMEONE TO CHAT
http://forums.about.com/ab-esl/messages/?msg=133.1
HELP WITH ENGLISH QUESTIONS
http://forums.about.com/ab-esl/messages/?msg=125.1
CORPORATE ESL JOBS
http://forums.about.com/ab-esl/messages/?msg=130.1
VOCABULARY THEMES
http://forums.about.com/ab-esl/messages/?msg=135.2
------------------------------------------
USEFUL PAGES
BEGINNER PAGES
http://esl.about.com/library/courses/blcourses_beginner.htm
LOWER - INTERMEDIATE PAGES
http://esl.about.com/library/courses/blcourses_lower_intermediatehtm
INTERMEDIATE PAGES
http://esl.about.com/library/courses/blcourses_intermediate.htm
UPPER - INTERMEDIATE PAGES
http://esl.about.com/library/courses/blcourses_upper_intermediatehtm
ADVANCED PAGES
http://esl.about.com/library/courses/blcourses_advanced.htm
ESL CAREER CENTRAL
http://esl.about.com/blcareer.htm
LESSON PAGES
http://esl.about.com/bllessonplans.htm
QUIZ CENTRAL
http://esl.about.com/blquiz.htm
GRAMMAR PAGES
http://esl.about.com/library/grammar/blgrammar.htm
VOCABULARY PAGES
http://esl.about.com/blvocab.htm
TOPIC INDEX
http://esl.about.com/bltopic.htm
Volume 56 Number 2 November 1998
How the Brain Learns
Eric
Jensen
How Julie's Brain Learns
Follow a typical student through her day at school--from
the perspective of her brain.
Julie seems like a bright kid. At least that's what her
aptitude tests say. You can count her absences on one hand, and she's not a
discipline problem. As far as the teacher knows, she comes from a fairly
typical home. So why is she--and countless others in her school--driving her
teachers crazy? Why do teachers have to go over things twice and even three
times for the information to sink in?
We've known for years that teaching does not equal learning.
But today we have a better idea of what's going on in Julie's brain. Julie's
teacher spends a lot of time reteaching because she doesn't teach in ways that
match how Julie's brain learns. This mismatch creates frustration,
underperformance, and hopelessness.
Fortunately, new knowledge in neuroscience is redefining
possibilities for education. There are five critical variables in the brain's
learning process: neural history, context, acquisition, elaboration, and
encoding. To find out where neuroscience and the classroom link up, let's
explore these from the perspective of Julie's brain.
Neural History
Julie's brain is not blank like a tabula rasa but customized
by her life experience. Julie's neural history includes more than her grades
and test scores. A seemingly trivial accident--a fall and bump on the head at
summer camp--has created a brain insult in her temporal lobe, an area
responsible for Julie's semantic memory. That means that although Julie's
memory might be good for names and places, it's weaker for numbers and
formulas. This behavior puzzles teachers who often think she's simply not
trying hard enough in math classes.
Our neural history is founded on a dynamic interplay between
nature and nurture called emergentism. At each development stage,
different genes are affected by the environment and are uniquely expressed
(Elman et al., 1998). Genes, however, are not templates for learning. For
example, if there really were a "language gene," then a child raised
in isolation would automatically speak. Prior learning, character, the
environment, peers, and life experience also influence how we learn.
For instance, many students who have spent too much time in
car seats and not enough time on swings, merry-go-rounds, and seesaws have
insufficient early motor stimulation and experience poor school readiness.
Exposure to constant threat or early trauma often alters the brain's behavior,
creating extreme levels of serotonin and noradrenaline. A lack of early
enriching activities may influence brain development. Extended television
watching in the early years may create learned helplessness or unduly passive
or aggressive behaviors. Drug usage can desensitize the opiate receptor sites
for pleasure.
At birth, Julie's brain had a trillion neural connections,
known as synapses, that were wired in. By now, Julie's 15-year-old brain has
countless unique life experiences, and her three-pound operating system is rich
with intricate neural wiring that represents information, complex patterns,
mental models, and belief systems. She, like others in the class, brings this
personal neural history to school each day. Her teacher has the difficult
challenge of customizing information for each learner.
Given students' unique experiences, it may be impossible to
create a level playing field. However, studies suggest the value of increasing
motor activity, arts, music, choices, challenges, and feedback. Teachers should
also take time to socialize students through well-orchestrated groupwork to
create better social behaviors and a common class history. Evidence suggests
that peers are a significant influence on students' academic performances
(Hartocollis, 1998).
Learning Context
Julie's teacher influences her learning brain every day by
designing the physical and emotional environment. For example, though Julie
finds it easy to arrive on time, she tends to cut it close. Today's close call
relates to boyfriend problems. The allotted time between classes is just long
enough to start a conversation, but not long enough to finish it. If the broken
conversation threatens a potential romantic relationship, trouble begins.
New evidence from Deborah Yurgelun-Todd of Boston's McLean
Hospital (personal communication, 1998) suggests that the typical adolescent
brain is too immature to read complex facial clues. Misreading peer or role
model facial cues often results in inappropriate reactions. However, pioneering
neuroscientist Candace Pert of Georgetown University Medical School says,
"Unexpressed emotions can inhibit many functions, including learning"
(Pert, 1997). Accordingly, teachers must allow for a wider range of emotional
expression, even when the expression may be misguided. Classroom examples may
include more drama, open discussions, and celebrations.
Educators can assume that some students will arrive at class
distressed and even threatened. Therefore, we should invest the first few
minutes to accomplish three goals. First, we need to provide an outlet for
emotional expression--through discussion, singing, sharing, writing, music, or
drawing. Second, we must reconnect learners with one another. Even a positive
greeting at the door can reconnect learners with their teacher. Peer contact is
also valuable. Third, we must help learners reconnect with the content. Let
students have open group discussions, journal writing, paired activities, or
mind mapping.
When a person is threatened, the hypothalamus and the adrenal
glands team up to release adrenaline, cortisol, and vasopressin. Julie's threat
response is great for escaping from predators, but not for learning. The
short-term impact of this chemical release includes impaired spatial-episodic
memory, weakened ability to prioritize, and greater likelihood of repeated behaviors.
Julie's brain is just not ready for learning when the bell rings. But she's
lucky; other students are even more threatened by insurmountable language
barriers, bullies in the hallways, and hostile home lives. Overcrowded
classrooms, unreasonable rules, and impossible deadlines can also feel
threatening.
Good teachers who know that emotional climate is critical
invest the first few minutes of every class in activities that allow students
to get into a positive learning state. Activities might include nonthreatening
open-class discussions, journal writing, stretching, paired discussions, mind
mapping, listening to music, reflecting, or dancing and games.
As important as emotional safety is physical safety. The
brain's optimal physical environment includes a temperature near 70 degrees and
a humidity level near 70 percent. Too much heat or too little humidity triggers
stress. Students should also have water available without having to ask
permission to get it. Nutrition, too, is a factor. We are, after all, always
trying to ensure our own survival.
Attentional chemicals also run Julie's brain. Her midday
amine level is at its lowest since bedtime. Amines are stimulants, like
amphetamine. By early afternoon, Julie's brain is ready for a nap. Although this
happens every 90 to 110 minutes, the nadir occurs 12 hours after the midpoint
of last night's sleep. Because Julie sleeps from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., her lowest
energy time occurs at 2 p.m. Studies suggest that short, brisk activity
increases energy levels (Thayer, 1989). Schools need to integrate more movement
into the daily schedule. Repeated physical activity like stretching, playing
games, swimming, or walking releases epinephrine and dopamine, which usually
lift Julie's spirit.
Another attentional modulator is a common neurotransmitter
called serotonin. Its release is triggered by many factors, including dietary
tryptophan. Julie's high carbohydrate lunch is coming back to haunt her. She
doesn't know that a better lunch might include more protein and trace minerals
and fewer carbohydrates. Tuna salad, fruit, yogurt, or nuts can keep the brain
going for hours. Educators need to inform parents and kids about what to eat to
help them learn.
Acquisition
Julie's teacher has strong models of so-called "good
teaching," including the traditional stand-and-deliver model, in which the
goal is to get and keep students' attention. But the process of learning is
complex. First, much of what we learn comes to us indirectly. Second, the
physiological state in which we learn mediates how much we comprehend. A
hopeful student and a discouraged student learn differently. Finally, by
engaging in trial-and-error learning, students will more likely become lifelong
learners.
Too much attention to anything may be counteradaptive.
An excessively focused brain may be more susceptible to predators. Although we
no longer fear saber-toothed tigers, school threats today come in more subtle
packages, such as peer embarrassment. In addition, when teachers insist on
holding students' attention, they miss the fact that much learning comes
through indirect acquisition, such as peer discussion or environmental stimuli.
By making excessive attentional demands on students, teachers can create
resentful learners.
Ultimately, brain-compatible teachers may engage learners'
attention only 20 to 40 percent of the time and still do a great job. Teachers
need to keep attentional demands to short bursts of no longer than the age of
their learners in minutes. For a 1st grader, that's about 6 consecutive
minutes; for a high schooler, that's up to 15 minutes. Julie's teacher will
want to use attention sparingly for introductions, key ideas, directions,
lecturettes, reviews, stories, and closings. The rest of the overall learning
time (processing, encoding, and "neural rest") ought to be student
time, used for processing, projects, discussions, group work, partner work,
self-assessment, journal writing, feedback, design, research, mapping,
interviews, review, or memorization.
Another strategy to boost acquisition is enhancing prior
knowledge. Teachers can provide content slowly, increasing the quantity over a
period of days or weeks. This builds connections so that when it's time to
explore a topic in depth, every student has the necessary background. Julie is
better off not jumping in all at once, but nibbling at learning over
time. To do this, teachers should post key points on the bulletin board weeks
in advance of assessments.
State-of-mind management is another factor behind
acquisition. Great learning states include curiosity, anticipation, and
challenge. Each state is defined by a unique brain chemistry formulation that
includes neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin and hormones like
adrenaline. The best teachers successfully manage these optimal learning
states. Better yet, they empower their learners to manage them for themselves.
Julie's teacher might want to give directions for a complex project in smaller,
more interesting chunks. This prevents students from hearing all the directions
at once, feeling overwhelmed and discouraged, and then being unmotivated to do
the task.
In-depth learning requires the formation of complex,
multilayered neural networks. Individual neurons are not very smart. Timely and
accurate feedback helps neurons learn first to fire together, then to wire
together as a network. When we activate the right neurons, we get a
"smarter" organism. Superior learners learn by systematic trial and
error. Eventually, they will get the right answer, but more important, they eliminate
the wrong answers. In some ways, the worst thing that can happen is for a
student to get the right answer immediately. Teachers need to orchestrate
circumstances that allow more trial and error. This might include research,
discussions, team problem-solving, and projects that have built-in
opportunities for self-correction.
What should be the proportion of student time to the total
class time? That depends on several variables: learner background, content
complexity, and accountability. Teachers ought to spend 55 to 80 percent of
their time allowing students to process information. Most teachers don't set
aside this time and therefore do an enormous amount of reteaching. Typically,
state curriculum standards push each year for more in-depth critical thinking
and, paradoxically, for more wide-ranging content. Teachers can go wider or
deeper, but not both; something's got to give.
We see evidence of acquisition by the formation of new
synaptic connections. Each cell body, or neuron, has spindly branches called
dendrites and a single longer projection called an axon. The axon of one cell
will typically connect with the dendrites of another. These connections are
formed when experiences are both novel and coherent. If experiences are
familiar, the existing connections may simply be strengthened. If experiences
are incoherent, no learning may result. The sources for acquisition are
endless. They may include discussion, lectures, visual tools, environmental
stimuli, hands-on experiences, role models, reading, manipulatives, videos,
reflection, projects, and pair-share activities. No single way is best for
students to learn, but the age-old rule still applies: Students who do the
talking and the doing do the learning.
Elaboration
When Julie's teacher asks questions and gets a blank look or
a trivial answer, she's puzzled. She shouldn't be. A synaptic connection is
often temporary. Neural space is expensive real estate, and the brain builds
only what's needed. To ensure that the brain maintains synaptic connections, we
need elaboration to strengthen the original contact.
Elaboration is the sorting, sifting, analyzing, testing, and
deepening of learning in a way that gives students genuine feedback on how well
they understand. It ensures not only that students "own" information,
but also that the information is correct. The best feedback is specific and
timely.
Julie's teacher still lives in the old paradigm for feedback,
in which the classroom teacher is the primary source. But because there's not
enough time for any teacher to give enough feedback to every student, teachers
have to make sure students get feedback from multiple sources: peer editing,
discussions, student-generated rubrics, answer sheets, pair-share, video or
audiotaping, predictions, journal writing, outside speakers, or reference
materials. When all these are used collectively, students can get sufficient
feedback every 30 minutes or less, every single day. Not only will they be more
accurate in what they learn, but they will also develop greater intrinsic
motivation. Students' brains develop better patterns of thinking because they
have more thorough, detailed, reality-tested models for learning.
Encoding
After elaboration, you'd think Julie's brain would have
permanently encoded the day's learning. Not necessarily. Learning the
information may create a memory trace, but this may not be strong enough to
activate at test time. The retrievability of newly created memories depends on
many factors: rest, emotional intensity, context, nutrition, quantity of
associations, matching states, and learned pathways. But unless Julie's teacher
knows this, she'll persist in the old model that says that memory is like a
bank of records that students just need to try harder to retrieve.
Rest is a powerful memory aid because during our dream time,
we process learning from the previous day. We discard meaningless information
and strengthen the rest. When deprived of dream time, or REM (rapid eye
movement) sleep, we can still learn material with strict memorization, but we
are weaker at logic and can't learn complex material. The more students are
exposed to new learning, the more time their brains should engage in the
critical REM state. Infants dream the most, elderly people the least. Teachers must
remind students that getting enough sleep will maximize their studying.
Intense emotions during or after learning is a reliable way
to produce long-term memory encoding. Emotions excite the brain's chemical
system, and the adrenaline released acts as a memory fixative, locking up
memories of exciting or traumatic events. To engage appropriate emotions,
Julie's teacher could use such strategies as better role modeling,
competitions, journal writing, celebrations, dramas, creative writing, humor,
student presentations, and impending deadlines.
If Julie learns in a classroom and then is tested in a media
center or an auditorium, she'll likely underperform. Similarly, if Julie learns
in a particular emotional state, she will most readily recall her learning in
that same state. If Julie's teacher makes the initial learning fun and playful,
the teacher needs to create a second, "rehearsal" stage before giving
the more stressful exam.
The neurotransmitter acetylcholine is instrumental in
long-term memory formation. Dietary sources include lecithin (found in eggs,
salmon, and lean beef). Calpain (derived from calcium) helps digest protein and
unblock receptors. Phenylalanine, found in dairy products, helps manufacture
norepinephrine, which is also involved in alertness and attention. Researchers
postulate that the chemistry of our body, which regulates our physiological
states, is critical in triggering our recall.
Increasing the quantity of associations is a good way to
increase recall. Because all recall is associative, the more ways that
Julie knows the material, the better. She could know about a country through
economics, geography, politics, culture, business, and entertainment. She could
learn U.S. history through many different points of view: a male, a female, a
Caucasian, an Asian, or a Hispanic.
Finally, teachers must match the memory mechanism at
assessment time. Otherwise, a student will know the information but will not be
able to demonstrate knowing it. The semantic memory system processes words, facts,
pictures, stories, and text. If students learn with this pathway, they will
need to activate similar associations to retrieve information. This highly
volatile and malleable storage system needs constant reviews, mnemonics, word
associations, prompts, and practice.
The episodic memory pathway is activated by unique
circumstances and locations rather than content. Julie will remember where
she was when she learned something more easily than she will recall what
she learned. Teachers can activate episodic memory by providing frequent
location, posture, group, and scenery changes to create unique
"addresses" for learning.
The procedural and reflexive pathways are less malleable and
harder to test because they reflect a different kind of learning that includes
body learning, conditioned responses, and intuitive knowing. Teachers can
engage and assess this type of learning through activity, movement, emotion,
drama, repetition, and games.
Each memory pathway appeals to different students and has
strong implications for assessment and learning transfer. Realistically,
matching learning with assessment is just one of many challenges teachers face
to make their classrooms brain-compatible. But it's worth striving for. The
more that schools more closely match teaching to the way students' brains
actually learn, the more likely they are to reach students and bring out their
natural motivation to learn.
Increasing Brain Power
Even the best schools can't turn a mediocre student into a
genius. But the experiences that we provide for students can make an enormous
difference. Frederick Goodwin of the National Institutes of Health estimates
that we can influence students' IQs 20 points in either direction--that's a 40
point IQ swing (Kotulak, 1996)! We educators can and must do our best to bring
out the talents of tomorrow's citizens. Brain-compatible learning is a strong
and positive step in the right direction. *
References
Elman, J., Bates, E., Johnson, M., Karmiloff-Smith, A.,
Parisi, D., & Plunkett, K. (1998). Rethinking innateness. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Hartocollis, A. (1998, Jan. 13). Midwood High students take
Westinghouse honors. New York Times, p. B3.
Kotulak, R. (1996). Inside the brain. Kansas City, MO:
Andrews & McMeel.
Pert, C. (1997). Molecules of emotion. New York:
Scribner.
Thayer, R. (1989). The biopsychology of mood and arousal.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Eric Jensen, a former
teacher, is a staff developer and member of the Society for Neuroscience. He's
the author of nine books on the brain and learning, including ASCD's Teaching
with the Brain in Mind. The author may be reached at Box 2551, Del Mar, CA
92014 (e-mail: jlcbrain@
connectnet.com).
The 100 basic words
The 100 basic
words used in conversation are shown below. These typically comprise around 50%
of all words used:
