TASK 6
Think about how learning about some basic concepts about the brain helps you understand a little about how your own brain works. How do you suppose those ideas connect to teaching and learning?
It is always important to bear in mind that we are all learners and that roles in the classroom frequently interchange. As teachers we must have an open agenda to foster and tend to learners' needs and even moods. Knowing that emotion is an important factor to bond chemical and electrical processes can be a reminder to plan ahead for a 'plan B' in class planning and management. Something Dr. Ivan Isquierdo mentions in his book 'The Art of Forgetting' (my translation for A Arte de Esquecer, 2010) is that the best recommendations to activate and exercise our memory is #1 reading, #2 reading and #3 reading! He claims that when we read we activate verbal, visual, image and even motor memories. I sure have a lot to learn!
Mmm, interesting to consider that my children/students read a lot less than I ever did because they rely so much more on visual input (movies rather than books; TV rather than newspaper; Youtube rather than radio). Does this mean that their brains are less activated and their memories less exercised? Is this part of the brain continuing to evolve? I don't know...
ResponderExcluirHey Karen - interesting thought and I guess a dangerous conclusion. I wouldn't go as far as saying or attempting to qualify or even classify 'brain activation'. There is a lot of reading involved in new media today, so youngsters are requested to interact and make decisions on the go to 'pass to the next level'. We have been deprived from exercising the idiosyncrasies of today's new technologies. I'm guessing the memory portion of our brain is not responsible alone for its plasticity and I'm hoping to shed some more light on my ignorance through the readings in this course. Your comments and thoughts are welcome!:)
ResponderExcluir