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SessioN Description
SessioN Description
In this information-packed session, we will explore the cognitive science behind memory, attention, critical thinking, and more. Learn powerful evidence-based strategies to harness the brain’s natural learning capacities and limitations. Whether you teach preschoolers or PhD candidates, this session will provide applicable takeaways to enhance your instruction.
What Is Brain-Based Learning?
What Is Brain-Based Learning?
Brain-based learning can be defined as all learning theories in education that use research from the following fields as their basis:
Psychology
Neuroscience
Technology
In other words, strategies that fall under the brain-based learning umbrella include anything developed to align with the way our brains naturally learn. There’s no one set theory that encompasses brain-based learning, so the breadth of it all can feel daunting. However, it also means that anything you do to stay on top of educational science and bring it to the classroom contributes to the use of brain-based learning with your students.
Researchers found that teachers who implement brain-based learning often see both increased knowledge retention and academic performance. Not only do students score higher on test scores, but they also remember the skills they’ve learned and can use them beyond the classroom.
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Want to Learn More?
Want to Learn More?
Consider taking the TCEA online course "Brain-Based Learning." New brain research comes out regularly, and the results of many of these studies are highlighted in this course. Throughout the course, you will gain strategies to apply what you have learned to your own teaching practices. The course is self-paced, which means you can move through it as quickly or as slowly as you want. And you have a full year to complete, although it usually only takes a few days.
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Brain and Learning Myths
Brain and Learning Myths
People tend toward either left brain thinking or right brain thinking. The left and right hemispheres of the brain work together. There is no evidence that people’s learning differs in important ways based on one hemisphere being more dominant than the other.
Individuals have different learning styles (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic). Many individuals will state preferences for the way in which they want to learn, but there is no evidence that matching a teaching technique to a preferred style will improve learning, despite this hypothesis being tested multiple times. Appealing to multiple learning styles can be useful because cross-connections are created when people perform tasks in a manner different from their “preferred” cognitive style. It’s the variety of brain regions recruited through multiple neural pathways that makes learning most effective for all learners.
Parental help with homework positively impacts elementary student achievement. “There is no statistically significant association between parental help with homework in elementary school and children’s achievement, period,” said Katerina Bodovski, professor of education. In fact, a number of studies, including an article by University of Delaware Professor Laura Desimone, have demonstrated a negative impact of parental help with homework on children’s achievement. The negative relationship has been explained by the fact that parents tend to help struggling children and that their efforts were not enough to overcome the students’ deficiencies.
Lesson planning should be based on Bloom's Taxonomy. The taxonomy is not empirically validated and focuses on abstract cognitive domains rather than on learners. The taxonomy is not learner-centered and does not answer questions regarding a learner’s autonomy, competence and social relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2012), all critical to learning. Motivation, the key component to learning, is not part of the concept.
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New Studies and Findings
New Studies and Findings
Reading print improves comprehension far more than looking at digital text. A study from the University of Valencia found that print reading could boost skills by six to eight times more than digital reading. Their research encompassed more than 470,000 participants over 22 years. The authors also said that young children engaging in frequent digital reading may learn less academic vocabulary “in a critical period when they are shifting from learning to read to reading to learn.”
Active learning tends to engage broader neural networks and promote deeper cognitive processing compared to direct instruction. Active learning activates regions involved in executive function, attention, and memory formation more strongly. It leads to greater connectivity between brain areas associated with higher-order thinking. Direct instruction can be effective for foundational knowledge, but may not engage higher cognitive processes as deeply.
Active learning (vs. passively receiving direct teaching) includes:
Student-centered approach rather than teacher-centered
Students actively processing and applying information rather than passively listening
Development of higher-order thinking skills like critical thinking and problem-solving
Increased student engagement and interaction
In active learning, the teacher's role is to:
Design and implement interactive learning activities
Guide discussions and prompt student reflection
Provide feedback and clarification as needed
Create opportunities for students to teach and learn from each other
Providing worked examples demonstrating the steps taken in the critical thinking process of using AI fosters critical thinking. This approach suggests using AI not as an answer tool but as a process tool. Use the Navigator's Approach method which involves analyzing an AI output by observing its details, then comparing it with a reliable outside source. In this analogy, AI outputs are the map, the AI user is the journeyer, and the verified source is the actual terrain. For instance, students could use AI to generate a summary of a historical or current event and then compare this with information from a trusted textbook or website.
Here are the three steps to show in a worked example in class:
Observe – Identify the features of the AI output, even if it feels self-evident. For example, how many points are there? What are the points? How long are the points
Question – Brainstorm questions to ask and possible answers based on initial impressions. For example, Is this true and accurate? Is it specific and relevant? Is it fair? Is it usable? What might be missing?
Compare/Check – Find an authoritative source to review or compare with the AI output.
The integration of physical movement during learning has shown positive effects on cognitive function and memory retention. Research by Hillman et al. published in Nature Reviews Psychology highlighted how brief physical activity breaks can enhance attention and executive function in students.
Digital tools provide immediate feedback, allowing students to recognize and correct mistakes in real-time, fostering self-regulated learning strategies. Immediate feedback engages neural circuits involved in error detection and correction, enhancing learning efficiency. According to Hattie and Timperley (2017), timely feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement.
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How Can You Stay Current?
How Can You Stay Current?
Perplexity AI Chatbot - Try using this prompt for the latest research results:
"Provide a summary of the latest validated research on how the brain learns, focusing on implications for teaching and learning in K-16 education. Please include:
Key findings or principles from each study
How these findings can be applied in educational settings
A brief, reliable citation for each study, including publication year and journal (e.g., Journal of Educational Psychology, 2024) Aim for studies published within the last 1-2 years, focusing on reliable sources and peer-reviewed journals."
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