Parents often ask me, "What is brain-based learning?"
Brain-based learning is much more than just a concept or
teaching theory. Instead of being an abstract philosophy,
it is fundamental to the learning process by seeking to
understand how the brain learns. The brain is a lot like
the other organs of the body (such as the heart or lungs)
in that it serves a natural function. Since the function of
the brain is to learn and it comes equipped with a set of
exceptional features, brain-based learning is organizing
education to optimize these features. Our brain functions
in many more complex ways than just memorizing facts,
and therefore we cannot separate our teaching approach
from the innate brain styles of learning. Assuming that
learning takes place primarily through rote memorization
of facts is a bit like looking at the moon and believing we
have understood the whole galaxy. There is much more!
The brain searches for connections on many levels of
learning to understand how new concepts relate to
previous experiences and find underlying value in the
usefulness of what is being learned. Educators need to orchestrate the learning experience to this
fundamental brain behavior so that education is, in the words of Leslie Hart (1983), "brain
compatible" rather than "brain antagonistic."
A simple example illustrating this distinction is the way in
which parallel lines are often taught in
geometry. Children experience parallel lines daily
before ever taking a geometry class. The
average student has experienced thousands of examples of parallel lines in
their toys, windows,
fences, pictures and so on. Yet, when the concept is taught in geometry,
often the teacher will draw
lines on the board and the students will
mechanically copy down an abstract definition into their
notes. Since this concept is taught in a "new" way
that doesn't consider previous learning
experiences, the brain will hardwire
this abstract concept by creating new pathways and connections
in the brain. No
effort has been made to use the rich connectivity that already exists in their
brains to
give them the instant "Aha!" understanding of what parallel lines
really are and how they are useful.
Teaching students to use their past experiences to identify with new
concepts not only makes learning
easier and more applicable, but it also makes
memorization and recall easier because the new
material is "cued" to previously
stored pathways.
Currently mathematics, reading, writing, history, and
science are often seen as separate disciplines
that are often unrelated to the
daily life of the learner. The brain
seeks to make connections between
these disciplines to find meaning, purpose
and applicability to the real world.
Brain-based learning, in
essence, seeks to teach in a way the brain can
recognize and organize, by relating learning to
previous experience and finding
the common information that unifies all disciplines. This is the goal
of our holistic tutoring
programs, and your tutor is the common ground that connects your student's
learning experiences together.
Every learning experience embeds information in the brain
and connects this information with past
knowledge and future behavior. Therefore, educators should primarily focus
on expanding the
quality and quantity of ways in which a learner is exposed to
content and context. We call this
process, "immersion". Brain research has
shown that the more children can talk about what they are
doing (Cohen 1984)
and the more their teachers use the appropriate vocabulary in teaching, the
greater the learning (Harste 1989, Moraes 1986). The learner needs to be engaged in reading,
viewing, talking, listening, valuing, and acting. We are happy to provide your student with
new, rich
learning experiences and recognize the importance of regular tutoring
to provide this immersion that
is so
fundamental to the learning process.
