Getting Ready # 13 Sensory Teaching and Learning
“This same multiple storage systems
also benefits from a variety of learning experiences on the part of the
students. The best way to learn complex skills is by using them to construct a memory of knowledge by doing something with it.
This includes the opportunities for less
direct instruction and more instructor guidance as students themselves
construct their knowledge and understanding with experiential and inquiry-based
learning, problem-solving, project-based
learning, and collaborative groups. Again, a variety of representations of what
students learn throughout the development of a new knowledge base will increase
the regions of memory storage, thus providing another source of evidence for
the benefits of using writing or the arts throughout the curriculum”. (Willis
and Mitchell, 2014).
What does this mean to you as you prepare your lessons? For
example, should you do the talking for the first 30 minutes and then give the
students a worksheet to complete as you sit down to grade yesterday’s work? Or
should you complete a short anticipatory set to engage your students and then
proceed with strategies that engage your students in meaningful activities that
connect to previous learning? Naturally,
there are many variations and complexities involved; however, creating lessons
that engage your children in experimenting,
inquiry, problem solving, collaboration
with classmates, and exploration will engage
your children in a meaningful teaching
and learning experience.
Please share some of your most effective strategies in the
comment section below. As you know, teachers benefit more from the expertise of
other successful and effective teachers than any other form of teacher
learning.
Willis,
J., & Mitchell, G. (2014). The neuroscience of learning: Principles and
applications for educators. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
