Learning to Think: Thinking to Learn Lesley Dodd – 2004 Learning to Think: Thinking to Learn Introduction The Brain Much of what we understand about how the brain works has been discovered during the last ten years. Advanced scanning technology has enabled neuro – scientists to detect and analyse the parts of the brain that are active during thinking and learning. We can put this knowledge to good use to improve learning and teaching in our classrooms. How do the different parts of the brain work together to help us to learn? The Brainstem This is the most primitive part of our brain. It regulates basic life functions such as breathing, and controls our reactions and movements. It keeps our bodies running as they should, and ensures survival. Under stress, the brainstem tells us to fight, to run away or to freeze. If we feel stress when we are learning, the Brainstem can slow down our learning. It is sometimes called The Reptilian Brain and cannot be said to think or learn. The Neo Cortex The top layers of our brain allow us to think rationally and to solve problems. We achieve higher levels of thinking using this part of the brain. This ‘thinking’ brain evolved over millions of years and grew from our emotional brain, the Limbic System. The Limbic System This is the emotional and long-term memory part of our brain. We are good learners, and can remember things well, when we can use our emotions as we learn. When we are comfortable, at ease and relaxed we can learn! To maximise learning capacity we need to provide a calm and secure environment within which we can create degrees of challenge. We can then use our ‘thinking brains’ more effectively. The Brain Needs Fuel • The brain uses over 20% of the body’s oxygen. • It requires water, rest and protein. • When we sit down for long periods of time, the brain is not as efficient because we use less oxygen. • If we haven’t had anything to eat or drink for a long period of time we run out of fuel, and learning becomes difficult. If we have to sit for a long time in lessons and we are thirsty or hungry, we will be inefficient learners. Brain-based Learning The neo cortex, the thinking brain, is divided into left and right hemispheres. We use both sides of the brain to a greater or lesser extent in virtually all activities. Some people however, use one side of the brain more than the other. The logical left hemisphere helps us with language, number and logic, sequencing, writing, reading and fine detail. The creative right hemisphere helps us to visualise, to see patterns, images and pictures and to appreciate music, art and design. Although the two sides operate in different ways we should aim to connect the hemispheres. If we can learn in variety of ways, we can retrieve information easily when we need to. The brain enjoys multi- sensory simultaneous input! Information that has been received, processed and stored in a variety of ways is much more likely to be retrieved when we need it! Learning is best done when a balance of multisensory approaches is used. About Learning The average concentration span for children is their chronological age plus two minutes! Everyone learns more at the beginning of a lesson because concentration is higher, and there is usually an element of anticipation…… If we are asked to sit and listen for a long time we lose concentration, stop learning and may misbehave. If we are asked to concentrate for longer than we are capable, we stop learning and sometimes misbehave! Learning Styles Everyone has a preferred learning style. Some people like to see pictures and diagrams, moving images and colour. These people are visual learners. 29% of people are visual learners. Some people like to hear sounds and voices. These people are auditory learners. 34% people are auditory learners. Some people like to do things practically, move around and use touch to learn. These people are kinaesthetic learners. 37% of people are kinaesthetic learners. We all use a combination of these learning styles, but most of us prefer to learn using only one or two of these ways. If we can learn to use both sides of the neo cortex (whole brain learning), and use different learning styles, our learning will improve. See Appendix 1 for strategies to use with different styles of learning. Giving the Brain a Workout - The Brain Gym This is an effective way of improving the connections between both sides of the brain. A series of different exercises can be done to link the left and right hemispheres. The left side of the body is controlled by the right brain, and vice versa. The exercises also improve blood flow to the brain and this supplies the brain with oxygen. They are ideal to use in the classroom to refocus the children and for relaxation and release. Some exercises Practice rolling your head in circles: slowly one way, then slowly the other. Pat your head with your right hand and rub your stomach with your left hand, then swap round your hands and rub your head and pat your stomach. There is a long list of brain break activities like these in Appendix 2. Some of them can be done with music. Thinking skills Research suggests that there is much we can do to help children to learn to be better thinkers. When we talk about ‘thinking skills’ we are referring to higher order thinking. This is more than just rote learning. Learning how, for example, to spell a word for a weekly test does not require higher order thinking – devising a strategy to help to remember how to spell the word does! Children need to be able to judge, analyse and think critically. They also need to think clearly and creatively and use information to solve problems. If we allow them time to reflect on their tasks and to challenge ideas, they will be able to deepen understanding. Thinking skills teachers attempt to make children aware of their own thinking, and show them strategies they can use in all areas of the curriculum. We can: 1. Teach explicit strategies for learning. 2. Provide challenge and interest to motivate. 3. Encourage supportive collaboration. 4. Help them to think about their learning. The National Curriculum lists five higher-order skills children should develop: Information processing The ability to locate and collect relevant information, to sort, classify, sequence, compare and contrast. Reasoning The ability to give reasons for their opinions and actions, to draw inferences and make deductions, to use precise language to explain what they think, and to make judgements and decisions informed by reasons and/or evidence. Enquiry The ability to ask relevant questions, to pose and define problems, to plan what to do and ways to research, to predict outcomes and anticipate consequences and to test conclusions and improve ideas. Creative thinking The ability to generate and extend ideas, to suggest hypotheses, to apply imagination, and to look for alternative innovative outcomes. Evaluation The ability to evaluate information, to judge and value what they read, hear and do, to develop criteria for judging the value of their own and others’ work or ideas, and to have confidence in their judgements. We can strive to create a learning environment which will stimulate the development of these mental processes, and plan to infuse them in lessons throughout all areas of the curriculum. We can attempt to make our children conscious of their thinking and we can show them strategies to use in all their learning. The Thinking Classroom The strategies described here will enable teachers to address the higher-order skills described in the National Curriculum, and can be used throughout the curriculum. Questioning The thinking classroom can be a place where children ask questions as well as give answers. Skilled questioning can generate high-level thinking and discussion, and also provide an excellent model for children so that they can adopt self-questioning strategies. Allowing time for reflection and providing opportunities for discussion also contributes to the thinking process. Bloom’s Taxonomy In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of educational psychologists who developed a classification of intellectual behaviour important to learning. Bloom found that 95% of test questions encountered by pupils required them to think only at the lowest possible level…the recall of information. He identified six levels within the cognitive domain, and created a taxonomy for categorising the level of abstraction of questions that commonly occur in educational settings. His taxonomy is useful to us because, it allows us to determine the levels and the quality of the questions we can use with our children. The Levels of abstraction of questions High EVALUATION • Judge • Evaluate • Recommend • Justify • Question Example – Is there a better solution to…? High SYNTHESIS • Compose • Invent • Predict • Create Example – What would happen if…? High ANALYSIS • Compare • Infer • Contrast Example – If,,, happened what might the ending have been? Middle APPLICATION • Report • Demonstrate • Complete Example – What questions would you ask of…? Low KNOWLEDGE and COMPREHENSION • Describe • Retell • Name • Locate Examples What happened after…? What do you think could happen next…? More information on questioning can be found in Appendix 3 – Questioning Techniques to Develop Comprehension. Mind Mapping Mind mapping is a powerful thinking tool. It is a graphical technique that mirrors the way the brain works, and was invented by Tony Buzan. Mind mapping helps to make thinking visible. Most people make notes using lined paper and blue or black ink. Making notes more attractive to the brain by adding colour and rhythm can aid the learning process, and can help to make learning fun.