EduLog

In the last post I wrote about a very simplified version of how our brains process information - what is forgotten; what is retained for further processing and how long term memory is developed. Here I will revise some key points and explain the teaching and learning implications for teachers and students.  As I discussed, the working memory has limited capacity. Information stays here for about 5-10 minutes (for kids) and 10-20minuts (for adults). The number of items/chunks of information is between 2-5 (for kids) and between 5-9 (for adults). This has a serious implications for teaching and information retention. All teachers hope that each student will store the information for long term use and in fact reproduce it in exams. If you are a school teacher or a student, you know that a period is between 20-30minutes. Because students can concentrate for only 20 minutes. This is still long period for the brain to work on one activity, so teachers do different activities in one ...

Now that we have learnt the different parts of the brain and their function ( here ) and the structure of a brain cell or neuron ( here ), this post is intended to explain a model of how the brain processes new information. By knowing this process, you will be able to know how to manage and optimise your learning. The brain receives information from the environment. The environment around us has stimulus. For example someone talking to us is a stimulus. A book that we read is a stimulus. Our senses such as hearing and sight receive these stimuli from the environment and pass them on to the brain. Different parts of the brain process these information in seconds and also simultaneously. But during this processing some information is lost, some is retained and stored. So what happens between receiving the information from the environment through to losing and/or retaining it. Before I explain each part the information is passed through, scan this image and note the path o...

In the first post , I described the different parts of the brain and their different, mostly overlapping, functions. To understand neuro science, one also needs to understand the brain cell or neuron and its structure. In this post I talk about the two types of cells in the brain. Then focusing neurons, I will use a hand and arm analogy to explain the two parts of neuron before going into the technical details of the neuron structure and how information can be lost or retained and passed on. I will tell you a cool fact at the end of the post.   The brain is composed of trillions of cells. These are of two types: the nerve cells or neurons and the glial cells . The brain is mostly of glial cells . Gail cells act as blood-brain barrier and protects the neuron from the blood substance that may disrupt the neural activities. These glial cells hold the neurons together and keep harmful substance out of reach of the neurons . It also regulates the neuron signals. The neu...

Neuro science is science of learning. Educational institutions are hugely investing in research on neuro science because this is the new way of improving educational outcomes. So, if you feel you are not so good in learning, try understanding how your brain works; I am pretty sure you will manage and improve your learning capacity. The human brain or nervous system once considered to be only relevant for people studying science subjects is becoming very relevant to every learner. To start understanding what neuro science or science of learning is, one needs to know the basics of the brain. This post is about the brain and its function. It will set a foundation for the future posts on how your brain processes information. Everyone knows that the brain controls all sorts of activities of the body such as: Thinking Problem solving Recognition of faces and objects Receiving and processing sensory memories like touch, pain, sight, taste, hearing, cold/hot Monitoring and contr...

In one of my posts ( here ) I talked about how feedback can be useful to develop a growth mindset. Here I will demonstrate as how we can use testing strategy to provide in-depth feedback, work with students and consequently developing a growth mindset. Testing students without feedback and without giving proper time to discuss the feedback is just time wasted teaching a topic. While acknowledging that testing is not the only way of feeding back to improve students learning, here I take testing as one possible case of how to develop deep learning through feedback. I would like to start with a case in a science classroom: Ms R is teaching the topic “Cells and Tissues” to class 6 th . She has almost finished teaching the topic and today she completes the remaining few bit in half a lesson. In the second half of the lesson, she asks students to prepare for an upcoming test. She thinks that since she has taught all the content related to the topic, students should be able to prepare...

Relevant for: Teachers and School principals. A typical recess time in our schools goes with this understanding: Students need a break to eat something. They need to go outside the class and play for sometimes so they can refocus later in the day. Teachers need a break to feed themselves so they can also get through the day. In some schools teachers do recess duty to look after discipline during break time. But how effective is this time used? Can we look at using it differently and can we use it more effectively? I believe we can. Recess or break time can be used to develop social skills, emotional management and for relationship building. Outdoor physical activities are an ideal time to develop social and emotional learning. Playgrounds are the best space to build positive relationships. Sometimes it is done unconsciously while other times proper instruction and preparation is required. During recess, teacher can get involved in the activity/game/play that the student...

Dr. Carol Dweck and her colleagues studied students’ attitude about failure. They came up with the underlying principles of learning and intelligence as fixed mindset and growth mind set. From an educationist point of view, I will try to explain when students develop fixed mindset or growth mindset and how can teachers help in developing a growth mindset in students? Understanding how the brain works is the first step towards growth mindset. Students as young as in primary school need to learn how the brain has neurons and how they are inter-connected making a network. By learning about the brain and how it works, students develop an understanding that their mindset is not fixed but changeable, they will put more effort in developing a growth mindset. How can this understanding be developed? Brainstorming on what the brain does? What is intelligent? Do we have equal intelligent? Are animals intelligent? Can we improve our intelligent? is a good start point. Then teaching them a...

Recently I came across a post by a mother concerned for her four year old girl. The concern was in relation to reading the kind of story books involving prince and princess and the idea that the prince is the rescuer … “he recues her” as she would say. She rightly indicates ‘a boy recuing a girl’ might not be fit in today’s world. I will try and explain as how such cases can be handled in a manner that would help both the child and the mother. These strategies can be used with primary through to high school kids. There are many books, including our own text books where gender role is explicitly divided. Man would be ploughing the field while woman would be cooking food. Man would be driving a tractor while woman would carry water from the well. Men praying in a mosque while women in the kitchen with deserts for Eid celebrations. There are many such examples and the question is, can we avoid them? Or to be more specific, should we avoid them? Can we control what our kids rea...

There is a difference between punishing children and disciplining them. Punishment is the use of force. It involves power-relations in which an adult uses his/her authority on a weaker being as the student. It does not work all the time and equally well with all students. It is a general practice in our schools that usually the same students are punished again and again which indicates that it does not work. As a result of punishment the students develop hatred towards the teacher. There are many soft versions of punishment, however discipline is an alternative option teachers should opt. Discipline, unlike punishment, is proactive and begins before the problem occurs. Discipline teaches fairness, responsibility, life skill and problem solving. Discipline is done when the teacher and the student are in a calm state and there are no aggressive emotions and feelings. While disciplining, we must teach the behaviours we want to see. This will layout the foundation for prevention of prob...