Week+3

Recent research in neuroscience shows that each brain processes information differently. The way we learn is as individual as DNA or fingerprints. In its research, CAST has identified three primary brain networks and the roles they play in learning.

How the brain works has a significant impact on what kinds of learning activities are most effective. Educators need to help students have appropriate experiences and capitalize on those experiences. Renate Nummela and Geoffrey Caine are experts in natural learning principles. Here are the three interactive elements essential to these principles as they are applied to public education:
 * Teachers must immerse learners in complex, interactive experiences that are both rich and real. One excellent example is immersing students in a foreign culture to teach them a second language. Educators must take advantage of the brain’s ability to parallel process.
 * Students must have a personally meaningful challenge. Such challenges stimulate a student’s mind to the desired state of alertness.
 * In order for a student to gain insight about a problem, there must be intensive analysis of the different ways to approach it, and about learning in general. This is what’s known as the “active processing of experience.”

A few other elements of brain-based learning include:

Feedback is best when it comes from reality, rather than from an authority figure.

People learn best when solving realistic problems.

The big picture can’t be separated from the details.

Because every brain is different, educators should allow learners to customize their own environments.

The best problem solvers are those that laugh!

Designers of educational tools **must be artistic** in their creation of brain-friendly environments. Instructors need to realize that the best way to learn is not through lecture, but by participation in realistic environments that let learners try new things safely.



Gathering facts. How we identify and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Identifying letters, words, or an author's style are recognition tasks—the "what" of learning. Planning and performing tasks. How we organize and express our ideas. Writing an essay or solving a math problem are strategic tasks—the "how" of learning. How students are engaged and motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions—the "why" of learning.
 * Recognition networks**
 * Strategic networks**
 * Affective networks**