Teaching for Understanding

1. Teaching for Understanding How the Brain Works Part 1

2. The Rule:If there is a vowel on one side, there must be an even number on the other side. A 2 B 3 Your job is to verify whether this rule is met for this set of four cards, and to turn over the minimum number of cards necessary to do so. Which cards would you turn over?

3. The Rule:If you’re drinking beer, then you must be 21 or over. 31 17 Beer Coke Imagine that you are a bouncer in a bar. Each card represents a patron, with the person’s age on one side and their drink on the other side. Your job is to verify whether this rule is met for this set of four people, turning over the minimum number of cards necessary to do so. Which cards would you turn over?

4. Which was easier? This one? 31 17 Beer Coke A 2 B 3 …or this one? WHY?

5. The brain is not designed for thinking. It’s designed to save you from having to think. * Dr. Daniel T. Willingham, Why Don’t Students Like School?

6. People are naturally curious, but we are not naturally good thinkers; unless the cognitive conditions are right, we will avoid thinking.* * Dr. Daniel T. Willingham, Why Don’t Students Like School?

7. The ICC Characteristics of Effective Instruction- if present in a classroom environment- will create the right cognitive conditions for thinking and learning.

8. What information about the brain and how it works could help us to better understand the cognitive conditions necessary for optimal thinking and learning?

9. Could understanding the brain and how it works help us to articulate the Characteristics of Effective Instruction to our learners?

10. A Model of Information Processing Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-Term Memory Eyes Ears Nose Tongue Skin Not transferred to next stage and therefore forgotten

11. Sight R E C E P T O R S Sound Sensory Memory Initial Processing Smell Taste Touch Not transferred to next stage and therefore forgotten

12. There are three factors that strongly influence whether or not the brain pays attention to incoming stimuli… 1 Novelty Whether or not the information has meaning and relevance 2 3 Whether or not the information has an emotional component or hook

13. The brain is continuously trying to make sense out of its world, attempting to determine what is meaningful in what it experiences.

15. What if there is no existing category to fit new information into? Is it possible to learn new information without context or connections? ?

16. THE MONTILLATION OF TRAXOLINE It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristeriate large amounts of fevon and then bracter it to quasel Traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge.

17. Would it be possible for a student to learn something well enough to ace a test over it… without really understanding the material’s meaning or relevance? ?

19. = a = d = g = h = b = e = c = i = f a b c d e f g h i

20. If we want to make information meaningful to students, we have two options… Find an experience they’ve had and hook the new information to it, or… 1 2 Create a new experiencewith them.

21. Characteristics of Effective Instruction Student-Centered Classroom Teaching for Understanding Assessment FOR Learning Rigorous & Relevant Curriculum Teaching for Learner Differences

22. FIRST: Individually read the article & process it using one of the three processing sheets: • NEXT: Meet/discuss w/ same color • FINALLLY: Return to home team/ Combine perspectives/ Discuss

23. Attributes: Teaching for Understanding • Inducting students into the discipline • Teaching for transfer • Long-term, thinking-centered process • Rich, on-going assessment • Powerful representations • Paying heed to developmental factors

24. The Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria The ICC Characteristics of Effective Instruction