The Learning Brain - Suggestions for Teachers

1. 6. Attention cannot be maintained for long periods of time (~20 minutes); try to break up demanding tasks so as to hold their attention, which will improve learning.
2. 7. Our short-term memory, which is important for learning, can only cope with about seven individual items, and although some children will be able to cope with nine items, others will struggle beyond five. However, an “item” can contain chunks of information and by appropriate “chunking” it is possible to optimise a child’s short term memory. For example, a child might only remember seven random letters when shown separately, but when they are written as words they can recall more letters (equivalent to seven words) because the words have allowed a natural “chunking” of information.
3. 8. Memory has both phonological and visuospatial components and it can be beneficial to work with both of these. For example, giving verbal directions to someone when they are lost as well as drawing a brief map of their route will aid recall of the information, even after the event (when the map or verbal directions cannot be accessed, only recalled).
4. 9. Our memory shows the “Primacy and Recency Effect”. This means that things encountered at the very start and very end are most likely to be remembered.
5. 10. Repetition is only useful if the pupils maintain attention and interest. An alternative to repetition is rehearsal, which involves covering the same concept or topic but in a different way. For example, teaching the water cycle through physical movement and writing a descriptive monologue of a rain drop lifespan. Both will teach the stages in the correct order but are substantially different to avoid automatic regurgitation and loss of attention.
6. 11. Learning should be fun and interactive, this allows the student to experience the learning rather than passively receive it.
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