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Good
teaching orchestrates the learner's experience so that all aspects
of brain operation are addressed (i.e., emotions, imagination,
analytical thinking, etc.). |
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Everything
that affects our physiological functioning affects our capacity to
learn. We need to be sensitive to physical needs and the
maturation continuum. |
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The
learning environment needs to provide stability and familiarity;
at the same time, provision must be made to satisfy students'
curiosity and hunger for novelty, discovery, and challenge. |
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Learners
are patterning, or perceiving and creating meanings, all the time
in one way or another. Ideally, teaching should present
information in a way that allows brains to extract patterns,
rather than attempt to impose them. |
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Because
it is impossible to isolate the cognitive from the affective
domain, the emotional climate in the school and classroom must be
monitored on a consistent basis, using effective communication
strategies and allowing for student and teacher reflection and
metacognitive processing. |
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Good
teaching builds understanding and skills over time because
learning is cumulative and developmental. Learning occurs best in
authentic, meaningful contexts that allow the student to relate
new information to previous learning and experiences. |
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Peripheral
information can be purposely organized to facilitate learning.
Teachers need to engage the interests and enthusiasm of students
through their own enthusiasm, coaching, and modeling, so that the
unconscious signals appropriately to the importance and value of
what is being learned. |
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“Active
processing” allows students to review how and what they learned
so that they begin to take charge of learning and the development
of personal meanings. Active processing refers to reflection and
metacognitive activities. |
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We
understand and remember best when facts and skills are embedded in
natural, spatial memory. Teachers should also reduce the amount of
times learners have to learn material by rote, or they should
embed this material in conceptual/thematic contexts to reinforce
its meaning and relevance. |
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The
brain downshifts under perceived threats, and learns optimally
when appropriately challenged. Teachers and administrators need to
create a state of relaxed alertness in students. This combines
general relaxation with an atmosphere that is low in threat and
high in challenge. |
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Since
each brain is unique, teaching should be multifaceted to allow all
students to express visual, tactile, emotional, and auditory
preferences. |