Every Teacher should read this. Certainly you will become a successful teacher. Transfer of learning will takes place more effectively.

1. WHAT EVERY TEACHER SHOULD
KNOW ABOUT LEARNING, MEMORY AND
THE BRAIN
Presented by
B.Prabhakar
Principal, JNV Lepakshi.
Dist.Ananthapuram
A.P..
Source : The book
By
Ms.Donna Walker Tileston
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2. What every teacher should. know about
Learning, Memory and the Brain by Donna
Walker Tileston
What is learning?
Learning is not a process left to the brain, it
involves the whole being.
While the old academic model addressed primarily
the intellectual aspects of learning, the prevailing
model suggests that we learn with our mind, heart
and body.
This more holistic view underscores the
importance of considering all of the learner’s
issues “Eric Jenson”
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3. CLASSIFICATION OF PEOPLE
Smart people:- are those who can store
information quickly and can retrieve it from
storage quickly.
Underachievers:- are those who process
information quickly and retrieve it from
storage slowly.
Overachievers:- are those who process
information slowly but retrieve it from storage
quickly.
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4. HOW LEARNING TAKES PLACE?
 All learning seems to begin in self system of the brain.
It decides whether or not to engage in the learning.
 If task is judged important, a positive effect is
generated or associated with task, the individual will
be motivated to engage in the new task.
 In order to make this decision, the brain examines the
incoming information in regard to the following
1. Is the incoming information important?
unless the student also believes the information is
important, the “system” will not view it as important.
• Have I had success in the past with this type of
learning?
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5. FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN STEM
•It is the part of the brain that directs your
behaviour under negative stress and is
most responsive to any threat.
•Threat…….cortisone……body……higher
order thinking.
•“It is not stress that is bad, it is
uncontrollable stress that is bad”
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6. 6
II. PROCESSING INFORMATION
Once the brain had decided to pay
attention to the incoming information, the
metacognitive system takes over. This is
the system that sets goals for the learning
and that monitors the process of learning.
This system is important for the student to
complete a task or engage in the learning
over time.

7. As a teacher we can assist this system of
the brain by..
 Setting goals for the learning.
 Provide specific and consistent feed back to
study to help them identify where they are in
terms of goals.
 Directly teach students how to solve
problem.
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8. THE COGNITIVE SYSTEM
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• Most of what we do in the class room revolves
around the cognitive system of the brain.
• According to Marzano (1998) cognitive system
organizes into four
Cognitive system
Storage and retrieval Information processing Input & output Knowledge use

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I .Storage and retrieval
Provide access to the
knowledge that has
been stored in permanent
memory.
A way storage of new
knowledge
II. Information processing
Manipulates knowledge
Stored to be used for
specific task
IV. Knowledge
System use knowledge to carry
out specific tasks.
Procedural goal carried out
Through this system
III. Input & output
Use knowledge to understand
communication through
hearing, writing, reading ..with
Outside world.

10. 10
HOW DO WE ACQUIRE & PROCESS
INFORMATION
 Our rate of learning is the amount of
time it takes to acquire information.
 Rate of learning distinguishes slow
learner from typical learners.

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HOW CAN A TEACHER ASSIST?
Short term memory/
Working memory
To long term memory storage
Retrieval from LTMS
Rehearsal
Forgotten
From sensory memory

12. Some facts
 99 % what we learn comes through senses
 Our brain takes 40,000 bits /sec.
 Often in the class room we rely on the
auditory and ignore most of the rest of the
senses.
 An enriched class room takes into account all
the senses in learning.
 87% of learners do not learn just by hearing
(Jensen)
 They must see the learning in a visual format
and / or experience the learning
kinesthetically.
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13. LEARNING
MODALITIES/LEARNING STYLES
Learning Modalities
Visual learners Auditory learners Kinesthetic learners
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 There are three learning modalities
found in all of us (Jenson et all)

14. I. THE VISUAL LEARNERS
•Visual learners make up the largest
group in the class room.
•Learners need to “see” the learning
before it will make sense to them.
•It is important to have visuals for these
learners so they can see the
information.
•They need pictures, graphics,
organizers.
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15. CHARACTERISTICS OF VISUAL
LEARNERS
Have difficulty in remember names but may
remember details about the person.
Learn best when there are visual tools to help
explain the learning.
Would rather read a story themselves than have
someone to read it to them.
Organize thought by writing them down.
Often give away their emotions through their
facial expression.
Like puzzles & other visual tools.
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Learning Modalities VisualKinesthetic
Auditory
discussionlistening
Cooperative learning Talking
Models
Simulations
outdoors
Activelearning
organizersPictures
Graphs

17. AUDITORY LEARNERS
 Smallest number in the class room,
multimedia diminished.
 Hearing, lecture, discussion, media
important to brain but they must also
be given opportunity to talk.
 Ex. Murmured reading.
 Earliest reading is auditory.
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18. CHARACTERISTICS
• Remember names better than faces.
• Forget what is read until it is discussed.
•Respect to physical encouragement such as a
pat on the back.
•Would rather be in a group discussion
about a topic than read about it, are easily
distracted by sound.
•Are good story tellers.
• Prefer to give oral reports rather than
written work.
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19. III. KINESTHETIC/TACTILE LEARNERS
 Sprenger (2002) says “every lesson should
contain movement.
 Teachers who rely heavily on lecture
face difficulty with kinesthetic learners.
These learners need to move, need
models that that they can hold and
touch.
 Sitting long stretches may be brain unfriendly.
 Need to have hands on activities, they
need to practice. They say" Don't give
me lot of directions, just give me the
work and let me do it” 19

20. CHARACTERISTICS.
• Remember best what was done rather than
what was seen or heard.
• Would participate in anything than just
watch.
•Like simulations, drama and outdoor
activities.
• Like models and often build models for
independent project.
• Give away their emotions through their
body language.
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21. TIPS
• Teach modalities to your students so that
they know their strength and weaknesses.
• If students have difficulty with one
modality, reteach in the modality in which
they learn best.
• If you have been teaching your class
auditory, without visual or kinesthetic
opportunities, and you have a group of
students who do not understand, you must
reach them in a different modality.
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THE PERCEPTUAL REGISTER
 Also called Reticular Activation system
that helps the brain with all of the incoming
data. This decides whether it is worthy of our
attention .
 If the information in sensory memory is
not encoded in the brief time before it
decays, it is lost.
 The brain discords 98% of all incoming
message. The downside is that sometime we
discord information that we need to
remember.
 As information enters the working
memory, conscious processing begins.

23. WORKING MEMORY
Rehearsal
Rote Elaborate like problem solving
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• * Once information enters the working memory, we have
about 15 seconds while the brain decides to process the
information or to discord it.
• * The key to getting information to long-term memory is
rehearsal.
• * As long as working memory is doing something with the
learning, it can hold it there indefinitely.
• * Rehearsal performs two functions.
• 1.it maintains information in working memory
• 2. it is the mechanism by which we transfer information
to long term memory.

24. LONG TERM MEMORY PATHWAYS
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Most often used in education
Stores words and facts.
Less brain compatible
Needs a connector
Needs rehearsal pnemonics
Capacity restricted.
-Based on context and
location and emotions
-Information can be
remembered yrs.
- Remember history
-unlimited storage
-Needs little motivation
-Also known as motor
memory
Ex.-bicycle riding
-add movement
Strongest remembering.
Role play.
Memory pathways
Semantic memory pathway Episodic memory pathway Procedural memory pathway