3. Learning Objectives
To understand the role of the brain in attention
and learning
To identify strategies that can optimize the
learning environment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgLYkV689s4
4. Before we start….
I would like you to consider your current
learning environment; perhaps you are at work
or in a home office or logged in from an iPad
somewhere…
5. Are you comfortable?
Hungry, thirsty, needs a potty break?
Are you too hot or cold, is your chair comfy?
Are there too many distractions or are you
feeling too disconnected from your class?
Are you tired, upset, or worried about
something or stressed with too many things
on your plate?
Are you full of energy, happy and interested in
what you are about to learn?
6. All these things are ways your
brain can influence your learning
before your facilitator even
begins!!
7. How the brain works
Mackeracher in ‘Making Sense of Adult
Learning’ uses a simplified theory of the brain
function called ‘the Triune Brain’
Brain has 3 levels:
Reticular Activating System (Reptilian Brain)
The Limbic System (Primitive Mammalian
Brain)
The Neo-Cortex (The Modern Mammalian
Brain)
8. The Triune Brain
A YouTube Video explaining the Triune Brain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHLbgYcFFcw
9. Reticular Activating System –
Reptilian Brain
This part of the brain is instinctual and involves
basic functions:
Feeding
Fighting
Fleeing
And sexual behaviour
Redirects your attention to your basic needs
and focus your attention to these first –
defaulting to any stimuli for survival or safety
10. Reticular Activating System –
Reptilian Brain
Have you ever found yourself not really paying
attention to someone talking or to the road ahead
of you while driving?
Your Reticular Activating System can act as a
switch focusing your attention on what your brain
identifies as important to your safety or survival.
e.g. it’s getting close to lunch time and you can no longer focus on
your facilitator – you start to think about where to have lunch, what
to eat, etc.
11. The Limbic System – The
Primitive Mammalian Brain
Dedicated to gentler social emotions found in
parenting
The emotional content of stimuli is processed
before its meaning
Your value system is here housed here
Enhances or supresses your short-term
memory
Influences what we store in long-term memory
12. The Limbic System – The
Primitive Mammalian Brain
It judges all experiences based on pain or
pleasure
Relatively resistant to change
New learning is mostly from registering new
experiences that expand our existing values
13. The Neo-Cortex – the Modern
Mammalian Brain
Cerebral cortex divided into two cerebral
hemispheres
Houses intellect
All formal and informal learning occurs here
Coordinates our relationship with the outside
world: vision, hearing, taste, smell, bodily
sensations, motor responses
14. The Neo-Cortex – the Modern
Mammalian Brain
Controls conscious activity but relies on the
lower levels of the brain to pass along
information
Information about a real or perceived threat is
generally given priority
E.g. individuals with test anxiety have a very hard time
retrieving information for the test
15. Cerebral Hemispheres - Right
Brained or Left Brained
Left Side of Brain
Verbal
Logical
Temporal (time)
Sequential (links
ideas)
Digital (uses words)
Right Side of Brain
Visual-Spatial (non-verbal)
Global/Integrating
Nonlinear
Analogical
(comparisons)
16. Cerebral Hemispheres - Right
Brained or Left Brained
So now for some fun…..
Here is a link to a right brain/left brain quiz to
see where you fall.
http://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3178
17. Cerebral Hemispheres - Right
Brained or Left Brained
The effective pursuit of knowledge requires the
functions of both hemispheres
The brain is always doing many things at once – it
is a parallel processor
Brain needs to have many areas stimulated while
learning to work optimally or it may wander
It can learn on multiple levels, processing the
whole learning
E.g. I can learn information in a break out session and
at the same time learn to like or dislike group work
18. Cerebral Hemispheres - Right
Brained or Left Brained
And now for another viewpoint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE6VTvxkhFs
19. Strategies to maximize learning
Present ideas in both verbal and non-verbal
forms
Ensure the physical environment is
comfortable
Watch for learners attention waning
Try to provide activities that use both sides of
the brain
Laughter is good for learning
Don’t be too quick to judge answers
20. Strategies to maximize learning
Check in with your learners to see how they
understood your information
Understand and teach to all cognitive styles
(Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic & Kolbs Model)
21. Strategies to maximize learning
Listening empathetically to the narratives
told by adult learners about their own
learning is an excellent way to find out the
best way to facilitate their learning and
affirm what they know and who they are
22. Summary
I hope that you have enjoyed this
very brief overview of the
importance of the brain in
attention and learning and that I
have provided some useful
strategies…
I’ll check in with you Tuesday…
