While there are several learning styles out there for the next few days we are going to focus on David Kolb and his four pillars of learning.
Concrete Experience:
Yesterday I made mention of those moments that we have, those memories that we can look back and and take out the lesson learned and apply it to our current situation. That is what Kolb is alluding to with concrete experience. However, let’s take a look at a concrete experience. I made mention of my athleticism (or my lack of it) and the event of trying out for roller derby. I have two life events that are challenging my brain on what my real experience would be. My Brain is looking back at my life in high school where I loved being on a team, enjoyed working out, and felt the personal accomplishment in getting a Varsity letter in volleyball. However, it’s also looking back to my years of ice skating, poor balance, and ease of injury. All of these little events that occurred in my life are creating an experience. They built upon each other to create a memory, something I could access later and draw some conclusions upon. So it’s telling me that I could enjoy myself on a team, possibly enjoy working out on a regular basis, and feel really good about myself while doing it. It’s also telling me that I might want to wait for better health insurance coverage and improve my balance before giving it a shot.
Concrete experience is about taking those little events that happen and making sense of them. Those two experiences I described interacted with each other and challenged two ways of thinking. That challenge led to a new pathway, or insight on the subject at hand.
Can you think of a time where you had an experience like the one mentioned? What makes concrete experience work for some learners, what are the challenges it might have?
p.s. up to 3 points bonus for upbeat tempo workout songs for me to skate to!
9.30.2010
9.29.2010
Teaching with the Brain in mind
Teaching with the Brain in mind.
Overview:
When you were younger and in school how much of your time was focused on learning versus memorizing? We all have moments in our education where we asked “is this going to be on the exam?” or we crammed as much as was humanly possible in our minds only to release it on the examination page and then forget it as soon as the exam was done. But what about the ideas that stick with us? Ideas where you can remember the classroom setting, the discussion, the people sitting in the room with you. How often are those ideas remembered and used versus the ideas on the exam.
The brain is a complex organism. The cells and neurons that are within the brain shift and change. Sometimes theses shifts are due to damage or to long term stress, other times the change is brought about by learning. When we are learning the Brain is looking to file things in the correct shared access point. Naturally, it wants all information to have a connection to something that was previously learned. This is how memories are shaped and catalogued by our Brain.
So how do we make meaning from our memories? Hasn’t there been a time in your life where you thought to yourself “this was just like that one time where I made that mistake before.” It could have been in your professional life, in your work life, or in those moments that made you think that roller derby was perfectly matched with your level of athleticism. Your Brain houses these memories, these experiences and when you go back to look at them again, to gain the “lessons learned” you are able to apply them to your current situation. Why not use that to further your education? If this is what will help to create effective life long learning why isn’t it always used?
Take a look at Chapter 2 Art Therapy and the Brain by Cathy A. Malchiodi
Read the aforementioned article and reflect on how art therapy and the mind-body connection can be used. Is there a time where mind-body learning is more appropriate than others? Can mind-body learning be effective all the time? Please share your thoughts with classmates through the comments section.
Overview:
When you were younger and in school how much of your time was focused on learning versus memorizing? We all have moments in our education where we asked “is this going to be on the exam?” or we crammed as much as was humanly possible in our minds only to release it on the examination page and then forget it as soon as the exam was done. But what about the ideas that stick with us? Ideas where you can remember the classroom setting, the discussion, the people sitting in the room with you. How often are those ideas remembered and used versus the ideas on the exam.
The brain is a complex organism. The cells and neurons that are within the brain shift and change. Sometimes theses shifts are due to damage or to long term stress, other times the change is brought about by learning. When we are learning the Brain is looking to file things in the correct shared access point. Naturally, it wants all information to have a connection to something that was previously learned. This is how memories are shaped and catalogued by our Brain.
So how do we make meaning from our memories? Hasn’t there been a time in your life where you thought to yourself “this was just like that one time where I made that mistake before.” It could have been in your professional life, in your work life, or in those moments that made you think that roller derby was perfectly matched with your level of athleticism. Your Brain houses these memories, these experiences and when you go back to look at them again, to gain the “lessons learned” you are able to apply them to your current situation. Why not use that to further your education? If this is what will help to create effective life long learning why isn’t it always used?
Take a look at Chapter 2 Art Therapy and the Brain by Cathy A. Malchiodi
Read the aforementioned article and reflect on how art therapy and the mind-body connection can be used. Is there a time where mind-body learning is more appropriate than others? Can mind-body learning be effective all the time? Please share your thoughts with classmates through the comments section.
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