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.