Guaranteed Good Teaching: The Brain Rules Lesson Plan
More from John Medina’s book, Brain Rules.
John describes his model for giving a lecture. This model would serve anyone who needs to teach information to learners.
Modules: Modules should be 10 minute long segments that cover a single core concept. The core concept is, “always large, always general, always filled with ‘gist,’ and always explainable in one minute.”
Thus, in a 50 minute lecture there would be 5 large concept modules covered.
The remaining 9 minutes in each module are used to, “provide a detailed description of that single general concept. The trick was to ensure that each detail could be easily traced back to the general concept with minimal intellectual effort.”
One should make sure to regularly take time out from the content being taught, “to explain the relationship between the detail and core concept in clear and explicit terms.”
After 10 minutes, you should be done with the core concept and ready for the next.
John explains that there is 3 reasons that he structured his lesson plan this way.
1. Knowing that the audience checks out 20% of the way through a presentation or lecture, you have about 600 seconds to get their attention and keep it. After 600 seconds, or 10 minutes, you need to do something to buy another 10 minutes.
2. Our brains process meaning before they process detail. Brains also like hierarchy, so staring with general concepts and then moving to, “explaining information in a hierarchical fashion.” John says, “You have to do the general idea first.”
3. The teacher or lecturer needs to front load the lecture plan at the beginning of the class or presentation and continue to point out to the students or audience where they are in the lesson. “This prevents the audience from trying to multitask. If the instructor presents concepts without telling the audience where the concept fits into the rest of the presentation, the audience is forces to simultaneously listen to instructor and attempt to divine where it fits into the rest of what the instructor is saying.”
In other words, you might force their brain into multitasking without intending to do so. And, as we have learned, the brain does not multitask attention.
So, you finish 9 minutes and 59 seconds in your general concept module. You filled it with great explanations of the relationship between the detail and the core concept in very explicit terms, and did so in a hierarchical fashion, with frequent “where are we” moments; now what?
You are about to lose your audience or class. You must quickly regain their attention. You shouldn’t give them more information. That would be overload. Don’t do something random that is not connected to the lesson that would just be confusing.
“The need something so compelling that they would blast through the 10 minute barrier and move on to new ground—something that triggers an orienting response toward the speaker and capture executive functions allowing efficient learning.”
You need an…
ECS—Emotionally Competent Stimuli—a.k.a- “The Hook”
And you need one every 10 minutes!
So what makes a great Emotionally Competent Stimuli (ECS)? Three things.
1. Trigger and emotion: Fear, laughter, nostalgia, etc. A great story that is short and right to the point can be very powerful.
2. Make it relevant: “It couldn’t be just any story or anecdote.” If it doesn’t’ relate to the lesson, people are going to be scratching their heads trying to figure out where you are going with it. Make it relate.
3. The hook or ECS goes between each module, at the beginning looking forward anticipating the lesson or material. Or place the hook at the end of a module looking backwards summarizing the information or material.
John found 2 interesting changes to his audiences when he started placing hooks in his lessons. “First they were still interested at the end of the first 10 minutes. Second, they seemed able to maintain their attention for another 10 minutes or so, as long as another hook was supplied at the end.”
The Brain Rules Lesson Plan—try it today!
Catalytic Questions:
How would ordering your lesson plan around the Brain Rules model change your content delivery?
In what ways could you develop hooks (ECSs) that would be relevant to your content and purpose? Is there a resource that you could use?
How does the Brain Rules lesson plan fit with what you have seen in your own teaching and presenting?
How might this knowledge change your approach to your delivery?
Suggested Reading:
Brain Rules blog
Thanks a lot for a bunch of good tips. I look forward to reading more on the topic in the future. Keep up the good work! This blog is going to be great resource. Love reading it.
Posted by: writing a term paper | January 29, 2010 at 04:36 AM
The student who is always disruptive usually will not be given as many breaks as the students who sit quietly and try hard each day. It is important as teachers to be as objective as possible when writing report cards.
Posted by: College Research Papers | July 06, 2010 at 09:59 PM