If John Medina, author of Brain Rules, ran your school it might look something like this.
Teaching School
The school would be a combination of regular school, teacher preparation school, and a research school that combines educational theory with brain theory. Think of a teaching hospital. Teachers who are currently teaching, aspiring teachers learning and interacting daily with students and teachers, and educational researchers working with brain researchers to develop new teaching theory.
Great relationships between student and teachers
Great relationships enhance learning and reduce stress which decreases learning.
Students are taught to love learning
Students learn that learning is about intrinsic curiosity and desire. Students love to learn because they see the intrinsic value of it, and not to earn a grade.
Parallel schedules
Because some brains are more effective during different parts of the day, there would be two schedules to match the needs of teachers and students who work better early or late.
Exercise
Recess would be held twice a day. In the morning, 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity, followed later in the day with 20-30 of strength training and stretching. Students would wear gym clothes all day. Tread mills would be installed in classrooms to further increase opportunities for students to exercise while learning.
Small Class Sizes
Small class sizes allow teacher to better understand the inner motivation of their students, easily seeing if a student is engaged or confused and if the teaching is being transformed into learning. Teachers would think of themselves as managers of minds, and the fewer minds to manage the better.
Technology
Adaptive software that adjusts to the needs of each student would be used to better individualize and differentiate for student needs.
Lecture and Lesson Design (1)
The introduction is key. How the teacher introduces the material has a huge impact on learning. Lesson would be broken into 10-minute blocks, each of which focuses on a single subject or objective, the gist of which can be explained in 1 minute. In between each 10-minute block an Emotionally Competent Stimuli (ECS) will be place to grab the student’s attention by triggering emotion and make the subject matter relevant. During the lesson blocks, the teacher will provide a mental map of the lesson and will check with the students to ensure that they know where they have been and where they are going in the lesson.
Lecture and Lesson Design (2)
Lesson or lectures will be highly visual. Many photos and computer animations will be made use of. Lesson will be multi-sensory to the extent possible. Heavy use of real world examples will be used to help make meaningful connections.
Lesson Review
After lessons, students will be given time to talk and think about the learning. Reviews of material would be scheduled every 3-4 days. These reviews would be multi-sensory as well.
Teacher Evaluation
Teachers would be screened for their ability to manage minds, understand their students, and create brain focused lesson plans.
So there you have it. The ultimate guide to the Brain Rules school design.
For more info I suggest:
No Such Thing As Learning Styles
Tips and Techniques for Memory Enhancement
Working Memory Capacity, Encoding, and Retrieval from Long-Term Memory
Learning About Swimming Takes Place Best At A Pool: Brain Rules Part 8
The Golden Moment of Learning: Brain Rules Part 7
Great Teaching and Presentation with the Brain Rules Lesson Plan: Brain Rules Part 6
Are You Paying Attention? -- Brain Rules Part 5
Theory of Mind-- Brain Rules Part 4
Billions of Intelligences? --Brain Rules Part 3
Student and Teacher Relationships: Brain Rules Part 2
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