The Brain – Let’s Use It to the Fullest and Learn Easily! Part III

Approximate reading time: 1m 27s

• Its average height is 93 mm.

• Its average weight is almost 450 grams.

• It is covered by a thin layer of nerve cells called the cortex or neocortex.

• It continues to grow and develop in different ways throughout a person's entire life.

• It also has a functional division into two main parts: the left and right hemispheres; the left focuses on analytical functions, and the right – on abstract and creative ones.

There are endless horizons for learning. 

How can we keep a group of learners’ attention and make them actively participate in the training process? Here, specialists will say that it depends on the participants, their personal preferences, gender, religion, principles, etc. But we will summarize and answer the question at the level of brain activity. It hardly matters what is being studied - the approach is what counts.

To make learners literally rush into extensive research, you can take them to the nearest mall and have them reach the depths of discovery on their own. Depending on the planned topic in the curriculum, you can assign them tasks such as observation, gathering information, creating a diary, or interviewing people.

After each such task, there should be a discussion among the group participants, reports or presentations of the collected information should be presented, and the important lesson should be pointed out. Such activities involve working with the same information, but for different purposes. First it is collected, then recorded, calculated, and analyzed. The data must be stored in an accessible online format, such as content management systems. In this way, different parts of the brain are gradually engaged in diverse functions.

When possible, depending on the type of training, of course, it is useful to allow participants to get as close as possible to the object of study in a real way, so that the result is more relevant. Simulations of various scenarios place a person in a unique opportunity to try something with a high degree of realism and, most importantly, to allow themselves to fail in order to gain even more benefits. This is how the principle of „trial and error“ works. We all know that once something is done wrong, it is remembered much more than something done correctly!

Source: The Creative Training Idea Book, Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning, ROBERT W. LUCAS