Implicit vs. Explicit Instruction: Which is Better for Word Learning?

• May 15, 2012 by Bill Jenkins, Ph.D.

As educators, we are constantly faced with the question of how we can best present material so that it is optimally “learnable” for the different students we are trying to reach.

There is considerable evidence both for and against self-directed and exploratory learning, so there is a great opportunity for neuroscience to examine the ground-level differences between these and more traditional methods of instruction and how the brain reacts to each. One of those differences is the subject of current investigation: the divide between explicit and implicit instruction.

By explicit instruction, we mean teaching where the instructor clearly outlines what the learning goals are for the student, and offers clear, unambiguous explanations of the skills and information structures they are presenting.

By implicit instruction, we refer to teaching where the instructor does not outline such goals or make such explanations overtly, but rather simply presents the information or problem to the student and allows the student to make their own conclusions and create their own conceptual structures and assimilate the information in the way that makes the most sense to them.

Which is more effective?

One study out of Vanderbilt University recently looked at this question as it applies to word learning. In this study, principal investigator Laurie Cutting and her team examined 34 adult readers, from 21 to 36 years of age.

The subjects were taught pseudowords—words that are similar to real words but that have no meaning, such as “skoat” or “chote.” Then, through both explicit and implicit instruction, subjects were taught meanings for these words. (In the study, both of these pseudowords were associated with the picture of a dog.)

The goal was to gain a clearer understanding of how people with different skills and capabilities processed short-term instruction, how effectively they learned, and how those differences looked physiologically in the brain.

In the end, the subjects were all able to learn the pseudowords. But, through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers learned that something deeper was actually taking place: subjects previously identified as excellent readers showed little difference between how they processed explicit vs. implicit instruction. Average readers, on the other hand, showed through their fMRIs that they had to work harder to learn through implicit instruction; for them, explicit instruction was the more effective method.

Granted, the study did focus on a group of adults, not school-age learners. Still the Vanderbilt team’s preliminary results support the idea that, even in group situations where all students have roughly the same degree of previous experience, prior reading ability might be an important element to consider when choosing an instructional approach.

 

 

For further reading:

Amy M. Clements-Stephens, April D. Materek, Sarah H. Eason, Hollis S. Scarborough, Kenneth R. Pugh, Sheryl Rimrodth, James J. Pekar, Laurie E. Cutting. Neural circuitry associated with two different approaches to novel word learning. Developmental Cognitive Science. Volume 2, Supplement 1. 15 February 2012. pp. S99-S113.

Related Reading:

The Curious Mind: Interest, Drive, and the Road to Academic Success

Language and the Reading Puzzle: 5 Steps Towards Fluent Reading

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Categories: Brain Research, Reading & Learning

Tags: academic success, improving reading skills, literacy, struggling readers, teacher effectiveness, teacher impact, vocabulary

Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning with Alan November

• May 10, 2012 by PC Munoz

"Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning" is a Scientific Learning webinar presented by Alan November, proposing that educators make the most of today's "small world" by turning classrooms into global communication centers and collaborating with fellow teachers and students from all over the world.

November's ideas about a new culture of teaching and learning are plentiful, as are his suggestions for further research. In this webinar, November proposes a pathway to a 21st century educational paradigm that is centered around information, collaboration, and empathy.  Here are just a few of his thoughts on the subject:

Information

Schools ought to abolish their "technology planning committees," which focus on "stuff" (wires, boxes, hardware).  Alternatively, educational institutions should simply understand technology as the "digital plumbing" that works hand in hand with what November calls the "real revolution": the large amounts of information that flow through technology.

Collaboration

The educational experience can and should be supercharged with true collaboration. Collaboration can take place in the classroom itself, such as when certain students are tasked with the daily documentation of classroom activities via collaborative note taking, videography, and photography. Or, collaboration can take place across thousands of miles if teachers take the time to find classrooms in other parts of the world that are willing to work with a partner classroom on a given project. For example, a classroom in the US studying the American Revolution partnering with a classroom in the UK studying the same thing could help learners understand and respect differing perspectives.

Empathy

When he asked the CEO of HSBC Bank in England what the most important "21st century skill" is, November received the surprising reply, "empathy." Empathy, the ability to identify with others and value their perspectives, is a crucial life skill in today's small world, for both students and teachers. Empathy helps teachers build relationships with educators in various parts of the world and encourages young people to become fearless global communicators who are able to work with anyone.

More than once during his presentation, November states that he hopes his ideas are "good enough to critique."  He clearly sees the ideas he proposes as a jumping-off point for further exploration and conversation about how to make the most of our era's hyperconnectivity.

No matter where you are in today's small, small world, you’ll want to check out the entire webinar…and you can.  Click here.

Alan November is an international leader in education technology known for his compelling thought leadership.  He passionately challenges teachers and administrators to harness 21st century technology and create learning opportunities to prepare young people for an open, connected, and engaged future.

Related Reading:

How to Motivate Students: The Psychology of Success

5 Reasons Why Your Students Should Write Every Day

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Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!

Categories: Education Trends, Reading & Learning

Tags: digital natives, emotions in learning, innovation, learning environment, motivating students, school leader effectiveness, student growth, teacher impact, technology in education

My Favorite Teachers: Mrs. Bandy and Dr. Gerald Canter

• May 8, 2012 by Martha Burns, Ph.D

Neuroscientists recognize the importance of teachers. Teachers are probably the only professionals that deliberately and strategically build brains. Dr. Stanislas Dehaene, the author of Reading in the Brain and The Number Sense, has published research demonstrating how literacy education alone augments our visual-spatial and language skills. Yet, many don’t appreciate how difficult teaching is or how it impacts our lives. When any of us considers influential people in our lives, people who shaped our sense of self or modeled future success for us, a special teacher is often on our list. Favorite teachers are often those who do three things for us: make us feel smart, take us under their wing to develop what they see as special skills, talents or abilities, and model for us how to proceed to realize our goals.

My list of special teachers contains two who meet those criteria. My first was Mrs. Bandy. She was my first and second grade teacher (I was very lucky to have her for two years). I was a middle child in my family, third out of four children, and as such my parents were very busy trying to help my older siblings get through high school and into college and take care of my little sister. As most middle children who read this blog can probably identify with, I learned to demand little and “get along.”  I knew how to keep quiet.  But, when I entered school I did not have a great deal of confidence.

Mrs. Bandy made me feel very special and took me under her wing. Reading was not easy for me so she put me in my own reading group. I wanted to be one of the “Busy Bees” but she told me she thought I might like different books than those they read (even though I noticed we all read Dick and Jane). It wasn’t until years later that one of my classmates told me that “The Busy Bees” had all the ‘smart’ kids. But at the time I thought they must all envy me because I got a reading group of my own.

I think the episode that sticks out the most as an example of the way Mrs. Bandy made me feel smart is the day we were playing Charades during share time. That day we were acting out fellow classmates instead of the usual book or movie title. I had no idea what I was supposed to do so when it was my turn I got up and just acted very flustered. Rather than be critical Mrs. Bandy laughed whole-heartedly and said, “That is so clever! You have acted out yourself!” I left school that day feeling very clever indeed and held on to that memory for many years.  By cheering me on when it was obvious I was bewildered, she helped me recognize that it is good enough to just give something a try, even if you are not certain what is expected. To this day, no matter where I am, no matter what challenge is put before me, I hear myself saying, “just try.” It doesn’t matter if I am the best, or smartest or fastest. What matters is that I give everything my best effort. And today, as a teacher myself, I try to model her approach and applaud all of my students as much for their effort as for their accuracy.

I had to wait almost twenty years for my other favorite teacher. Dr. Gerald Canter was a college professor of mine during graduate school at Northwestern. I took three courses from him and he mentored my Ph.D. dissertation. He was a brilliant lecturer, very dynamic and engaging. He inspired me in many ways. First, I tried to emulate his teaching style. But more important, I think, like Mrs. Bandy, he made me feel smart and competent. He encouraged me at every step.  In his courses, unlike many professors who gave multiple choice tests, Dr. Canter gave essay tests.  He did not use test readers but he personally read every test carefully and took the time to make thought provoking and stimulating comments.  His comments helped me to become a critical thinker and improved the cogency of my writing. Dr. Canter later provided strategic guidance during my professional life. He alerted me to teaching positions he thought I should consider, helped me conduct research, write journal articles, and develop effective teaching skills. All he ever asked of me in return was that I do the same for young students when I became established. I have tried to live up to his expectations my entire career.

The best teachers guide, inspire, encourage and provide us with a love of learning. Ah yes, and they build brains. How fortunate we are to have had a few marvelous teachers pave our way toward a successful adult life.

 

 

Related Reading:

5 Ways To Be A Better Teacher In Today’s Classroom

Teaching Children to Read

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Categories: Reading & Learning

Tags: employee stories, learning environment, motivating students, self-esteem, teacher effectiveness, teacher impact

No-Cost Education Webinars with Michael Horn and Dr. Virginia Mann – Register Today!

• May 3, 2012 by Carrie Gajowski

Join us this month for two no-cost, live webinars as we welcome back popular presenters Michael Horn and Dr. Virginia Mann!

Disrupting Class

On May 17, you are invited to “Disrupting Class” with Michael Horn, author of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns and cofounder of Innosight Institute. The theory of disruptive innovation describes how products or services that offer simplicity, affordability, and convenience transform a market that was previously dominated by complicated, expensive, and inaccessible products or services.  In this webinar, Michael Horn will describe how online learning is disrupting our notion of a classroom and how it offers the possibility of moving toward a student-centric learning system that is much more focused on different people's distinct learning needs. This webinar is at 11am PST (2pm EST)

Reading English as a Second Language: Some Challenges and Solutions

On May 23, please join us for “Reading English as a Second Language: Some Challenges and Solutions” with Dr. Virginia Mann, professor of Cognitive Sciences at the School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine. Dr. Mann will discuss the differences between English and other writing systems, the need for early immersion in English if English language learning is going to be optimal, the importance of phoneme awareness and phonological processing, and the challenge of morphology.  Dr. Mann will also look at English Language Learners who have problems with reading and who suffer from some of the same phonological problems that English speakers do, showing how the Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant products can help them succeed in school. This webinar will take place at 12pm PST (3pm EST).

 

 

Related Reading:

Language and the Reading Puzzle: 5 Steps Toward Fluent Reading

Why You Should Read With Your Child

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Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!

Categories: Education Trends, English Language Learners, Reading & Learning

Tags: academic problems, academic success, at-risk, blended learning, child reading development, digital natives, innovation, language learning, learning environment, oral language skills, phonemic awareness, technology in education, webinar

3 Tips for Encouraging Verbal Communication in Young Learners

• May 1, 2012 by Carrie Gajowski

“It is now well accepted that the chief cause of the achievement gap between socioeconomic groups is a language gap.”

- E.D. Hirsch, 2003

Research shows that children from rich language environments start off their academic career with a definite advantage over their peers.  In one study with 280 1^st grade students, results indicated a strong connection between language skills and later academic performance.^[i]   Another study found that “children who are provided a wide variety of experiences and opportunities to talk, tell stories, read storybooks, draw, and write are generally successful in learning to read and write.”^[ii]

How can parents enhance the home language environment to help their children succeed?

Here are a few simple ways: 

1. Talk, talk, and talk to children.  Engage them in meaningful conversation, and help them “use their words” to interact with other children.  Help build their vocabulary by using words they may not recognize.  Adding unfamiliar words to conversations can pique a child’s interest in learning additional words and discovering how to use them in conversation. 
2. Read to young learners.  Regularly reading a variety of texts to children—stories, poems, factual books about animals and the natural world—can expose them to countless new words.  It is even more fun by taking turns.  If your child has started to read, one day you can read to him; the next day, he can read to you.  Pre-readers can “read” a picture book out loud.
3. Teach your young students the joys of music!  Through learning new songs and singing, children can have fun while learning new vocabulary.  The rhythm of music provides cues that can help children pronounce multisyllabic words more easily, and because young children don’t have to worry about pronouncing every new word correctly when singing with others, they can build their confidence.

It’s never too early to help children appreciate the usefulness of language, the power of communicating effectively with others, and the joy of words.  Every word spoken and every word read is truly a gift to a young child.  

 

 

References:

[i] Elements Comprising the Colorado Literacy Framework:  III. Communication Skills, Including Oral and Written Language. (2010). Colorado Literacy Framework. Retrieved April 26, 2012.

[ii]  Kastner JW, May W, Hildman L. Relationship between language skills and academic achievement in first grade.  Percept Mot Skills. 2001 Apr;92(2):381-90.PMID: 11361297 

Related Reading:

Adding ten minutes of reading time dramatically changes levels of print exposure (PDF)

The Speech and Language Connection: The Nursery Rhyme Effect
 

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Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!

Categories: Family Focus, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant

Tags: academic success, child reading development, early learning, emotions in learning, how children learn, improving reading skills, language learning, learning environment, learning through play, learning to read, oral language skills, toddler, vocabulary

The Dropout Crisis: Key Messages From The Trenches

• April 26, 2012 by Sherrelle Walker, M.A.

Forum, the most-listened-to locally produced public radio talk show in the nation—hosted by Michael Krasny—recently produced two hour-long segments focusing on the nation's high school dropout crisis. It was a powerful listening experience.  Here are three key messages clearly expressed by the panelists, that all education policy makers should be aware of:

1. The roots, causes, and facets of the dropout crisis are numerous and complex.
   • Many interconnected factors contribute to the dropout crisis. The remedy will not arrive via a single solution, even a heavily funded one such as the “small schools” approach formerly sponsored by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  After investing 2 billion dollars in this strategy, with a specific aim to decrease dropout rates, the foundation pulled the plug when the approach didn’t produce the desired outcomes.  (Michael Kirst, President of the California State Board of Education and Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University)
   • Many students decide to leave school due to the influence of friends who have already dropped out. In some ways, the choice to drop out has been "normalized," especially in families where no members have graduated high school. The question becomes, “No one in my family has graduated from high school, why should I?"(Jalissa, student/audience member and Edson Gonzalez, Castlemont Business and Information Technology School student, age 17, panelist)
2. Entrenched paradigms need to be reassessed.
   • Accepted notions of "success" in high school are too narrow.  Non-cognitive skills and abilities that students and future workers need to be successful—such as perseverance, punctuality, and interpersonal skills—are not measured by tests and academic achievement, but do need to be recognized as valuable skills in a more inclusive definition of achievement and success. (Russell Rumberger,Vice Provost for Education Partnerships at the University of California Office of the President, Director of the California Dropout Research Project, and author of the book "Dropping Out") 
   • Restorative justice, a system for dealing with undesirable student behavior in a corrective, healing manner, can replace traditional punitive measures (such as suspensions) that are typical in the US educational system.  This approach is especially needed at the high school level. (Fania Davis, Executive Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth)
3. The heart matters.
   • The importance of caring relationships between educators and students is immeasurable. Students need to know they are loved and that their teachers have high expectations of them.(Aryn Bowman ,Acting Principal for East Oakland School of the Arts, Alykhan Boolani, 10th Grade Math and World History Teacher/School Culture Leader at East Oakland School of the Arts)
   • Many students who are at risk of dropping out may come from poverty, may lack a recognizable family unit, and/or may experience violence in the home or community.  Educators must be cognizant of, and sensitive to the harsh, uncertain realities these students may be experiencing in their day-to-day lives, while also maintaining high expectations.(Sagnicthe Salazar, Restorative Justice and School Culture Coordinator at the Castlemont Business and Information Technology School )
   • There is a need to approximate a "middle class family" support structure for students who are often experiencing distress, trauma, and need, but who do not receive support at home. The government-funded Full Service Community Schools program attempts to provide this support and aid the overall well being of students by providing counseling, food, a safe environment, and other services to students. (Tony Smith Superintendent of the Oakland Joint Unified School District)

Whether or not we, as educators, agree or disagree with the specific strategies and programs proposed here, it is clear that the educators assembled in these two editions of Forum inject a much-needed jolt of hope and fresh, forward-looking thinking into a system that is in need of reassessment, review, and reinvention.

Click here to listen/download the first hour, and here for the second hour. 

*The shows were recorded live at Castlemont High School in Oakland, a city where the dropout rate is 40%–more than twice the state average of 18% and well over the national average of 25%. Castlemont High is currently comprised of 3 "small schools": Castlemont Leadership Preparatory, Castlemont Business and Information Technology School, and East Oakland School of the Arts. It will revert back to a one-school entity in August 2012.

Related Reading:

Adolescence: What’s the Brain Got to Do with It?

The Imperative of Cultivating Healthy Adolescent Sleep Habits

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Categories: Education Trends, Reading & Learning

Tags: at-risk, emotions in learning, motivating students, struggling students, teacher impact

Teaching with Poverty in Mind: How to Help At-Risk Students Succeed

• April 24, 2012 by Carrie Gajowski

It’s clear that children from poverty are often at a disadvantage in school, and educators can find it challenging to help such students become positively engaged in their own learning. In a recent webinar for Scientific Learning, author and educator Eric Jensen (Teaching with Poverty in Mind), provides invaluable guidance for teachers who work with at-risk and low-income youth.

Jensen identifies a number of ways in which children living in poverty may differ from other children in terms of learning, and asserts that it is the responsibility of teachers to help bring about positive changes in students' developing brains to improve their learning ability.  He provides a number of powerful observations and suggestions for purposeful teaching aimed at improving brainpower for learners from poverty:

Build relationships. 

At-risk learners are often lacking long-lasting, stable relationships in their lives.  They may also require more assistance in developing the full emotional range to respond well to various kinds of stimulation. He states that "discipline" issues sometimes emerge when teachers expect more than what students are currently capable of, on an emotional level. Jensen suggests that classroom teachers help students develop a healthy range of emotional responses in order to build healthy, stable, trusting relationships as a foundation for learning.

Understand and control stress.

Jensen defines stress as "a physiological response to a perception of a lack of control over an aversive situation or person", and notes that at-risk students are likely to have more stress in their lives than other students. Teachers can help increase students’ perception of control by encouraging activities like peer mentoring and student jobs in the classroom, as well as offering more opportunities for students to make their own choices throughout the school day.

Develop a growth mindset.

Children who are raised in a poverty-stricken environment often need help developing a "growth mindset," which places more importance on attitude, effort, and strategy than on luck, genetics, and socioeconomic status. Since developing a growth mindset is teachable and free, Jensen challenges educators to rise to the responsibility of this important part of teaching.

Build executive function.

Working memory, the ability to retain fresh information long enough to do something with it, is a component of executive function—a term which generally refers to a collection of cognitive processes of the brain. According to data presented in the webinar, working memory at age 5 is a far greater predictor of student success at age 11 than IQ. It is also a more reliable predictor than reading scores, motivation level, math scores, or attitude. Jensen advises that if educators focus on building their students’ working memory, they will get significant improvements across the board.

Boost engagement.

Students from poverty often need more help engaging in the classroom. To help students become truly engaged, he suggests the use of physical activity, music, drama, social work (cooperative groups, teams, partners, etc.) and positive affirmations.

Above all, Jensen advises educators to avoid giving up on “difficult” students by deciding that certain kids “can’t be taught,” and provides powerful examples of at-risk children succeeding in large numbers in supportive environments.  He also admonishes, "If you don't teach it, don't punish kids for not being good at it!”  
 

 

Related Reading:

Building a Foundation for School Readiness for Low Income Children

Changing the Culture of Poverty by doing Whatever it Takes

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Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!

Categories: Reading & Learning

Tags: academic success, at-risk, emotions in learning, learning environment, motivating students, school leader effectiveness, teacher effectiveness, teacher impact

The Motor-Cognitive Connection: Early Fine Motor Skills as an Indicator of Future Success

• April 19, 2012 by Bill Jenkins, Ph.D.

We generally don’t consider the development of manual dexterity like hand-eye coordination in babies to be an essential element of cognitive development. In fact, the scientific terminology itself – “motor skills” for movement and “cognitive skills” for mental processing – draws a clear and definite separation between these two types of functions.

As it turns out, such thinking may be holding us back from innovations in education that might truly be able to make a difference for a great many young learners.

Recent research has demonstrated a clear connection between the development of fine motor skills in early life and later success in math, science and reading. Such skills – those as simple as how an infant can use her eyes to track her mother’s face and then reach her hand out and touch her mother’s nose – may just help us understand how ready that child will be for kindergarten, as well as what kind of achiever she’ll be over the next few years.

The Motor-Cognition Connection

To arrive at such a conclusion, we first need to understand the connection between the motor and cognitive centers of the brain. Through neuroimaging and neuroanatomical analysis, Adele Diamond (2000) uncovered “significant evidence” for a number of motor-cognition links in the brain.  Prior to such analysis, these abilities were attributed to separate areas of the brain: motor skills were centered in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, and cognition in the prefrontal cortex. But Diamond’s research showed that both could be activated during certain motor or cognitive tasks. Further research also showed that “individuals with brain damage to either the primary motor or primary cognitive areas often show impairment in both skill areas.” (p. 1013)

In fact, Karen Adolph (2005, 2008; Adolph & Berger, 2006) suggested that a complex relationship exists between cognitive and motor skills development in infants. Since infants are learning to process a complex and changing world at the same time that they are learning gross and fine motor skills, they are in a state of constant adaptation. Their bodies are changing simultaneously as the world around them is presenting new information. Thus, their physical existence in the world – and their movement through it – is one that requires constant cognitive problem solving. In short, infants spend the vast majority of their existence, when they are not sleeping, learning how to learn.

Motor Skills as a Predictor

Talk about factors that predict future achievement in reading, math and science most often includes discussions of early math skills, early reading skills, social skills, attention skills, and attention-related measures like curiosity, interest and a desire to learn. Note that none of the aforementioned abilities has a motor physical component.

Yet, from the motor-cognition connection, researchers like David Grissmer, Sophie Aiyer, William Murrah, Kevin Grimm and Joel Steele (2010) have brought the issue of motor skills development to the fore. They went back and analyzed data from six data sets, and found that, indeed, fine motor skills were a strong predictor of later achievement. In fact, they conclude that taken together, “attention, fine motor skills and general knowledge are much stronger overall predictors of later math, reading and science scores than early math and reading scores alone.” (p. 1008)

Toward Better Interventions

According to this team of researchers (Grissimer, et al, 2010), “There are few interventions directly testing whether strengthening early attention, fine motor skills, or knowledge of the world would improve later math and reading achievement.” That said, some facts are quite clear:

• There is a clear connection in the circuitry of the brain between areas controlling fine motor skills and areas controlling cognition.
• These areas are developing simultaneously, with exceptional speed during early brain development.
• Motor skills are a proven indicator of future math and reading success.

Ultimately, with that understanding in hand, we clearly have a research opportunity to more comprehensively pursue an understanding of these connections.  Findings from such research could put us in a position to create more novel, more effective interventions that strategically integrate motor and cognitive skill building, and continue to hone how we help our youngest learners prepare for future success.

For further reading:

Grissmer, D., Grimm, K., Aiyer S., Murrah, W., Steele, J. Fine Motor Skills and Early Comprehension of the World: Two New School Readiness Indicators. Developmental Psychology. 2010. Vol. 46, No. 5. 1008-1017.

Related Reading:

Sensory-Motor Development and Learning in Children

5 Reasons Every Parent Should Be Familiar with Executive Function

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Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!

Categories: Brain Research, Family Focus

Tags: brain development, cognitive skills, early learning, executive function, infant brain, play, processing

The Role of the Teacher in Blended Learning: Data, Management, and Student Support

• April 17, 2012 by Cory Armes

In the blended learning approach, a student’s day typically includes a combination of online learning and small group instruction time with teachers.  This learning model shifts the classroom teacher’s focus away from more traditional curricular and administrative tasks in the direction of working with data and providing more individualized support to students. Because the focus in this model has shifted from planning lessons and delivering content to being a facilitator of student learning, the classroom teacher’s role can expand in challenging and stimulating ways. 

Rather than follow the traditional roles of sharing content and grading papers, classroom teachers in the blended learning model must:

Be willing to learn

In a blended learning program, the teacher should be prepared to:

• assess, analyze and aggregate data
• use data as an integral part of the planning process for each individual student, groups of students and the whole class
• use benchmark tests and other assessments to direct instruction at different levels (individual, group, class)

To help teachers learn their new roles and to understand online learning, many blended learning programs require that the teachers take an online class themselves as part of the required professional development. Having an experienced blended learning mentor as a guide and participating in training on the data management system also is important.  With proper professional development, a “traditional” teacher can develop the data-analysis skills needed to get the most out of the blended learning model. 

Be open to new teaching strategies

The blended learning teacher should:

• have a wide breadth of content knowledge in order to teach multiple subjects
• differentiate instruction based upon student needs (as determined by the data)
• focus on academic intervention and enrichment

While blended learning instructors still need to be able to maximize learning time and manage a classroom effectively, they have more individual time with students and can give them the attention and support they need.

Be leaders

To help guide students in a blended learning environment, teachers should:

• model learning and show students how to find information and answers (or ask the right questions)
• be able to manage project-based learning activities
• have strategies in place to keep students on-task, engaged and motivated

The blended learning instructor helps students move beyond simply “regurgitating” rote responses to learning to apply content to new situations.  Just as the teacher must interpret and analyze information, students need to learn to reason, integrate information and demonstrate knowledge through application. 

So, what might blended learning mean to teachers?  Continued growth as they modify their existing strategies to lead students to become independent learners themselves? Technology can also give teachers crucial information to understand individual needs of students to support and strengthen their learning. When teachers use good technology effectively, it provides them the power to become even greater experts in the content areas they teach.

Sir Francis Bacon said, many years ago, "Knowledge is power." So why not gain more power in your classroom by building your expertise in the use of technology?

For further reading:

Technology Moving Teachers from Front to Center of the Classroom

Blended Learning Sports Variety of Approaches:

Related Reading:

Blended Learning Implementation Strategies for the K-12 Classroom

The Trend to Blend: The Debate over Online and Blended Learning

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Categories: Education Trends, Reading & Learning

Tags: creativity, digital natives, learning environment, motivating students, teacher effectiveness, teacher impact, technology in education

Deliberate Practice: How to Develop Expertise

• April 12, 2012 by Bill Jenkins, Ph.D.

Anyone who has ever conscientiously taken on the challenge of learning a skill – from playing a musical instrument to speaking a foreign language to simply improving one’s penmanship – understands the importance of practice.

As a neuroscientist, practice fascinates me because it is all about establishing pathways in the brain. The ability of the brain to form and re-form routes for specific thought patterns, and for those routes to become more deeply ingrained the more we exercise those thought patterns, makes it possible for us to learn and refine a multitude of wonderful skills throughout our lives.

The Best Practices

In her recent article “The Myth of ‘Practice Makes Perfect,’” Annie Murphy Paul reviews a book by Gary Marcus, a cognitive psychologist at New York University who studies how the brain acquires language. Marcus’ book, Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning, discusses how learning a new skill, such as playing the guitar, requires practice—but the right kind of practice.

Certainly practice requires a commitment of time. But more importantly, to be truly effective it requires a commitment of the mind – a deliberate intent – for optimal learning to occur.

According to Marcus, “Studies show that practice aimed at remedying weaknesses is a better predictor of expertise than raw number of hours; playing for fun and repeating what you already know is not necessarily the same as efficiently reaching a new level. Most of the practice that most people do, most of the time, be it in the pursuit of learning the guitar or improving their golf game, yields almost no effect” (2012).

In other words, the best practice demands that the learner be attentive to his or her errors, weaknesses and deficiencies, and consciously work to remedy them.

From a neuroscience perspective, this observation points to a natural conclusion. Research has shown us time and again that the more we utilize certain neural pathways for building skills – such as throwing a ball or multiplying by fives or recalling all fifty state capitals – the more effectively we ingrain those patterns in our brains and the more automatic the correct skills become.

The Hardest Work

Imagine the budding guitarist bent over her instrument. At 11 years old, she focuses on learning three more chords beyond the three she learned last week. She’s having great trouble with that F, but she’s well in control of the other five. Should she spend her hour of practice playing the music she truly enjoys and save that F for another day, preserving her positive attitude? Or should she feel her frustration, work through it and spend her time on ironing out that problematic F, again and again and again?

Which is the better practice?

Researcher Anders Ericsson of Florida State University wrote that “deliberate practice requires effort and is inherently not enjoyable” (1993). Long hours spent repeating the easy or already-mastered work is simply not enough and not as effective. The best practice requires us to dig deep and uncover our weaknesses. With a greater focus on our faults, we become better able to find them and develop solutions to remedy them.

Robert Duke of the University of Texas-Austin demonstrated this effect when he and his team videotaped piano students as they practiced a challenging concerto, and then ranked the quality of their final performance. In the end, it was not the repetitions nor the hours of practice put in. The best performers zeroed in on their errors and strove to fix them before moving on. (2009)

Behaviors for Success

The students in our everyday classrooms have an advantage over the guitar student practicing at home. She has to work independently the majority of the time, interacting with her music instructor only once or twice a week; the lion’s share of reinforcing her learning and practicing behavior is her personal responsibility.

In our day-to-day classrooms, we get – relatively speaking – much more time to help our students devise strategies and establish behaviors for success. Through helping them learn how to face the hard work, to focus on what’s difficult or wrong and make it easier or right, we can help them to establish those all-important neural pathways that will lead to success.

For further reading:

It’s Not How Much; It’s How: Characteristics of Practice Behavior and Retention of Performance Skills by Robert A. Duke, Amy L. Simmons and Carla Davis Cash

Related Reading:

The Brain Gets Better at What it Does: Dr. Martha Burns on Brain Plasticity

Musical Training and Cognitive Abilities

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Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Reading & Learning

Tags: accelerate learning, attention, brain plasticity, brain training, cognitive skills, how adults learn, how children learn, language learning, memory, musical training