Understanding Learning

http://www.emtech.net/brain_based_learning.html Brain-Based Learning I found this site to be very infomative. I reviewed various article and websites and have chosen several to highlight here.

http://context.org/ICLIB/IC18/Costa.htm This website list twelve suggested cahracteristics of intelligent behavior that teachers and parents can teach and observe. It is not meant to be a complete, since as studies continue to show new indicators in growth and in thinking abilities.

• Persistence




• Decreasing impulsiveness




• Lestening to others- with understanding and empathy




• Flexibility in thinking




• Metacognition- awareness of our own thinking




• Checking for accuracy and precision




• Questioning and problem posing




• Drawing on past knowledge and applying it to new situations




• Precision of language and thought




• Using all senses




• Ingenuity, originality, insightfulness: creativity




• Wonderment, inquisitiveness, curiosity, and the enjoyment of problem solving- a sense of efficacy as a thinker

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/ I loved the Playground on the Serndip website the link to the Disability Images and Thoughts was enlightening. The intense graphic designs related to mental illness, disabilites, memory, and eating disorders are inspirational. The image of Mental illness haunted me, mental illness has touched my life on so many levels. That this Image clearly reflected the emotions of mental illness as I have seen it.

http://brainrules.blogspot.com/ John Medina's research on the brain was the most enlighting thing I have watched in ages. I recall most the information from his research because he used multiple methods to present it. The videos, powerpoints, scetch comedy routines, combined with traditional reading hightened my desire to learn more. His twelve rules for surviving and thriving at work, bring up issues we are all aware that impact us but explain how they affect our brains. Learning that exercise impacts my ability to learn and that more of it could improve my abilty to comprehend new information got me to moving. Medina's research on learning contradicts other published ideas on learning. Yet, the concepts are backed by research and discussed in a format that is easy to understand.