But things have changed.
Last week I attended the ULearn conference. During the conference I listened to Mark Treadwell who was speaking on brain research and the light it sheds upon teaching and learning. It was fascinating to learn about our different memory systems and how they interact together.
But what captured me the most was Mark's notion of a conceptual curriculum. A curriculum that focusses upon the 'big ideas'. One that builds on the way the brain works and is explicit in supporting learners in understanding and applying these big ideas across a range of contexts using relevant and engaging content. A curriculum that has the potential to accelerate students learning, and support enhanced self-regulation, engagement and creativity.
The Ministry of Education is doing something similar. It is developing a series of Secondary Teacher and Learning Guides. These guides are / have been developed by experienced teachers and subject experts. They have been written to support teachers to develop quality teaching and learning programmes at levels 6 - 8 of the New Zealand Curriculum. An important part of these guides is pulling together the 'big ideas' or key concepts of each subject area. A great example of this is the key concepts for physics.
So why should leaders be interested in brain research? My reason is simple. We need to accelerate the progress and achievement of our young people. And particularly those who have consistently struggled in our classrooms. Such acceleration will require innovative ways of teaching and learning drawing upon the best evidence and research available to us. Brain research provides a potentially 'rich vein' of knowledge for achieving these ambitious goals. Organising knowledge around concepts (rather than disconnected facts) appears to be another high potential area for further exploration.
Last week I attended the ULearn conference. During the conference I listened to Mark Treadwell who was speaking on brain research and the light it sheds upon teaching and learning. It was fascinating to learn about our different memory systems and how they interact together.
But what captured me the most was Mark's notion of a conceptual curriculum. A curriculum that focusses upon the 'big ideas'. One that builds on the way the brain works and is explicit in supporting learners in understanding and applying these big ideas across a range of contexts using relevant and engaging content. A curriculum that has the potential to accelerate students learning, and support enhanced self-regulation, engagement and creativity.
The Ministry of Education is doing something similar. It is developing a series of Secondary Teacher and Learning Guides. These guides are / have been developed by experienced teachers and subject experts. They have been written to support teachers to develop quality teaching and learning programmes at levels 6 - 8 of the New Zealand Curriculum. An important part of these guides is pulling together the 'big ideas' or key concepts of each subject area. A great example of this is the key concepts for physics.
So why should leaders be interested in brain research? My reason is simple. We need to accelerate the progress and achievement of our young people. And particularly those who have consistently struggled in our classrooms. Such acceleration will require innovative ways of teaching and learning drawing upon the best evidence and research available to us. Brain research provides a potentially 'rich vein' of knowledge for achieving these ambitious goals. Organising knowledge around concepts (rather than disconnected facts) appears to be another high potential area for further exploration.
P.S. Turns out there IS an idiots guide to the brain!!
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