Brain Research Blog Post 2

I believe that we can best engage students' brains to help them better understand big ideas through visual images as well, like Wujec stated in the video. I also think audio learning is effective as well. Students have difficulty learning when they are bored with the ideas that are being put in front of them. I think that it is important to recognize the abilities of each individual student because everyone learns differently. If repetition is occurring with a big idea, it will be effective in the way students learn but it can be repeated in a multiple of ways. It does not have to be repeated the same exact way every time it is being brought up. We can engage students' brains with a video, music clip, audio clip, images, etc. There are so many different ways that we can help students understand big ideas and remember them as long as it is properly being encoded into their memory. Students need to be engaged by doing activities as well. If the student is participating in an activity and not just sitting at a desk and listening to a teacher, they will learn and understand. Digital technology is always helpful especially with new apps for iPads because students have something physical in their hands to use in order to learn, whether it is a game or a book students have to be constantly touching and physically participating with the device.

Wujec uses the concept of the visual cortex to describe how students engage in learning and understand big ideas. However, there are 5 senses not just one and 4 different lobes in the brain as well so teachers can use the 5 senses in learning as well. It is important to vary the type of information that you teach students so that they get different experiences and not get bored with what they are learning. If their learning is constantly changing, then they will be more engaged. Using the 5 senses helps with different types of learning. This includes visually, auditory, smell, taste, and touch which can be used in a variety of ways and the different lobes of the brain are used for different neural pathways for information to be processed. I feel the important of using different neural pathways will stimulate a student's learning and keep them engaged in their learning so they do not become bored of doing the same learning each and every day.