The Art of Changing The Brain – James Zell
I found the approach in this book to be challenging in some aspects. I’m not a scientist, and the author definitely is. His descriptions of brain biology and biochemistry were tough at times for me to follow. However, I will admit that I find his description of false memory (p. 84) quite fascinating.
Saying that, when Zell gave his concrete and specific examples about brain activity in the classroom setting, I found them to be quite illuminating and beneficial. Although he seems to disdain the lecture model, I actually felt that he created a template for doing these effectively. Begin with an activity to find out what prior knowledge students have. Then, provide vivid examples during the presentation, particularly with imagery and also by use of analogy (this last has always been a favorite tool). Finally, allow students to make lasting connections by using the end of the period to discuss and review what has been presented. I can think of a number of new activities prompted by this book that will definitely change the way I’ve been doing direct instruction, and I’m looking forward to trying them out.
Zull ends the book by discussing the goal of enabling students to say “I did this myself”. This really fits in with the main goal of standards based learning: to focus on the learner. What we need to do as educators, is re-examine and reflect on how we learn as opposed to what we learn.
I found the approach in this book to be challenging in some aspects. I’m not a scientist, and the author definitely is. His descriptions of brain biology and biochemistry were tough at times for me to follow. However, I will admit that I find his description of false memory (p. 84) quite fascinating.
Saying that, when Zell gave his concrete and specific examples about brain activity in the classroom setting, I found them to be quite illuminating and beneficial. Although he seems to disdain the lecture model, I actually felt that he created a template for doing these effectively. Begin with an activity to find out what prior knowledge students have. Then, provide vivid examples during the presentation, particularly with imagery and also by use of analogy (this last has always been a favorite tool). Finally, allow students to make lasting connections by using the end of the period to discuss and review what has been presented. I can think of a number of new activities prompted by this book that will definitely change the way I’ve been doing direct instruction, and I’m looking forward to trying them out.
Zull ends the book by discussing the goal of enabling students to say “I did this myself”. This really fits in with the main goal of standards based learning: to focus on the learner. What we need to do as educators, is re-examine and reflect on how we learn as opposed to what we learn.